Tafseer of The Moon · Al-Qamar · 54:5
Extensive wisdom - but warning does not avail [them].
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
And His word ḥikmatun bālighatun ("a perfect wisdom") — by the perfect wisdom this Qurʾān is meant. The word "al-ḥikma" stands in the nominative (rufiʿat) as a back-reference to the "mā" in His word wa-laqad jāʾahum mina al-anbāʾi mā fīhi muzdajar ("and there has already come to them of the tidings that wherein is a deterrent").
The explanation of the sentence is: and there has already come to them of the tidings the tiding wherein is a deterrent, a perfect wisdom. And if "al-ḥikma" were to stand in the nominative as a new beginning (istiʾnāf), that too would be permissible; the meaning of the sentence would then be: and there has already come to them of the tidings the tiding wherein is a deterrent — that is a perfect wisdom, or: it is a perfect wisdom; so that "al-ḥikma" forms, as it were, the explanation thereof.
And His word fa-mā tughnī al-nudhur ("but what avail the warnings?") — in the "mā" in His word fa-mā tughnī al-nudhur there are two possibilities. The first is that it has the meaning of negation (jaḥd); in that case, when one understands it thus, the meaning of the sentence is: the warnings then do not avail them and they have no benefit from them, on account of their turning away from them and their denial of them. The second is that it has the meaning of "annā" ("how / what"); in that case, when one understands it thus, the meaning of the sentence is: what benefit do the warnings have for them? And al-nudhur is the plural of nadhīr (warner), just as al-judud is the plural of jadīd (new), and al-ḥuṣur the plural of ḥaṣīr (mat).
