Tafseer of The Moon · Al-Qamar · 54:50
And Our command is but one, like a glance of the eye.
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.
The explanation of His statement, the Exalted: وَمَا أَمْرُنَا إِلا وَاحِدَةٌ كَلَمْحٍ بِالْبَصَرِ ("And Our command is but a single [word], like the twinkling of an eye") (54:50).
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: And Our command to a thing, when We command it and wish it to come into existence, is but a single utterance: "Be!" — and it is; therein is no repetition and no return. كَلَمْحٍ بِالْبَصَرِ ("like the twinkling of an eye") — He, exalted is His praise, says: then there comes into existence what We command and to which We say "Be!", as swiftly as the flash of the twinkling of an eye; it is not delayed and it does not come later. The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says to the polytheists (mushrikīn) of Quraysh who denied His Messenger Muḥammad ﷺ: And indeed We have destroyed your likes, O Quraysh, among the bygone communities and the vanished generations, who were in the same state as that in which you are, of disbelief in Allah and the denial of His messengers. فَهَلْ مِنْ مُدَّكِرٍ ("Is there then anyone who will be admonished?") — He says: Is there then anyone who will be admonished by this and deterred, so that he may be restrained by it?
