The Moon — Verse 32

And verily We have made the Qur’ān easy to remember. So is there anyone who will remember?

ولقد سَهَّلْنا لفظ القرآن للتلاوة والحفظ، ومعانيه للفهم والتدبر لمن أراد أن يتذكر ويعتبر، فهل مِن متعظ به؟

أي سهلنا لفظه ويسرنا معناه لمن أراده ليتذكر الناس كما قال "كتاب أنزلناه إليك مبارك ليدبروا آياته وليتذكر أولوا الألباب" وقال تعالى "فإنما يسرناه بلسانك لتبشر به المتقين وتنذر به قوما لدا". قال مجاهد "ولقد يسرنا القرآن للذكر" يعني هونا قراءته وقال السدي يسرنا تلاوته على الألسن وقال الضحاك عن ابن عباس لولا أن الله يسره على لسان الآدميين ما استطاع أحد من الخلق أن يتكلم بكلام الله عز وجل قلت ومن تيسيره تعالى على الناس تلاوة القرآن ما تقدم عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال "إن هذا القرآن أنزل على سبعة أحرف" وأوردنا الحديث بطرقه وألفاظه بما أغنى عن إعادته ههنا ولله الحمد والمنة وقوله "فهل من مدكر" أي فهل من متذكر بهذا القرآن الذي قد يسر الله حفظه ومعناه؟ وقال محمد بن كعب القرظي فهل من منزجر عن المعاصي؟ وقال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا أبي حدثنا الحسن بن رافع حدثنا ضمرة عن ابن شوذب عن مطر هو الوراق في قوله تعالى "فهل من مدكر" هل من طالب علم فيعان عليه وكذا علقه البخاري بصيغة الجزم عن مطر الوراق ورواه ابن جرير وروى عن قتادة مثله.

ثم ختم - سبحانه - هذه القصة بما ختم به سابقتها فقال : ( وَلَقَد يَسَّرْنَا القرآن لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ ) .

القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِنْ مُدَّكِرٍ (32)يقول تعالى ذكره: ولقد هوّنا القرآن بيَّناه للذكر: يقول: لمن أراد أن يتذكر به فيتعظ ( فَهَلْ مِنْ مُدَّكِرٍ ) يقول: فهل من متَّعظ به ومعتبر فيعتبر به, فيرتدع عما يكرهه الله منه.

" ولقد يسرنا القرآن للذكر فهل من مدكر "

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآَنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِنْ مُدَّكِرٍ (32(تكرير ثان بعد نظيريه السالفين في قصة قوم نوح وقصة عاد تذييلاً لهذه القصة كما ذيلت بنظيريه القصتان السالفتان اقتضى التكرير مقام الامتنان والحث على التدبر بالقرآن لأن التدبر فيه يأتي بتجنب الضلال ويرشد إلى مسالك الاهتداء فهذا أهم من تكرير { فكيف كان عذابي ونذر } [ القمر : 30 ] فلذلك أوثر .

{ وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِنْ مُدَّكِرٍ }

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِأي سهلناه للحفظ وأعنا عليه من أراد حفظه ; فهل من طالب لحفظه فيعان عليه ؟ ويجوز أن يكون المعنى : ولقد هيأناه للذكر مأخوذ من يسر ناقته للسفر : إذا رحلها ويسر فرسه للغزو إذا أسرجه وألجمه ; قال : وقمت إليه باللجام ميسرا هنالك يجزيني الذي كنت أصنع وقال سعيد بن جبير : ليس من كتب الله كتاب يقرأ كله ظاهرا إلا القرآن ; وقال غيره : ولم يكن هذا لبني إسرائيل , ولم يكونوا يقرءون التوراة إلا نظرا , غير موسى وهارون ويوشع بن نون وعزير صلوات الله عليهم , ومن أجل ذلك افتتنوا بعزير لما كتب لهم التوراة عن ظهر قلبه حين أحرقت ; على ما تقدم بيانه في سورة " التوبة " فيسر الله تعالى على هذه الأمة حفظ كتابه ليذكروا ما فيه ; أي يفتعلوا الذكر , والافتعال هو أن ينجع فيهم ذلك حتى يصير كالذات وكالتركيب .فيهم .فَهَلْ مِنْ مُدَّكِرٍقارئ يقرؤه .وقال أبو بكر الوراق وابن شوذب : فهل من طالب خير وعلم فيعان عليه , وكرر في هذه السورة للتنبيه والإفهام .وقيل : إن الله تعالى اقتص في هذه السورة على هذه الأمة أنباء الأمم وقصص المرسلين , وما عاملتهم به الأمم , وما كان من عقبى أمورهم وأمور المرسلين ; فكان في كل قصة ونبأ ذكر للمستمع أن لو ادكر , وإنما كرر هذه الآية عند ذكر كل قصة بقوله : " فهل من مدكر " لأن " هل " كلمة استفهام تستدعي أفهامهم التي ركبت في أجوافهم وجعلها حجة عليهم ; فاللام من " هل " للاستعراض والهاء للاستخراج .

A prophet always appears in the shape of an ordinary man. So, man is not able to recognise him. Similarly, the she-camel sent by God was also apparently like an ordinary camel. So, the people of Thamud were unable to recognise it and killed it. Our world presents just this kind of test. Here, people are required to see the representative of God in the apparently ordinary person and the she-camel of God in the apparently ordinary she-camel. Those who fail in this test never find the path of righteousness. Though the Quran is a deeply meaningful book, there is the utmost clarity in its style of expression. For this reason it has become very easy to understand the Quran, whether its readers be of greater or lesser education.

Lexicological Analysis The word سُعُر su'ur has appeared twice in this Surah. First it has appeared in verse 24 in connection with the people of Thamud where it is their own word, and means 'madness or insanity'. The second time, the word appears in connection with the punishment of the sinners where it is the word of Allah in the forthcoming verse [ 47] فِي ضَلَالٍ وَسُعُرٍ‌. Here the word سُعُر su'ur may also be taken in the sense of Hell-Fire. According to lexicologists, the word su'ur is used in both these senses. رَ‌اوَدُوهُ عَن ضَيْفِهِ (And they had even tried to tempt him against his guests...54:37). The word murawadah signifies to entice someone to satisfy one's lust. This verse refers to the night when the angels came to Prophet Lut (علیہ السلام) in the shape of handsome young men, as a test from Allah for his people who were addicted to homosexuality. Prophet Lut (علیہ السلام) hosted his guests. The licentious people came to him from every direction, and the Prophet Lut (علیہ السلام) had to shut the door to protect his guests. They came during the night and tried to break the door down and scale the walls to come in. The immoral behaviour of his people distressed Prophet Lut (علیہ السلام) but when the guests revealed to him that they were angels and have been sent by Allah to inflict destructive punishment on his people, he felt comforted; they assured him that they will not be able to hurt them in any way. Surah Al-Qamar started on the note that Doomsday is fast approaching, so that the infidels and pagans, who have lust and greed for this world and are unaware of the Hereafter, come to their senses. First, the punishment of the Hereafter is mentioned. Then the evil consequences of their misdeeds in the present life are cited. Reference is made to the conditions of world-famous nations, their opposition to their respective prophets and its evil consequences. The people of Lut (علیہ السلام) were the first people who were destroyed by Divine punishment. Many different kinds of devastating torments were inflicted on the people of Lut (علیہ السلام) ، the tribes of ` Ad, Thamud and Lut (علیہ السلام) and the people of Fir'aun in this world. Their stories and histories are recounted in detail on several occasions in the Qur'an. Here they have been condensed. All these five nations were the strongest and resourceful. It was not possible for any of the subdued nations to overcome any of these superpowers. The current set of verses show how the superpowers were destroyed by Divine punishment. After describing the punishment of each nation, the Qur'an repeats the following statement as a refrain: فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عَذَابِي وَنُذُرِ‌ (How then was My torment and My warnings?). That is, when the Divine chastisement overtook these nations who were very powerful in terms of might, wealth and number were killed like flies and mosquitoes. In addition, the following verse is repeated to advise the Muslims and the infidels in general: وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْ‌نَا الْقُرْ‌آنَ لِلذِّكْرِ‌ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ‌ (and indeed We have made the Qur'an easy for seeking advice. So, is there one to seek advice?) This is to indicate that the only way to avoid the terrible chastisement is to take to the advice of the Qur'an. Allah has made the Qur'an easy to the extent of paying heed to the admonition and warnings. Only the most ill-fated person will not take advantage of the warnings. The forthcoming verses address the people of the time of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ that they are not more powerful in terms of wealth, number and might than the people of Prophet Lut (علیہ السلام) the tribes of ` Ad and Thamud, Prophet Lut’ s علیہ السلام people and the people of Fir'aun. Then how are they sitting in a careless manner?

(And in truth We have made the Qur'an easy to remember) easy to take admonition from, and easy to memorise and recite; (but is there any that remembers) but is there any that takes admonition from what was done to the folk of Salih and, as a result, desist from transgression? It is also said that this means: is there any that seeks knowledge such that he is helped to acquire it?

The Story of Thamud Allah states here that the people of Thamud denied their Messenger Salih, فَقَالُواْ أَبَشَراً مِّنَّا وَحِداً نَّتَّبِعُهُ إِنَّآ إِذاً لَّفِى ضَلَـلٍ وَسُعُرٍ (And they said: "A man, alone among us -- shall we follow him Truly, then we should be in error and distress!") They said, `We would have earned failure and loss if we all submitted to a man from among us.' They were amazed that the Reminder was sent to him alone among them, and therefore, accused him of being a liar, بَلْ هُوَ كَذَّابٌ أَشِرٌ (Nay, he is an insolent liar!), means, he has tresspassed the limits in his lies. Allah the Exalted responded, سَيَعْلَمُونَ غَداً مَّنِ الْكَذَّابُ الاٌّشِرُ (Tomorrow they will come to know who is the liar, the insolent one!), thus warning and threatening them and delivering a sure promise to them, إِنَّا مُرْسِلُواْ النَّاقَةِ فِتْنَةً لَّهُمْ (Verily, We are sending the she-camel as a test for them.) To test and try the people of Thamud, Allah sent to them a superb, pregnant female camel that emerged from solid rock, according to their request, so that it would become a proof against them from Allah, the Exalted. Thereafter, they were supposed to believe in what was brought to them by Salih, peace be upon him. Allah ordered His servant and Messenger Salih, فَارْتَقِبْهُمْ وَاصْطَبِرْ (So watch them, and be patient!) Allah commanded, `await, O Salih, and see what will become of them and be patient; verily the better end will be yours and you will have success in this life and the Hereafter,' وَنَبِّئْهُمْ أَنَّ الْمَآءَ قِسْمَةٌ بَيْنَهُمْ (And inform them that the water is to be shared between them) one day for her to drink and one day for them to drink, قَالَ هَـذِهِ نَاقَةٌ لَّهَا شِرْبٌ وَلَكُمْ شِرْبُ يَوْمٍ مَّعْلُومٍ (He said: "Here is a she-camel: it has a right to drink, and you have a right to drink (water) on a day, known.") (26:155) Allah's statement, كُلُّ شِرْبٍ مُّحْتَضَرٌ (each one's right to drink being established.) Mujahid said, "When she did not drink, they would drink the water, and when she drank, they would drink her milk." Allah the Exalted said; فَنَادَوْاْ صَـحِبَهُمْ فَتَعَاطَى فَعَقَرَ (But they called their comrade and he took and killed.) According to the Scholars of Tafsir, his name was Qudar bin Salif; he was the evilest among them, إِذِ انبَعَثَ أَشْقَـهَا (When the most wicked man among them went forth (to kill the she-camel).)(91:12) Allah said here, فَتَعَاطَى (and he took) meaning to harm, فَعَقَرَفَكَيْفَ كَانَ عَذَابِى وَنُذُرِ (and killed (her). Then, how was My torment and My warnings), `I tormented them, so how was the torment I sent on them because of their disbe- lief in Me and denying My Messenger' إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ صَيْحَةً وَحِدَةً فَكَانُواْ كَهَشِيمِ الْمُحْتَظِرِ (Verily, We sent against them a single Sayhah, and they became like straw Al-Muhtazir.) They all perished and none of them remained. They were no more, they died out, just as plants and grass dry and die out. As-Suddi said that they became like the dry grass in the desert when it becomes burned and the wind scatters it all about. Ibn Zayd said, "The Arabs used to erect fences (Hizar, from which the word, Al-Muhtazir, is derived) made of dried bushes, around their camels and cattle, so Allah said, كَهَشِيمِ الْمُحْتَظِرِ (like straw Al-Muhtazir.)