Tafsir Zone - Surah 54: al-Qamar (The Moon )

Tafsir Zone

Surah al-Qamar 54:18
 

Overview (Verses 18 - 22)

The 'Ad and the Stormwind

The people of 'Ad also rejected the truth. How grievous was My punishment and how true were My warnings? We sent against them a howling, cold wind on a day of unceasing misfortune: it swept people away as though they were uprooted palm trunks. How grievous was My punishment and how true were My warnings? We have made the Qur'an easy to bear in mind: will anyone take heed? (Verses 18-22)

This is the second scene of powerful punishment that befell a whole community of unbelievers. It begins by reporting that the 'Ad rejected the truth, but before any details are given, the surah adds the question intended to magnify the severity of the punishment meted out: "How grievous was My punishment and how true were My warnings?" (Verse 18) The answer is immediately given by the surah: "We sent against them a howling, cold wind on a day of unceasing misfortune: it swept people away as though they were uprooted palm trunks." (Verses 19-20) The Arabic description of the wind, sarsar, gives by its very sound a feeling of that wind which carries unceasing misfortune. Probably no misfortune could be worse than that which happened to the `Ad. The wind lifted the people and smashed them, leaving them like uprooted palm trunks.

The scene is violent and fearful; the stormwind sent against the 'Ad was one of God's forces. It is a natural phenomenon God has placed in the universe. It operates according to the universal system He has chosen. He sends it against whomever He wishes. It continues to operate within natural laws, where there is no conflict between its normal operation in the planned order of things and its fulfilment of God's orders whatever they happen to be. It is He who set this natural law and issued the command. "How grievous was My punishment and how true were My warnings." (Verse 21) This statement is now repeated after the scene has been shown providing the answer. The episode concludes with the other comment repeated throughout the surah according to its own flow: "We have made the Qur'an easy to bear in mind.- will anyone take heed?" (Verse 22)