36:39 Yaseen (Yaseen)

{ وَالْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَاهُ مَنَازِلَ } ينزل بها، كل ليلة ينزل منها واحدة، { حَتَّى } يصغر جدا، فيعود { كَالْعُرْجُونِ الْقَدِيمِ } أي: عرجون النخلة، الذي من قدمه نش وصغر حجمه وانحنى، ثم بعد ذلك، ما زال يزيد شيئا فشيئا، حتى يتم [نوره] ويتسق ضياؤه.

ثم قال جل وعلا "والقمر قدرناه منازل" أي جعلناه يسير سيرا آخر يستدل به على مضي الشهور كما أن الشمس يعرف بها الليل والنهار كما قال عز وجل "يسألونك عن الأهلة قل هي مواقيت للناس والحج". وقال تعالى: "هو الذي جعل الشمس ضياء والقمر نورا وقدره منازل لتعلموا عدد السنين والحساب" الآية وقال تبارك وتعالى: "وجعلنا الليل والنهار آيتين فمحونا آية الليل وجعلنا آية النهار مبصرة لتبتغوا فضلا من ربكم ولتعلموا عدد السنين والحساب وكل شيء فصلناه تفصيلا" فجعل الشمس لها ضوء يخصها والقمر له نور يخصه وفاوت بين سير هذه وهذا فالشمس تطلع كل يوم وتغرب في آخره على ضوء واحد ولكن تنتقل في مطالعها ومغاربها صيفا وشتاء يطول بسبب ذلك النهار ويقصر الليل ثم يطول الليل ويقصر النهار وجعل سلطانها بالنهار فهي كوكب نهاري وأما القمر فقدره منازل يطلع في أول ليلة من الشهر ضئيلا قليل النور ثم يزداد نورا في الليلة الثانية ويرتفع منزلة ثم كلما ارتفع ازداد ضياء وإن كان مقتبسا من الشمس حتى يتكامل نوره في الليلة الرابعة عشرة ثم يشرع في النقص إلى آخر الشهر حتى يصير كالعرجون القديم. قال ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما عنهما وهو أصل العذق. وقال مجاهد العرجون القديم أي العذق اليابس يعني ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما أصل العنقود من الرطب إذا عتق ويبس وانحنى وكذا قال غيرهما ثم بعد هذا يبديه الله تعالى جديدا في أول الشهر الآخر والعرب تسمي كل ثلاث ليال من الشهر باسم باعتبار القمر فيسمون الثلاث الأول غرر واللواتي بعدها نقل واللواتي بعدها تسع لأن أخراهن التاسعة واللواتي بعدها عشر لأن أولاهن العاشرة واللواتي بعدها البيض لأن ضوء القمر فيهن إلى آخرهن واللواتي بعدهن درع جمع درعاء لأن أولهن أسود لتأخر القمر في أولهن منه ومنه الشاة الدرعاء وهي التي رأسها أسود وبعدهن ثلاث ظلم ثم ثلاث حنادس وثلاث دآدي وثلاث محاق لانمحاق القمر أو الشهر فيهن وكان أبو عبيدة رضي الله عنه ينكر التسع والعشر. كذا قال في كتاب غريب المصنف.

Among the Signs of the Might and Power of Allah are the Night and Day, and the Sun and Moon

يُغْشِى الَّيْلَ النَّهَارَ يَطْلُبُهُ حَثِيثًا

(He brings the night as a cover over the day, seeking it rapidly) (7:54). Allah says here:

وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الَّيْلُ نَسْلَخُ مِنْهُ النَّهَارَ

(And a sign for them is the night. We withdraw therefrom the day,) meaning, `We take it away from it, so it goes away and the night comes.' Allah says:

فَإِذَا هُم مُّظْلِمُونَ

(and behold, they are in darkness.) As it says in the Hadith:

«إِذَا أَقْبَلَ اللَّيْلُ مِنْ ههُنَا، وَأَدْبَرَ النَّهَارُ مِنْ ههُنَا، وَغَرَبَتِ الشَّمْسُ، فَقَدْ أَفْطَرَ الصَّائِم»

(When the night comes from here, and the day departs from here, and the sun has set, then the fasting person should break his fast.) This is the apparent meaning of the Ayah. Allah's saying:

وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

(And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed). That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing) There are two views over the meaning of the phrase

لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا

(on its fixed course for a term (appointed). ) (The first view) is that it refers to its fixed course of location, which is beneath the Throne, beyond the earth in that direction. Wherever it goes, it is beneath the Throne, it and all of creation, because the Throne is the roof of creation and it is not a sphere as many astronomers claim. Rather it is a dome supported by legs or pillars, carried by the angels, and it is above the universe, above the heads of people. When the sun is at its zenith at noon, it is in its closest position to Throne, and when it runs in its fourth orbit at the opposite point to its zenith, at midnight, it is in its furthest position from the Throne. At that point it prostrates and asks for permission to rise, as mentioned in the Hadiths. Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I was with the Prophet in the Masjid at sunset, and he said: :

«يَا أَبَا ذَرَ، أَتَدْرِي أَيْنَ تَغْرُبُ الشَّمْسُ؟»

(O Abu Dharr! Do you know where the sun sets) I said, `Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said:

«فَإِنَّهَا تَذْهَبُ حَتْى تَسْجُدَ تَحْتَ الْعَرْشِ، فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى:

وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ »

(It goes and prostrates beneath the Throne, and that is what Allah says: (And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.))" It was also reported that Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the Ayah:

وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا

(And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term. ) He said:

«مُسْتَقَرُّهَا تَحْتَ الْعَرْش»

(Its fixed course is beneath the Throne.)" (The second view) is that this refers to when the sun's appointed time comes to an end, which will be on the Day of Resurrection, when its fixed course will be abolished, it will come to a halt and it will be rolled up. This world will come to an end, and that will be the end of its appointed time. This is the fixed course of its time. Qatadah said:

لِمُسْتَقَرٍّ لَّهَـا

(on its fixed course for a term (appointed).) means, "It has an appointed time and it will not go beyond that." It was also said that this means, it keeps moving in its summer orbit for a certain time, and it does not exceed that, then it moves to its winter orbit for a certain time, and it does not exceed that. This was narrated from `Abdullah bin `Amr, may Allah be pleased with him. Ibn Mas`ud and Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, recited this Ayah as: (وَالشَّمْسُ تَجْرِي لَامُسْتَقَرَّ لَهَا) (And the sun runs with no fixed course for a term,) meaning that it has no destination and it does not settle in one place, rather it keeps moving night and day, never slowing down or stopping, as in the Ayah:

وَسَخَّر لَكُمُ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ دَآئِبَينَ

(And He has made the sun and the moon, both constantly pursuing their courses, to be of service to you) (14:33). which means, they will never slow down or stop, until the Day of Resurrection.

ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ

(That is the decree of the Almighty, ) means, which none can oppose or prevent.

الْعَلِيمُ

(the All-Knowing.) Who knows every movement and every cessation of movement, Who has decreed that and Who has set it in motion following a pattern in which there are no differences or inversions, as Allah says:

فَالِقُ الإِصْبَاحِ وَجَعَلَ الَّيْلَ سَكَناً وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ حُسْبَاناً ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

((He is the) Cleaver of the daybreak. He has appointed the night for resting, and the sun and the moon for reckoning. Such is the measuring of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.) (6:96) And this is how this Ayah ends:

ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

(That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.) Then Allah says:

وَالْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَـهُ مَنَازِلَ

(And the moon, We have decreed for it stages,) meaning, `We have caused it to run in a different orbit, from which passing of the months can be deduced, just as night and day are known from the sun.' This is like the Ayah:

يَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ

(They ask you about the crescent moons. Say: "These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage (Hajj). ") (2:189),

هُوَ الَّذِى جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَآءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُوراً وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ

(It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and measured out for it stages that you might know the number of years and the reckoning) (10:5), and

وَجَعَلْنَا الَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ ءَايَتَيْنِ فَمَحَوْنَآ ءَايَةَ الَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَآ ءَايَةَ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةً لِتَبْتَغُواْ فَضْلاً مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَلِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍ فَصَّلْنَاهُ تَفْصِيلاً

(And We have appointed the night and the day as two Ayat (signs). Then, We have obliterated the sign of the night while We have made the sign of the day illuminating, that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the number of the years and the reckoning. And We have explained everything with full explanation.) (17:12) So, He has given the sun its own light, and the moon its (reflection of) light, and has given each its own orbit. So the sun rises each day and sets at the end of the day, giving one kind of light all the time, but it moves, rising and setting at different points in the summer and winter, thus making the days and nights longer or shorter alternatively according to the season. Its authority is in the daytime, for it is the heavenly body that dominates the day. As for the moon, Allah has decreed that it should pass through different phases. At the beginning of the month, the moon appears small when it rises. It gives off little light, then on the second night its light increases and it rises to a higher position, and the higher it rises the more light it gives -- even though it is reflected from the sun -- until it becomes full on the fourteenth night of the month. Then it starts to wane until the end of the month, until it appears like the old dried curved date stalk. Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "This is the original stem (which connects the bunch of dates to the tree)." The Arabs have a name for each set of three nights in a month, according to the phases of the moon. They call the first three nights Ghurar; the next three nights Nufal; the next three nights Tusa` (nine) -- because the last of them is the ninth. The next three nights are called `Ushar (ten) -- because the first of them is the tenth. The next three nights are called Al-Bid (white) -- because of the light of the moon which shines brightly throughout these three nights. The next three nights are called Dura`, the plural of Dar`a', because on the first of them the night is dark from the moon rising late. Dar`a' refers to the black sheep, i.e., the one whose head is black; the next three nights Zulam; then Hanadis, then Da'adi; then Mihaq, because of the absence of moonlight at the beginning of the month. Abu `Ubayd did not recognize the names Tusa` and `Ushar, in the book Gharib Al-Musannaf.

لاَ الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تدْرِكَ القَمَرَ

(It is not for the sun to overtake the moon,) Mujahid said, "Each of them has a limit which it does not transgress or fall short of. When the time of one comes, the other goes away, and when the time for one to prevail comes, the time of the other ceases." `Ikrimah said concerning the Ayah,

لاَ الشَّمْسُ يَنبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تدْرِكَ القَمَرَ

(It is not for the sun to overtake the moon,) this means that each of them has its time when it prevails. So it is not appropriate for the sun to rise at night.

وَلاَ الَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ

(nor does the night outstrip the day.) means, after night has passed, it is not right for another night to come until it has been day. The authority of the sun is during the day and the authority of the moon is at night. Ad-Dahhak said, "The night does not depart from here until the day comes from here -- and he pointed to the east." Mujahid said:

وَلاَ الَّيْلُ سَابِقُ النَّهَارِ

(nor does the night outstrip the day.) "They seek one another rapidly." The meaning is that there is no gap between night and day; each of them follows the other with no interval, because they have been subjugated and are both constantly pursuing one another.

وَكُلٌّ فِى فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ

(They all float, each in an orbit.) means, night and day, the sun and the moon, all of them are floating, i.e., revolving, in their orbits in the heaven. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and `Ata' Al-Khurasani. Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others among the Salaf said, "In an orbit like the arc of a spinning wheel."

And the moon — read wa’l-qamaru in the nominative or wa’l-qamara in the accusative; and it may be in the accusative because of a following verb that governs it We have determined it with respect to its course to run in phases — twenty eight phases in twenty eight nights of every month; it becomes concealed for two nights when the month has thirty days and for one night when it has twenty nine days — until it returns during its final phase seeming to the human eye like an aged palm-bough in other words like the stalk with a date cluster when it ages becoming delicate arched and yellowish.

The text now turns to: وَالْقَمَرَ‌ قَدَّرْ‌نَاهُ مَنَازِلَ حَتَّىٰ عَادَ كَالْعُرْ‌جُونِ الْقَدِيمِ (And for the moon, We have appointed measured phases, until it turned [ pale, curved and fine ] like an old branch of date-palm.- 36:39). The dried bough of a date tree that gets bent like a bow is called: عُرْ‌جُونِ (` urjun).

The stages of the moon

The word: مَنَازِلَ (manazil) is the plural of: مَنزِل (manzil) and denotes the place one arrives at. Allah Ta` la has bound the movement of the sun and the moon both with particular points, each of which is known as a Manzil or stage. Since the moon completes its orbit in one month, therefore, it has thirty or twenty-nine stages. But, as the moon disappears at least for a day during every month, therefore, its stages are generally taken to be twenty-eight. Astronomers have given these stages particular names in congruence with the stars that are found in the frontal proximity of these stages. Even during the days of Arabs of Jahiliyyah, stages were determined by these very names. The Holy Qur'an is far above these technical names. What it means to communicate are only the distances the moon traverses during particular days.

Relevant details have appeared in the commentary on Surah Yunus. It can be seen in Ma’ ariful-Qur'an, English, Volume IV, pages: 515-520. In this verse of Surah Yunus 10:5, the stages of the sun and the moon both have been mentioned: جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاءً وَالْقَمَرَ‌ نُورً‌ا وَقَدَّرَ‌هُ مَنَازِلَ "[ He is the One who ] has made the sun a glow and the moon a light, and determined for it the stages - 10:5". The only difference is that the stages of the moon are identified through observation, while the stages of the sun are calculated mathematically. By saying: حَتَّىٰ عَادَ كَالْعُرْ‌جُونِ الْقَدِيمِ - (until it turned [ pale, curved and fine ] like an old branch of date-palm.- 36:39), described there is the state of the moon towards the end of the month when it recedes from the stage of the full moon to the extent that it transforms into the shape of a dried old bough bent like a bow. It is in consonance with the Arab surrounding that it has been likened to a dried bough of the date tree that assumes the shape of a crescent.

And the moon, We have determined way stations for it, till it returns like the old palm branch. It has been said that the wisdom in the waxing and waning of the moon is that at the beginning of creation, the moon's light was in perfection. It gazed upon itself and self-admiration appeared in it. The Exalted Lord commanded Gabriel to strike the moon's face with his wing, and that took away the light. Ibn ʿAbbās said, “The lines you see on the face of the moon are the mark of Gabriel's wing.” He took away the light, but the imprint stayed in place. It is the imprint of the words of tawḤīd written on the moon's forehead: “There is no god but God; MuḤammad is God's messenger.” When the light was taken from the moon, it was prevented from serving at the Threshold. The moon asked for help from the angels so that they would intercede for it. They said, “Lord God, the moon has become accustomed to serving at the Exalted Threshold. Is there no way for You not to deprive it totally?” The Exalted Lord accepted their intercession and commanded it to prostrate itself once a month on the fourteenth night. Now every night when it comes up and the time of service comes closer, its light increases, until the fourteenth night, the time of prostration, and its light reaches perfection. Then when the fourteenth passes, every night its light diminishes because it is becom- ing farther from the carpet of service. It has also been said, “What is similar to the sun is a servant who is forever in the radiance of recognition. He is the possessor of stability, not undergoing variegation. The sun of his recogni- tion constantly shines from the mansions of his felicity. It is not taken by eclipse, nor curtained by clouds. “What is similar to the moon is a servant whose states are constantly undergoing transition. He is the possessor of variegation. He has an expansion that lifts him up to the boundary of union, and then he is pushed back into lassitude and falls into contraction in the limpidness of his state. Thus he diminishes and returns to deficiency in his affair, until his heart is lifted up from his pres- ent moment. Then the Real is munificent toward him and gives him the success to return from his lassitude, bringing him back from his intoxicatedness. His state continues becoming more limpid until he is near to union and he climbs up to the peak of perfection.” At that point he says with the tongue of his state, “In Your love I descended to a station whose descendedness bewilders the mind.”