HKB
ENTITLED, THE MOON; REVEALED AT MECCA.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL GOD.
THE hour of judgment approacheth; and the moon hath been split in sunder:d
z This passage, it is said, was revealed on account of al Walid Ebn al Mogheira, who, following the prophet one day, was reviled by an idolater for leaving the religion of the Koreish, and giving occasion of scandal; to which he answered, that what he did was out of apprehension of the divine vengeance: whereupon the man offered, for a certain sum, to take the guilt of his apostacy on himself; and the bargain being made, al Walid returned to his idolatry, and paid the man part of what had been agreed on; but afterwards, on farther consideration, he thought it too much, and kept back the remainder.6 a That is, is he assured that the person with whom he made the above- mentioned agreement will be allowed to suffer in his stead hereafter?7 b Sirius, or the greater dog-star, was worshipped by some of the old Arabs.1 c viz., Sodom, and the other cities involved in her ruin. See chapter 11, p. 166. d This passage is expounded two different ways. Some imagine the words refer to a famous miracle supposed to have been performed by Mohammed; for it is said that, on the infidels demanding a sign of him, the moon appeared cloven in two,1 one part vanishing, and the other remaining; and Ebn Masúd affirmed that he saw Mount Harâ interpose between the two sections. Others think the preter tense is here used in the prophetic style for the future, and that the passage should be rendered, The moon shall be split in sunder: for this, they say, is to happen at the resurrection. The former opinion is supported by reading, according to some copies, wakad inshakka 'lkamaro, i.e., since the moon hath already been split in sunder; the splitting of the moon being reckoned by some to be one of the previous signs of the last day.2
6 Al Beidâwi. 7 Idem. 1 See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. I. p. 13, and Hyde, not. in Ulug. Beig. Tab. Stell. fix. p. 53. 1 See a long and fabulous account of this pretended miracle in Gagnier, Vie de Mah. c. 19 2 Al Zamakh., al Beidâwi.