Surah Al-Qamar belongs to the Mufassal by which the Prophet ﷺ was favoured over the other prophets. He ﷺ recited it with Surah Qaf in the prayers of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, as narrated by Muslim, and paired it with Al-Haqqah in one rak’ah of the night prayer, according to Ibn Mas’ud. It recalls the blessing of a Qur’an made easy, with its signs and warnings.
It belongs to the Mufassal, given to the Prophet ﷺ as an extra gift by which he was favoured over the other prophets, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’: “… and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
The Prophet ﷺ used to recite Qaf and Iqtarabat as-Sa’ah in the prayers of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Scholars explain that both speak of the resurrection, past generations and the destruction of the deniers, and that people coming out for Eid resemble their coming out for the resurrection.
Authentic (sahih)Muslim (891), Abu Dawud (1154) and At-Tirmidhi (534)
Ibn Mas’ud reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to recite the similar surahs two per rak’ah, including Iqtarabat and Al-Haqqah in a single rak’ah.
Authentic (sahih)Al-Bukhari (775), Muslim (822) and Abu Dawud (1396)
Its main purpose is to recall the blessing of a Qur’an made easy, with its signs and warnings that call for reflection.
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
ما كان يقرأ به رسول الله ﷺ في الأضحى والفطر؟ فقال: كان يقرأ فيهما بـ ﴿ق وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ﴾ و ﴿اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانْشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ﴾
Umar ibn al-Khattab asked him: “What did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recite at Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr?” He said: “He used to recite in them ‘Qaf. By the glorious Qur’an’ and ‘The Hour has drawn near and the moon has split’.”
لكن النبي ﷺ كان يقرأ النظائر السورتين في ركعة، (الرحمن والنجم) في ركعة (اقتربت والحاقة) في ركعة، …
But the Prophet ﷺ used to recite the similar surahs (an-naza’ir), two surahs in a rak’ah: Ar-Rahman and An-Najm in one rak’ah, Iqtarabat (Al-Qamar) and Al-Haqqah in one rak’ah…
Main purpose: To recall the blessing of a Qur’an made easy, with its signs and warnings.
Al-Qamar is the fifty-fourth surah in the order of the Qur’an, revealed after At-Tariq and before Sad, most likely in the early years of the mission, around five years before the Hijrah according to some. In the Sahih, Aishah reports that the verse “Rather, the Hour is their appointment, and the Hour is more calamitous and more bitter” was revealed in Mecca when she was a young girl at play. It is also called “Iqtarabat as-Sa’ah” or “Iqtarabat”. It has fifty-five verses and is entirely Meccan according to the correct view.
Tafsir of Surah Al-Qamar Listen to Al-Qamar by other reciters
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
