يَوْمَ يُسْحَبُونَ فِى ٱلنَّارِ عَلَىٰ وُجُوهِهِمْ ذُوقُوا۟ مَسَّ سَقَرَ
The Day they are dragged into the Fire on their faces [it will be said], "Taste the touch of Saqar."
Introduction
This is āyah 48 of Sūrat Al-Qamar (The Moon), the 37th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 27. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 37 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Qamar (54)
(Lo! the guilty are in error and madness� Lo! We have created every thing by measure) [54:47-49]. Abu�l-Qasim �Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Sarraj informed us (by dictation)> Abu Muhammad �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Musa al-Ka�bi> Hamdan ibn Salih al-Ashajj> �Abd Allah ibn �Abd al-�Aziz ibn Abi Rawwad> Sufyan al-Thawri> Ziyad ibn Isma�il al-Makhzumi> Muhammad ibn �Abbad ibn Ja�far> Abu Hurayrah who said: �The Quraysh came to dispute the question of Destiny. Allah, exalted is He, therefore revealed (Lo! the guilty are in error and madness� Lo! We have created every thing by measure)�. This was narrated by Muslim from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah> Waki�> Sufyan. By Allah, I bear witness that Abu�l-Harith Muhammad ibn �Abd al-Rahim al-Hafiz informed us in Jurjan; he said: �By Allah, I bear witness that Abu Nu�aym Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Bazzaz informed us; he said: �By Allah, I bear witness that I heard �Ali ibn Jandal saying: �By Allah, I bear witness that I heard Abu�l-Hasan Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ubayy in Khurasan say: �By Allah, I bear witness that I heard �Abd Allah ibn al-Saqr al-Hafiz say: �By Allah, I bear witness that I heard �Ufayr ibn Ma�dan say: �by Allah, I bear witness that I heard Salim ibn �Amir say: �By Allah, I bear witness that I heard Abu Umamah al-Bahili say: �By Allah, I bear witness that I heard the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, say: �This verse was revealed about the deniers of Destiny (al-Qadariyyah): (Lo! the guilty are in error and madness� Lo! We have created every thing by measure). Abu Bakr ibn al-Harith related to us> �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Asfahani> Jarir ibn Harun> �Ali al-Tanafisi> �Ubayd Allah ibn Musa> Bahr al-Saqa�> A Shaykh from Quraysh> �Ata� who said: �The bishop of Najran came to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: �O Muhammad, you claim that sins are created by measure and that the seas and heaven are also created by measure. If it is true that the seas and heaven are created by measure, sins nevertheless cannot be�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �You are Allah�s adversaries!� And then Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Lo! the guilty are in error and madness) up to His words (Lo! We have created every thing by measure)�.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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