39وَالقَمَرَ قَدَّرناهُ مَنازِلَ حَتّىٰ عادَ كَالعُرجونِ القَديمِMuhammad Asadand [in] the moon, for which We have determined phases [which it must traverse] till it becomes like an old date-stalk, dried-up and curved:1This is, in a condensed form, the meaning of the noun 'urjan - the raceme of the date-palm, which, when old and dry, becomes slender and curves like a crescent (cf. Lane V, 1997).