1 Preface اقتَرَبَتِ السّاعَةُ وَانشَقَّ القَمَرُAhmed AliTHE HOUR HAS come and split is the moon.1 Shaqqa includes ‘opposition’ in its basis meanings, which is also implied by ‘split’ in English. The moon was the emblem of the Quraish. Raghib, however, says in his Mufridat that the flag of the Arabs consisted of the moon, even as the sun was the emblem of neighbouring Iran. The Quraish being the dominant tribe of Arabia, it was their emblem that represented the Arabs as a whole. After the advent of Islam there was a split among the Quraish, some accepting Islam, others remaining pagan and opposed to it. Shaqq al-qamar, therefore, stands, in the metaphor of the Qur’an, for this split in the ranks of the Quraish. Otherwise, the meaning of Surah 106, The Quraish, would not be brought out effectively, exhorting the Quraish to become united in the worship of one God. For use of shaqqa in the sense of opposition see 4:35; 4:115; 38:2; 59:4. After the victory of Makkah the ‘split’ was healed.