وَكَذَّبوا وَاتَّبَعوا أَهواءَهُم ۚ وَكُلُّ أَمرٍ مُستَقِرٌّ

They denied, and followed their own desires, and every matter has a setting [appropriate to it].

EXEGESIS

The object of kadhdhabū (they denied) is elided purposefully to refer to every instance of their denial including denying the Prophet, revelation, miracles, and in this particular instance, the splitting of the moon. 

Ahwāʾ (desires) is the plural of hawā. Literally, hawā means to fall. Huwwa is an abyss, a bottomless pit, a chasm.^[1] Thus, used in this context, hawā represents empty desire towards anything that causes one to fall from a spiritual elevation. Ittibāʿ al-hawā (following and hankering after one’s vain desires) is used frequently in the Quran (2:120, 5:77, 6:56, 28:50, 42:15, 45:18, 53:23) and has a negative connotation in general because it implies the inclination of the soul to that in which the animal appetites take delight without considering its harms. The plural form, ahwāʾ, is used in this verse to indicate that they had many different types of desires that were causing them to deny, such as the desire for leadership, the desire for following the creed of their forefathers, jealousy, and love of their idols.[2]

The word mustaqirr (setting) is the active participle of the verb istaqarra which means to become stable or steady,[3] to come to a final destination, and to settle firmly. The form of the verb implies hyperbole and emphasis, and may denote time or place, or both. If time is meant by the verb, there should be an implied bi-ahlihi (for its people) at the end of the sentence and thus the verse would read: and every matter leads to an end for its people. The end for good people will be paradise (76:25) and for evil people will be hell (66:25).

EXPOSITION

This verse provides a fundamental reason as to why the polytheists rejected the signs of God and claimed that all the miracles shown by the Prophet were nothing more than a form of magic. The root cause for such a reaction was their responding to the call of their desires which had beautified for them their false beliefs and fake gods:[4] These are but names which you have coined – you and your fathers – for which Allah has not sent down any authority. They follow nothing but conjectures and the desires of the [lower] self, while there has already come to them the guidance from their Lord (53:23). This verse and the verse in question imply that ahwāʾ are not limited to physical animalistic desires, but also include the self-made beliefs about God and demi-gods, and regarding spirituality and worship.

The last part of the verse has been considered to be addressing the Holy Prophet and consoling him, whilst also threatening the polytheists, by informing him that every matter has an established end whereat it will become clear what is true and what is false, and it is there they can realise what was magic and what was a miracle.[5] In other words, every single matter has a stable end whereby it will be finally known whether that matter was true or false, right or wrong, and therefore the polytheists will also come to know that the Holy Prophet was always right and true. The meaning would thus be similar to 38:88: And you will surely learn its tidings in due time.[6]

Another understanding is that the nature of reality is such that the opinions of people or their denial does not change something from what it really is. At the end of the day, the truth will remain as such no matter how many people reject it or attempt to cover it (see 13:38 and 17:81).[7]

It has also been said that this could be an indication that every person will be recompensed for their deeds, the righteous will have a stable abode in paradise, and the evil will have a terrible permanent abode in hell. Alternatively, it could be an indication that no action of man will ever be destroyed. The virtuous and vicious deeds will remain with man until he sees the recompense.[8]

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Based on one reading of the verse, the last part of the verse is connected to verse 1 and therefore when read together it would be: The hour has drawn near and every matter has a setting.[9] However, this seems farfetched due to the large gap between the two phrases, and such convoluted structures do not seem to be common in the discourse of the Arabs.[10]

[1] Hans Wehr, h-w-y.
[2] Ibn Ashur, 27/168.
[3] Munyah, 27/175.
[4] Munyah, 27/186.
[5] Munyah, 27/186; Ibn Ashur, 27/169.
[6] Mizan, 19/56.
[7] Fadlallah, 21/281; Mudarrisi, 14/215.
[8] Amthal, 17/292.
[9] Zamakhshari, 4/431.
[10] Ibn Ashur, 10/34.