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muhṭiʿīna ʾilā d-dāʿi yaqūlu l-kāfirūna hādhā yawmun ʿasirun
scrambling toward the summoner. The faithless will say, ‘This is a hard day!’
— Ali Quli Qarai
54Al-QamarالقمرVerse 8 of 55
The Moon
scrambling toward the summoner. The faithless will say, ‘This is a hard day!’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Qamar - Verses 7-8
7. They will come forth with humbled eyes from graves as if they were locusts scattered,
8. Hastening with erect necks towards the Caller. The disbelievers will say: "This is a hard Day."
The Arabic word ajdath is the plural form of jadath ("grave, tomb"). Humbling of eyes is a token of intensity of fear or shamefulness leading to humbleness. The similitude of sinners on the Day of Resurrection to scattered locusts reflects their perplexity and astonishment upon coming out of graves hastening hither and thither out of witnessing the torment on that Day. The blessed Verse 8 is saying that when they leave their graves upon the Call, they protrude their necks toward Calling angels out of the intensity of fear. The Arabic word muhti‘in derives from h-t-‘ ("protrude one's neck").
Some exegetes interpret the word in the sense of gazing or hastening. Both senses are possible in the interpretation of the blessed Verse, though the former sense is seemingly more appropriate herein, since when a horrible sound is heard, man immediately protrudes his neck and then turns toward the source of the sound. It is worthy of note that the contextual meaning of the blessed Verse in question may refer to all these senses. Thus, upon hearing the Divine Caller, they protrude their necks toward the source of the sound, then gaze at it, and later on hasten toward it and make their presence at Divine Tribunal. Then, the horror of the hard incidents of that Day encompasses them all.
Thus, the blessed Verse proceeds to add that disbelievers say that that today is a hard and excruciating. It is a hard day since all the things cause fear in sinners. May God Almighty bestow His Mercy upon His servants. On that Day, there shall be neither fear nor grief for believers.