This paper examines two astronomical happenings of Late Antiquity in connection to the early Meccan Qur’an. It suggests that they indeed relate, the first in contributing to an atmosphere of eschatological expectation that likely served as background to the earliest revelations, and the second in providing a clear sign that the Hour was nigh. The first cosmic event of significance was the passage of Halley’s comet in March–April 607. This was the second closest approach to Earth in recorded history, and it likely produced widespread anxiety and dread. It will be remembered that philosophers since Aristotle modeled a stable and ordered universe, with no mixing between sublunary and celestial spheres. Their conception would strain, it seems, to account for a large blaze with a tail dramatically close to Earth, traveling across the sky for over five weeks. The same comet was described, for example, after its 218 CE passage by the Roman historian Don Cassius as “a very fearful star.” Monotheists, on the other hand, believing that the cosmos had a fixed duration, likely interpreted the phenomenon as presaging the eschaton (cf. Matt. 24:29: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken”). Note that comets were frequently viewed by premodern Christians as heralds of Judgment. Combined with the political upheaval then being witnessed, that is, the press of Sasanian forces into Byzantium and the very real threat to Jerusalem, the passage probably raised apocalyptic expectations. It would thus seem apropos to recall Halley when considering the Qur’an’s early eschatological suras. The second event of significance is the partial lunar eclipse of 1 January 614: centered over Libya, 77 degrees in elevation, and lasting roughly from midnight until 3:00 am. It probably was visible over the mountains surrounding Mecca. Moreover, the time corresponds roughly with that of vigils (cf. Q 73:1–4). The paper argues that this may well be the splitting of the moon alluded to Q 54:1. Consider too that Unbelievers speak of “continuous sorcery” in 54:2, unlike other references to sorcery in the Qur’an. In sum, the paper argues that recalling two contemporary astronomical events helps us to understand better the scripture’s context and its early apocalyptic message.