While the crescent moon might not be an official symbol of Islam, as we explained yesterday, however, the moon was certainly used by Almighty Allah as a proof of His greatness and the truth of the prophet hood of His Final Prophet, Muhammed ﷺ.

This is in reference to the amazing incident of the Splitting of the Moon.

Allah speaks of it in the Holy Quraan:

ٱقْتَرَبَتِ ٱلسَّاعَةُ وَٱنشَقَّ ٱلْقَمَرُ

The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split.

وَإِن يَرَوْا۟ ءَايَةً يُعْرِضُوا۟ وَيَقُولُوا۟ سِحْرٌ مُّسْتَمِرٌّ

Yet when they see a sign, the unbelievers turn their backs and say: “This is an ingenious magic.”

وَكَذَّبُوا۟ وَٱتَّبَعُوٓا۟ أَهْوَآءَهُمْ ۚ وَكُلُّ أَمْرٍ مُّسْتَقِرٌّ

They rejected ˹the truth˺ and followed their own desires — and every matter will be settled — [al Qamr54: 1 – 3]

The moon split in two was one of the many miracles attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. By Allah’s permission, this miracle was performed during a night of the full moon in Makkah when the Prophet ﷺ was challenged by the disbelievers to prove his prophet hood.

How did the miracle of the moon splitting occur?

The miracle of the splitting of the moon occurred before the migration to Madinah, and was done upon the demands of the polytheists with the permission of Allah and it was shown by the prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) as narrated by many of his companions.

The Quraysh polytheists said to the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ):

“If you truly are a Prophet that has been appointed by Allah, then split the moon in half. Let it be in such a way that one half will appear over the Mount Abu Qubais and the other half will be seen over Mount Quayqian.”

The prophet Muhammad ﷺ asked:

“If I do it, will you become Muslims?”

The polytheists answered:

“Yes, we will.”

Narrated Anas bin Malik RA:

أَنَّ أَهْلَ، مَكَّةَ سَأَلُوا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنْ يُرِيَهُمْ آيَةً، فَأَرَاهُمُ الْقَمَرَ شِقَّتَيْنِ، حَتَّى رَأَوْا حِرَاءً بَيْنَهُمَا

The people of Makkah asked Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) to show them a miracle. So, he showed them the moon split in two halves between which they saw the Hira’ mountain. [Bukhari 3868]

Narrated Ibn Masud RA:

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ انْشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم شِقَّتَيْنِ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم  اشْهَدُوا ‏

During the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) the moon was split into two parts; one part remained over the mountain, and the other part went beyond the mountain. On that, Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Witness this miracle.” [Bukhari 3636]

However, the polytheists said “Muhammad cast a spell on us!”

Narrated Muhammad bin Jubair bin Mut’im R from his father who said:

عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرِ بْنِ مُطْعِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ انْشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ عَلَى عَهْدِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم حَتَّى صَارَ فِرْقَتَيْنِ عَلَى هَذَا الْجَبَلِ وَعَلَى هَذَا الْجَبَلِ فَقَالُوا سَحَرَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لَئِنْ كَانَ سَحَرَنَا مَا يَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ يَسْحَرَ النَّاسَ كُلَّهُمْ

“The moon was split during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) until it became as two sections, one above this mountain and one above that mountain. So, they said: ‘Muhammad has cast a spell upon us.’ Some of them said: ‘If he could cast a spell upon us, he cannot cast a spell upon all of the people.’” [At-Tirmidhi 3289]

They asked the people who came from every everywhere.

“Yes! We also did see the moon in that state! We saw the moon as split! They informed that the moon was split. [Bayhaqi]

So, the moon is not only a means of light, and of calculating months and years, but also it was used by Allah to manifest one of the great miracles of Nabi ﷺ.