The following is excerpted and adapted from IGI’s Miracles of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, an extract from the Shifa’ of Qadi ‘Iyad.
The Splitting of the Moon
“The Hour has drawn near, and the Moon was split in two. Yet, when- ever they see a sign, they turn away, saying, ‘Same old magic.’” (54:1-2)
Allah Exalted informs us of the splitting of the Moon in the past tense, and describes how the disbelievers turned away from His signs. Commentators and people of the Sunnah unanimously agree that this miracle took place.
Al-Ḥusayn ibn Muhammad al-Ḥāfiẓ reports in his book: Siraj ibn ‘Abdullah narrated, from al-Asiti, from al-Marwaziyy, from al-Farabi, from Bukhari, from Musaddad, from Yahya, from Shu’bah, and Sufyan, from al-A’mash, from Ibrahim, from Abu Ma’mar, from Ibn Mas’ud رضي الله عنه who said:
“The Moon was split at the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ into two parts: one part was above the mountains, and the other part was below them. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Witness!’” (Bukhari 4864) (Muslim 2800)
The narration of Mujāhid includes:
“...and we were with the Prophet ﷺ.” (Bukhari 4865)
Some of the reports from al-A’mash add:
“[...and we were] in Mina.” (Bukhari 3869) (Muslim 44/2800)
In the hadith of al-Aswad, on the authority of Ibn Mas ̔ūd, the wording includes:
“Until I saw the mountains between the two halves of the Moon.”
Allah Exalted informs us of the splitting of the Moon in the past tense, and describes how the disbelievers turned away from His signs. Commentators and people of the Sunnah unanimously agree that this miracle took place.
According to the narration of Masruq, it happened in Makkah, and he added:
“The disbelievers of Quraysh said: ‘The son of Abu Kabshah has enchanted you with magic.’ Then one of them said: ‘If Muhammad has enchanted the Moon in this way, then surely his magic would not have bewitched the whole world. Ask those who arrive from other lands if they saw it.’ So people came and they questioned them, and they confirmed that they had seen it take place.”
Al-Samarqandi relates a similar narration from al-Dahhak:
“Abu Jahl said: ‘This is magic. Send people to the remote areas to see if they witnessed it or not.’ The people living in the remote areas confirmed that they had seen the Moon splitting. The disbelievers simply said: ‘This is continuous magic.’”
It was also reported by ‘Alqamah, again from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud. It was also narrated by Anas (Bukhari 3637) (Muslim 2802) Ibn ‘Abbas (Bukhari 3638) (Muslim 2803), Ibn ‘Umar (Muslim 2801), Hudhayfah, ‘Ali, and Jubayr ibn Mut’im (Tirmidhi 3289).
‘Ali said, in the narration from Hudhayfah al-Arhabi:
IGP’s translation of Imam Yusuf al-Nabhani’s collection of hadith on Prophetic miracles has been published as Miracles Manifest: Forty Hadith on the Miracles of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
“The Moon split whilst we were with the Prophet ﷺ.”
Anas said:
“The people of Makkah asked the Prophet ﷺ to show them a sign. So he showed them the splitting of the Moon into two parts, until they could see Hira’ in between.”
Qatadah also related this from Anas.
In the narration of Ma’mar, and others, from Qatadah:
“He showed the splitting of the Moon and Allah Exalted revealed:
‘The Hour has drawn near and the Moon was split in two.’” (54:1)
It was also related from Jubayr ibn Mut’im, his son Muhammad, and his grandson Jubayr ibn Muhammad, and it was narrated by ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utbah, from Ibn ‘Abbas. Mujahid relates it from from Ibn ‘Umar, and Hudhayfah relates it from ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamiyy, and Muslim ibn Abi ‘Imran al-Azdi.
Most of these hadiths have the most authentic chains of narration, and the Qur’anic verse clarifies [that this miracle took place]. One should not turn their attention to the objections of those who had become disheartened; the ones who suggested that if this miracle had indeed taken place, then it would not have been concealed from anyone in the world. It has not been transmitted to us from other communities that they spotted the splitting of the Moon on that night, although even if it had been transmitted from people who were known liars it would not have been a proof for us.
Regardless, the Moon does not have the same appearance for every community in the world at any given time. It could rise for one people before it rises for another. It could take the opposite appearance from one side of the Earth to the other. Or, it could be obscured from a people by clouds or mountains. Similarly, you find eclipses of the Moon that were witnessed in some lands and not in others, and as partial eclipses in some places and full eclipses in others. In some areas, only those who claim to have knowledge recognize these eclipses.
“That is the design of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.” (36:38)
The miracle of the Moon took place at night. The custom of people at night is for quietness and tranquility, and to stay at home and lock their doors. People do not notice much happening in the sky at night, except for those who specifically pay attention to it.
The miracle of the Moon took place at night. The custom of people at night is for quietness and tranquility, and to stay at home and lock their doors. People do not notice much happening in the sky at night, except for those who specifically pay attention to it. For example, although there are many eclipses of the Moon, most people do not know about them until they are informed by others. There are many reliable reports of majestic stars and lights rising in the sky at night, yet most of us have never heard of these miraculous events.
The Holding Back of the Sun for the Prophet ﷺ
Al-Tahawi reported from Asma’ bint ‘Umays, in an obscure hadith, that the Prophet ﷺ was resting his head on ‘Ali’s lap and began to receive revelation, until the Sun had set and the time for the ‘asr (mid-afternoon) prayer had passed.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“‘Ali! Did I pray?”
He replied:
“No.”
Then, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Allah! If it is in obedience to You, and obedience to Your Messenger, then return the Sun upon me.”
Asmā’ said:
“I saw the Sun set, and then I saw it rise after it had set, and it stopped between the mountains and the Earth. This happened at al-Ṣahbā’, in Khaybar.”
Al-Tahawi noted that Ahmad ibn Salih used to say:
“The one seeking knowledge should memorize the hadith of Asmā’ because it contains signs of the Prophethood.”
Yunus ibn Bukayr narrated from Ibn Ishaq:
“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went on the Night Journey, and informed his people of an approaching caravan and its company as a sign to them, they asked: ‘When will it arrive?’
“The Prophet ﷺ replied: ‘Thursday.’
“When the day arrived, the Quraysh began looking out for it, until the whole day had passed and the caravan still had not arrived. The Prophet ﷺ prayed to Allah: ‘Increase the day by an hour,’ and the Sun was held back.”
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This article is excerpted from IGI’s Miracles of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, an extract from the Shifa’ of Qadi ‘Iyad.