Ibn Kathir
He said (Ibn Kathir), the most miraculous of all is the splitting of the moon. Allah The
Allah Exalted says:
“The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder (the people of Mecca requested the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) to show them a miracle so he showed them the splitting of the moon). And if they see a sign, they turn away and say:
‘This is continuous magic’. They belied the verses of Allah – this (Qur’an) and followed their own lusts. And every matter will be settled (according to the kind of deeds:
goods deeds will take their doers to Paradise, and similarly evil deeds will take their doers to Hell). And indeed there has come to them news (in this Qur’an) where in there is (enough warning) to check (them from evil), perfect wisdom (this Qur’an), but (the preaching of) warners benefit them not.’” (Suratul Al-Qama)
All the scholars have agreed upon that the cleavage of the moon occurred during the time of
the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). There are many Prophetic traditions that support and substantiate that for
example.
The version of Anas Ibn Malik:
Imam Ahmad relates that Anas said:
The people of Mecca asked the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) to show them a miracle, so he split the moon into two. Allah The Exalted says:
“The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder (the people of Mecca
requested the Prophet Muhammad SAW to show them a miracle so he showed them the
splitting of the moon)
Imam Al-Bukhari relates that Anas Ibn Malik said:
The people of Mecca asked the Messenger of Allah to show them a miracle, he therefore cleft the moon, the two pieces were seen on the opposite sides of Mount Hira.
The Version of Abdullahi Ibn Abbas:
Imam Al-Bukhari relates that, Abdullahi Ibn Abbas said:
The cleavage of the moon occurred during the time of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
The Version of Abdullahi Ibn Umar Ibn Khattab:
Abdullahi Ibn Umar said: Allah The Exalted says:
“The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been cleft asunder (the people of Mecca requested the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) to show them a miracle so he showed them the splitting of the moon). ”
This occurred during the time of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.), the moon split into two, a piece in front of the mountain and another behind it then the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) said:
“O Lord bear witness ”.
The Version of Abdullahi Ibn Mas’ood:
Imam Ahmad relates that Ibn Mas’ood said: The moon split into two during the time of
the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) while we were watching, then Prophet (P.B.U.H.) said, “Bear witness ”
And Ibn Jarir narrated that, Ibn Sirin said: I was told that Ibn Mas’ood used to say that the moon was cleaved.
How did the cleavage o f the moon occur while it was never seen in the other parts o f the world?
Some of the stories say that, the moon entered the Prophet’s (P.B.U.H.) pocket and come
out from his sleeves, but such stories have no origin.
The moon was split into two in the sky.
One piece went behind mount Hira and the other one went to it’s other side, leaving the mountain in between, while the people of Mecca were watching. Most of the people thought it was magic. So when those who were traveling reached Mecca, they were asked about the moon issue and they narrated what they saw, from then on it became clear to the people of Mecca that the cleavage of the moon was genuine, real and true.
If you were asked:
Why was this not known all over the world ?
The answer is:
Who disagrees? …The disbelievers have never believed in any miracles before. Most of them
witnessed this miracle and others heard about it but they might have never talked of its occurrence because by doing so they would have acknowledged his Prophethood, or they pretended to forget, as though it never happened.
On the contrary many travelers have talked of the temple in India which has inscriptions on it, that it was built the day the moon was cleft.
The fact that the cleaving occurred at night, most people might not have witnessed it, because they were asleep. And Allah The Exalted knows best.
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