Verses 1–8

Examining Narrations

37:85(1) In Tafsīr al-Qummī, about the verse, The Hour has drawn near (54:1), we read: ‘The Resurrection is imminent, for there is nothing after the Messenger of God except the Resurrection, and both prophethood and messengership have come to an end. As for the verse, and the moon is split (54:2), the Quraysh had asked the Messenger of God to show them a sign, so he invoked God to split the moon into two halves so that they might see it clearly. But when He did, they said: “An incessant magic!” Meaning “a genuine magic.”’

(2) In the Amālī of Shaykh al-Mufīd, via a chain of narrators from ʿUbayd Allāh b. ʿAlī, from Imām al-Riḍā, from his forefathers, from ʿAlī, it is related: ‘In Mecca, the moon split into two parts. When this happened, God’s Messenger said, “Bear witness! Bear witness!”’ (3) In al-Durr al-manthūr, ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, ʿAbd b. Ḥumayd, Muslim, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mardawayh, and al-Bayhaqī in his Dalāʾil narrate from Anas: ‘The people of Mecca asked the Prophet for a sign, so he split the moon in twain in Mecca, then the verse was revealed, The Hour has drawn near and the moon is split… say, “An incessant magic!”’

(4) In the same source, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Mardawayh, Abū Naʿīm, and al-Bayhaqī—both of them in the Dalāʾil—relate via Masrūq from Ibn Masʿūd: ‘The moon split during the time of the Prophet, but the Quraysh said, “This is the sorcery of Ibn Abī Kabsha! Wait and see what word the Saffār tribe bring you, for Muḥammad cannot bewitch all of humankind.” The Saffār tribe came, the people asked them about it, and they said: “Yes, we saw it too!” Whereat God sent down the verse, The Hour has drawn near and the moon is split.’

(5) In the same source, Muslim, al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Mardawah, al-Ḥākim, al-Bayhaqī, and Abū Naʿīm in his Dalāʾil narrate via Mujāhid from Ibn ʿUmar, concerning the verse, The Hour has drawn near and the moon is split: ‘That happened during the time of God’s Messenger. It split into two parts: One in front of the mountain and one behind it. Whereat the Prophet proclaimed: “O God, bear witness!”’

(6) In the same source, Aḥmad, ʿAbd b. Ḥumayd, al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Jarīr, al-Ḥākim, Abū Naʿīm, and al-Bayhaqī narrate from Jubayr b. Muṭʿim, concerning the verse, the moon is split: ‘The moon split while we were in Mecca during the time of the Messenger of God. It broke into two pieces: One was above this mountain and the other was above that one. People said, “Muḥammad has bewitched us!” But a man said, “Even if he has bewitched you, he could not bewitch all mankind!”’

37:86(7) In the same source, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Mardawayh, and Abū Naʿīm in the Dalāʾil narrate from Ibn ʿAbbās concerning the verse, The Hour has drawn near and the moon is split: ‘That happened before the Emigration. The moon split such that we could visibly see it in two parts.’

(8) In the same source, Ibn Abī Shayba, ʿAbd b. Ḥumayd, ʿAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad in the Zawāʾid al-zuhd, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Mardawayh, and Abū Naʿīm narrate from Abī ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī: ‘Hudhayfa b. al-Yamān delivered a sermon to us in Madāʾin. He praised and magnified God, then said: “The Hour has drawn near and the moon is split”—Lo! Surely the Hour has drawn nigh! Lo! And surely the moon has split during the time of the Messenger of God! Lo! And surely the world has announced its imminent departure! Lo! Surely today is the race track and tomorrow is the race!”

Author’s comments: The splitting of the moon occurred due to the supplication of the Prophet is an event that has been narrated through many different paths from these individuals among the companions, namely Anas, ʿAbd Allah b. Masʿūd, Ibn ʿUmar, Jubayr b. Muṭʿim, Ibn ʿAbbās, Hudhayfa b. al-Yamān. It is mentioned in Rūḥ al-maʿānī that the tradition was narrated by the companions from ʿAlī. It is related by al-Sayyid al-Sharīf in his commentary on the Mawaqif and Ibn al-Subkī in his commentary on the Mukhtasar that the tradition is widely transmitted (mutawātir) and there is no doubt concerning its transmission. This is the status of the tradition among the Sunnīs, and readers will already be well-aware of its status among the Shīʿa.

A Discourse on the Miraculous Splitting of the Moon

The Prophet’s miracle of splitting the moon took place in Mecca before the Emigration in response to the demands of the idolaters. This is something accepted by all Muslims without doubt.

The Qurʾan refers to this momentous event in the opening verses of the present chapter, The Hour has drawn near and the moon is split. If they see a sign, they turn away, and say, ‘An incessant magic!’ (54:1–2). The latter of the two verses can only be concerning this event, and suggests that this chapter was revealed shortly after the event it references, because it refers to the fact that the idolaters turned away from this miracle (as they did for all signs and miracles), and derided it as ‘incessant magic.’ This is further confirmed by the abundant traditions and narrations found in both Sunnī and Shīʿī sources concerning the event that are accepted by the scholars of traditions. We have presented some examples of these traditions above.

37:87Therefore, both the Qurʾan and the traditions refer to this event. Now, the splitting of a heavenly body is something that is possible in of itself, and there is nothing rationally impossible about it. As we have already discussed extensively in the first volume of this commentary, supernatural events—such as signs and miracles—are both possible and have actually taken place. One of the clearest pieces of evidence for this is the Qurʾan itself. Therefore it is necessary to accept that this miracle took place, even if this teaching is not part of the essentials of the religion.

However, some have argued that the manifestation of such a miracle at the hands of the Prophet in response to the demands of the idolaters contradicts the verse, Nothing keeps Us from sending signs except that the ancients denied them. We gave Thamūd the she-camel as an eye-opener, but they wronged her. We do not send the signs except for deterrence (17:59). One reading of this verse is follows: ‘We do not send such signs to this people, because, when We sent them to earlier peoples, they denied them, and these people are similar in nature to them, so they will likewise deny them. Therefore, there is no point in sending such signs, because they will be ineffective.’ Alternatively, it could be read as saying: ‘We will not send them because We sent them to their predecessors, who denied them, were punished, and perished as a result, and if we sent such signs to these people, they will likewise deny them, be punished, and perish utterly as well. However, We do not wish to hasten them to punishment. In any case, we will not send the signs to this people like we sent them to earlier ones.’

Therefore, this verse concerns signs that are sent in respond to people’s demands where these signs do not support a prophet’s claim of divine revelation—as is the case with the Qurʾan and the Prophet’s mission, or Moses’ staff, or Jesus’ reviving the dead—or those verses sent down as a grace from God, such as the supernatural powers displayed by the Prophet, which was not in response to any demands from his people.

Alike in meaning to this verse is the verse, Or until you have a house of gold, or you ascend into the sky. And we will not believe your ascension until you bring down for us a book that we may read.’ Say, ‘Immaculate is my Lord! Am I anything but a human, a messenger?’ (17:93).

37:88In order to respond to this objection properly, it is necessary to lay down some preliminaries, namely that the Prophet was sent as the final divine messenger to all the people of this world, as indicated by the verse, Say, ‘O mankind! I am the Messenger of Allah to you all…’ (7:158), and the verse, … and this Qurʾan has been revealed to me that I may warn thereby you and whomever it may reach (6:19), and the verse, he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets (33:40). And there are other verses besides this.

The Prophet first began his mission in Mecca first by calling its inhabitants and those people who lived nearby to believe in him. In response, they did their utmost to persecute, abuse, and deride him, ultimately resolving to either expel, imprison, or murder him. Circumstances became suf ciently dangerous that God commanded him to migrate. He had amassed a decent following in Mecca, but most of its inhabitants remained disbelievers, while the faithful were a minority by comparison and subject to persecution. However, the community was not inconsiderable in size, as evinced by the verse, Have you not regarded those who were told, ‘Keep your hands off from fighting, and maintain the prayer…’ (4:77). This shows that some of them had sought permission to fight back against the idolaters, but God had not permitted them to do so (according to the traditions narrated concerning the occasion of this verses revelation). This shows that they were suf ciently numerous and well equipped to consider an armed response, and they were continuing to grow in numbers.

Then, the Prophet emigrated to Medina and expanded his mission there, spreading Islam amongst the city, the territory surrounding it, the Arab tribes, in Yemen, and throughout the Arabian Peninsula as a whole, save for Mecca and its territory. Then, he extended his mission even beyond the Peninsula by writing letters to the kings and rulers of Persia, Rome, and Egypt in the year 6 A.H.. He captured Mecca in the year 8 A.H., although a number of its inhabitants had already converted to Islam in the eight years between the Prophet’s Emigration and his conquest of the city.

When the Prophet passed away, Islam had already spread significantly, but it continued to grow after him, with its message extending to the present day and reaching over one-fifth of the world’s population.

Based on this preamble, we say: The miracle of the splitting the moon was of the category of miracle that was given in response to people’s demands, and which would have occasioned divine punishment were they to deny it. They did deny it and derided it as nothing more than magic. However, God was not about to destroy all of those to whom the Prophet had been sent to—namely the entirety of the world’s population—because not all of them had yet been given conclusive proof of his prophethood. The splitting of the moon took place five years before the Emigration— so that he who perishes might perish by a manifest proof (8:42).

37:89Neither was God about to eradicate all the inhabitants of Mecca and its environs while there were Muslims amongst them, as God says elsewhere, And were it not for faithful men and faithful women, whom you did not know—lest you should trample them, and thus blame for killing them should fall on you unawares; so that Allah may admit into His mercy whomever He wishes. And had they been separate, We would have surely punished the faithless among them with a painful punishment (48:25).

Equally, God was not going to save only the faithful and punish the disbelievers when so many of them would come to believe in the Prophet in the thirteen years between the splitting of the moon and the conquest of Mecca and all of them would convert—albeit outwardly—following its conquest.

This is because neither all nor most of the inhabitants of Mecca and its environs were obstinate or wilful in their disbelief. It was their leaders and rulers who derided the Prophet, persecuted the faithful, and demanded that he show them signs. It is about them that God has said, As for the faithless, it is the same to them whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not have faith (2:6). God warns these obstinate disbelievers on numerous occasions in the Qurʾan that they will be deprived of faith and perish. They did not believe and God did punish them at the Battle of Badr. Therefore, His predictions came to pass.

Now, if someone were to argue that the verse, Nothing keeps Us from sending signs except that the ancients denied them, is general in scope and, therefore, negates the possibility of any such miracles being sent, this is incorrect. This is because the verse in question definitely does not apply to miracles being sent in support of a prophet’s claims, such as the Qurʾan—which supported the Prophet’s mission—or the signs sent down as acts of divine grace, such as the supernatural powers manifested by the Prophet, such as giving people information about the Unseen, healing the sick through his supplications, and other such acts.

Now, even if this verse was general in scope, it would only apply to those signs sent in response to demands. Even then, this would only mean that God would not send the signs and miracles demanded by the Quraysh—or that He did not send the Prophet with such miracles—because previous nations had denied them and the Quraysh were of the same nature as them, so they would deny them and this would require God to punish them, but God did not wish to hasten them to punishment.

37:90However, God has clarified why he did not punish the Quraysh in the verse, But Allah will not punish them while you are in their midst, nor will Allah punish them while they plead for forgiveness (8:33). This shows that what prevented God from punishing them was the presence of the Messenger amongst them. This is also highlighted by the verse, They were about to hound you out of the land, to expel you from it, but then they would not have stayed after you but a little (17:76).

Later, He said, What excuse have they that Allah should not punish them, when they bar others from the Holy Mosque, and they are not its custodians? Its custodians are only the Godwary, but most of them do not know. Their prayer at the House is nothing but whistling and clapping. So taste the punishment because of what you used to defy (8:34–35).

These verses show that there was nothing holding back God’s punishment from the Quraysh other than the presence of the Prophet amongst them. And when this barrier was removed by his departure from Mecca, that was when they tasted God’s punishment in the form of the severe losses they suffered at the Battle of Badr.

Therefore, to sum up, the reason why God would not send signs to them is because the ancients had denied such signs previously, and the Quraysh resembled them in their nature with regards to the obstinate denial of God’s signs. At the same time, the existence of the Prophet amongst them prevented God from subjecting them to divine punishment. However, once they had committed misdeeds worthy of divine punishment and their protection—in the form of the presence of the Prophet—had been removed by the Emigration, then there was neither anything to prevent them from being punished nor any reason not to send down a sign in order for the sentence of punishment to become due against them. Therefore, they were punished both for their denial of the sign and for the other punishable misdeeds they had committed, such as baring others from the Holy Mosque and the like thereof.

From this, we can conclude that the verse, Nothing keeps Us from sending signs…, only means that He will not send such signs so long as the Prophet is amongst them. As for sending such signs but delaying the punishment until he is no longer amongst them, there is no indication about this in the verse either way. God has explicitly stated in the Qurʾan that the Battle of Badr was a sign from Him and that what befell the Quraysh in it was a form of divine punishment. The same is true if the verse is read as meaning that God did not send signs to them because they would have no effect on a people who were so committed to denying them. Now, sending such signs and delaying the resulting punishment for their denial until the Prophet was no longer among them would yield the benefit that God may confirm the truth and bring falsehood to naught (8:8). Therefore, the miracle of splitting the moon would be one of the divine signs whose purpose was to make its recipients deserving of punishment once the Prophet had departed from their midst.

37:91As for the verse, Say, ‘Immaculate is my Lord! Am I anything but a human, a messenger?’ (17:93), it does not preclude God supporting the claims of the Prophet by sending miraculous signs, nor does it deny the possibility of such interventions. On the contrary, it negates the idea that these miracles come from the Prophet himself, insofar as he is a human being and a messenger of God. If it genuinely meant that the Prophet could not perform miracles, this would entail a denial of the miracles of all the prophets, because each and every one of them is ‘a human, a messenger’ and the Qurʾan explicitly contradicts such a denial by virtue of the fact that it is replete with stories of prophets performing miracles. An even clearer contradiction of this is the verse of the Qurʾan that challenges the deniers to produce something equal to it.

In fact, what this verse means is that—as a human and a messenger—the Prophet is not capable of producing the miracles the idolaters demand from himself, as this is an affair that is decided by God: If He wishes, He will send down a sign, and if He does not, then He will not. Elsewhere, God says, They swear by Allah with solemn oaths that were a sign to come to them they would surely believe in it. Say, ‘The signs are only with Allah,’ and what will bring home to you that they will not believe even if they came? (6:109).

And about the people of Noah, He says, They said, ‘O Noah, you have disputed with us already, and you have disputed with us exceedingly. Now bring us what you threaten us with should you be truthful. He said, ‘Allah will indeed bring it on you if He wishes, and you cannot thwart’ (11:33).

And He says, A messenger may not bring any sign except by Allah’s permission (40:78).

And there are many other verses in this vein.

Another objection to the miracle of splitting the moon reads as follows: If the moon had split as is claimed, then all of humankind would have seen it. Moreover, astronomers would have recorded the event all over the world, because this would have been a truly momentous celestial event, as nothing like this has come down to us in the books of history or in works dealing with the heavens, when this is certainly something that people would have wanted to record and pass on!

37:92To this, we can respond as follows:

First, we can discount the objection because there is no evidence that every terrestrial or celestial event known to people is recorded by them and handed down from one generation to the next.

Second, the Hejaz, the rest of the Arabian Peninsula, and many of the surrounding lands did not have observatories or professional astronomers. These were found in India to the east and Rome and Greece to the west and other places, but there is no evidence that an observatory existed in the Arabian Peninsula at this time—which, according to some narrations, too place at the beginning of the fourteenth night of Dhū al-Ḥijja, some five years before the Emigration—and this might not have been visible to observers in other lands that were far away from Mecca. Some reports indicate that the moon was a full moon that split at around sunset, when it was just beginning to rise, and it only remained split apart for a very short period of time before joining together again. Therefore, by the time it became visible in lands to the west of Arabia, it would have already returned to its original form.

Another objection is that such a split in the moon could only take place if the gravitational forces holding the two halves together were somehow nullified, in which case it would be impossible for them to come back together. Therefore, if the moon split, it would not recombine itself again.

The answer to this is that there is nothing rationally impossible about this taking place. As for this being something unusual, this is the very definition of a miracle. After all, had it been impossible for the two halves to re-join one another, it would have been equally impossible for them to split apart in the first place. However, there is nothing impossible out this, because we have already established that miracles can and do take place.