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The splitting of the moon in Prophet Mohamed’s time: the verse of al-Qamar, the accounts of Anas, Jubayr, Hudhayfa, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Omar and Ibn Mas’oud, Quraysh notables’ demand, the caravan’s testimony and the refutation of the moon fallen into the sleeve, from al-Boukhari, Mouslim, Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi.
Updated on 07 September 2026 at 11:07 PM
Such is the chapter of the splitting of the moon in the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) time, and of Allah making for him a sign of his messenger’s truthfulness in what he brought of guidance and the religion of truth, that occurring according to his noble gesture. Allah the Most High said in the decisive part of His mighty Book:
“The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split. And if they see a sign they turn away and say: Passing magic. And they denied and followed their desires. And every matter is settled.”
Sura al-Qamar, 1-3
The Muslims are unanimous upon its occurring in his era (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the mutawatir hadiths related it through multiple paths imposing certainty upon whoever embraces and examines them. We mention thereof what is easy, Allah willing: in Him is trust, upon Him reliance. We have already detailed that in our book of Tafsir, editing there the chains and wordings. We indicate here summits of its chains and refer them to the famous books, by Allah’s power and might. That is related from Anas ibn Malik, Jubayr ibn Mut’im, Hudhayfa, Abdallah ibn Abbas, Abdallah ibn Omar and Abdallah ibn Mas’oud (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), all of them.
As for Anas: Imam Ahmad related, from Abd ar-Razzak, from Ma’mar, from Qatada, from Anas ibn Malik: the people of Mecca asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for a sign, and the moon split in Mecca twice. He said: “The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split.” Mouslim related it, from Muhammad ibn Rafi, from Abd ar-Razzak. That is of the mursal relations of the Companions: it appears he received it from the great mass of the Companions, or from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), or from all.
al-Boukhari and Mouslim related this hadith through the chain of Shayban. al-Boukhari added Sa’id ibn Abi Aruba, and Mouslim Shu’ba, all three from Qatada, from Anas: the people of Mecca asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to show them a sign: he showed them the moon in two halves, until they saw Hira between them. al-Boukhari’s wording.
As for Jubayr ibn Mut’im: Imam Ahmad related, from Muhammad ibn Kathir, from Sulayman ibn Kathir, from Husayn ibn Abd ar-Rahman, from Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut’im, from his father: the moon split in the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) era into two parts: a part upon this mountain, and a part upon that mountain. They said: “Muhammad bewitched us.” Then they said: “Were he to have bewitched us, he cannot bewitch all the people.” Ahmad alone related it. Ibn Jarir related it likewise, from Muhammad ibn Fudayl and others, from Husayn; and al-Bayhaqi related it through the chains of Ibrahim ibn Tahman and Hushaym, both from Husayn, adding a man in the chain.
As for Hudhayfa ibn al-Yamane: the hafiz Abu Nu’aym related in the Dala’il, through chains, from Ata ibn as-Sa’ib, from Abu Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulami: Hudhayfa ibn al-Yamane preached at al-Mada’in, praised Allah and extolled Him, then said: “The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split. Know that the Hour has drawn near; know that the moon has split; know that the lower world has announced parting; know that today is the race, and tomorrow the race.” The following Friday, I went with my father to the Friday prayer: he praised Allah and said the like, adding: “Know that the victor is he who precedes toward Paradise.” On the road, I said to my father: “What does he mean by his words: tomorrow the race?” He said: “Who precedes toward Paradise.”
As for Ibn Abbas: al-Boukhari related, from Yahya ibn Boukayr, from Bakr, from Ja’far, from Iraak ibn Malik, from Ubaydillah ibn Abdallah ibn Utba, from Ibn Abbas: the moon split in the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) era. al-Boukhari and Mouslim related it likewise, from Bakr ibn Mudar, from Ja’far ibn Rabia, from Iraak. Ibn Jarir related, from Dawud ibn Abi Hind, from Ali ibn Abi Talha, Ibn Abbas’s words on “The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split. And if they see a sign they turn away and say: a persistent magic”: that occurred, before the Hijra: the moon split until they saw its two halves. Al-Awfi related it likewise, from Ibn Abbas (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): that is of his mursal relations.
The hafiz Abu Nu’aym related, from Bakr ibn Sahl, from Abd al-Ghani ibn Said, from Moussa ibn Abd ar-Rahman, from Ibn Jurayj, from Ata, from Ibn Abbas; and from Muqatil, from ad-Dahhak, from Ibn Abbas, upon His words: “The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split”: the polytheists gathered to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), among them al-Walid ibn al-Mughira, Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, al-As ibn Wa’il, al-As ibn Hisham, al-Aswad ibn Abd Yaghouth, al-Aswad ibn al-Muttalib, Zam’a ibn al-Aswad, an-Nadr ibn al-Harith and their likes. They said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “If you are truthful, split the moon for us into two halves: a half upon Abu Qubays, and a half upon Qu’ayqi’ane.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to them: “Were I to do it, would you believe?” They said: “Yes.” It was the night of Badr: he asked Allah to grant him what they asked, and by morning the moon appeared half upon Abu Qubays and half upon Qu’ayqi’ane, while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) called: “O Abu Salama ibn Abd al-Asad and al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam: bear witness!”
Abu Nu’aym related then, from Sulayman ibn Ahmad, a chain going back to Ata, from Ibn Abbas: the people of Mecca came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: “Is there a sign by which we know you are the Messenger of Allah?” Jibril descended and said: “O Muhammad, tell the people of Mecca to keep vigil this night: they shall see a sign they will profit from if they profit.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) informed them of Jibril’s word: they went out the night of the split, the fourteenth night: the moon split into two halves, a half upon as-Safa and a half upon al-Marwa. They looked, then looked with their eyes and rubbed them, then looked again, then rubbed their eyes and looked, and said: “O Muhammad, this is but passing sorcery.” Allah then sent down: “The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split.”
He then related, from ad-Dahhak, from Ibn Abbas: the rabbis of the Jews came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: “Show us a sign until we believe in it.” He asked his Lord: he showed them the moon become two moons, one upon as-Safa and the other upon al-Marwa, for the span from midday to night they watched it, then it disappeared. They said: “This is a persistent sorcery.”
The hafiz Abu al-Qasim at-Tabarani related, from Ahmad ibn Amr al-Bazzar, a chain going back to Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas: a lunar eclipse occurred in the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) era; they said: “He bewitched the moon.” There then descended: “The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split. And if they see a sign they turn away and say: a persistent magic.” And this isnad is good; in it is that that night was an eclipse night: perhaps the split occurred the night of its eclipse, and hence its matter remained hidden to many of the people of the earth; and it may be in some winter nights, wherein most people are in houses, or a cloud veiled it from much of the earth. Despite that, it was witnessed in many places of the earth; and it is said it was recorded in a part of the land of India: a building was built that night, dated the night of the moon’s splitting.
As for Ibn Omar: the hafiz al-Bayhaqi related, from al-Asamm and Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Qadi, from al-Abbas ibn Muhammad ad-Douri, from Wahb ibn Jarir, from Shu’ba, from al-A’mash, from Mujahid, from Abdallah ibn Omar, upon His words: “The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split”: that occurred in the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) era: it split into two flanks, a flank before the mountain and a flank behind the mountain. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “O Allah, be witness.” Mouslim and at-Tirmidhi related it likewise, through chains, from al-A’mash, from Mujahid. Mouslim said: as Mujahid’s narration, from Abu Ma’mar, from Ibn Mas’oud. at-Tirmidhi said: a hassan sahih hadith.
As for Abdallah ibn Mas’oud: Imam Ahmad related, from Soufyan, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, from Abu Ma’mar, from Ibn Mas’oud: the moon split in the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) era into two halves, until they looked at it, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Bear witness.” Thus the two related it, from Soufyan ibn Uyayna. And from al-A’mash, from Ibrahim, from Abu Ma’mar Abdallah ibn Sakhabara, from Abdallah ibn Mas’oud: the moon split while we were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at Mina, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Bear witness.” And a part went toward the mountain. al-Boukhari’s wording. Then al-Boukhari said: Abu ad-Duha related, from Masruq, from Abdallah: in Mecca; and Muhammad ibn Muslim followed him, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, from Abu Ma’mar, from Abdallah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Abu Dawud at-Tayalisi ascribed Abu ad-Duha’s hadith of Masruq in his Musnad and said: Abu Awana related to us, from al-Mughira, from Abu ad-Duha, from Masruq, from Abdallah ibn Mas’oud: the moon split in the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) era, and Quraysh said: “This is the sorcery of the son of Abi Kabsha.” They said: “Wait for what the caravan brings you: Muhammad cannot bewitch all the people.” He said: the caravan came and they said that. al-Bayhaqi related, from al-Hakim, a chain of al-Mughira, from Abu ad-Duha, from Masruq, from Abdallah: the moon split at Mecca until it became two parts, and the disbelievers of Quraysh said to Mecca’s people: “This is a sorcery wherewith the son of Abi Kabsha bewitched you: await the caravan; were they to have seen what you saw, he spoke true; were they not to have seen the like of what you saw, it is a sorcery wherewith he bewitched you.” He said: the caravan was asked : he said they had come from every direction : and they said: “We saw.” Ibn Jarir related it likewise, from al-Mughira, adding: Allah then sent down: “The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split.” And Abu Nu’aym related it, from Jarir, from al-A’mash, from Abu ad-Duha, from Masruq, from Abdallah.
Imam Ahmad related, from Mu’ammal, from Isra’il, from Simak, from Ibrahim, from al-Aswad, from Abdallah : that is, Ibn Mas’oud: the moon split in the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) era, until I saw the mountain between the moon’s two apertures. Ibn Jarir related it likewise, from Asbat, from Simak. The hafiz Abu Nu’aym related, from Abu Bakr at-Talhi, a chain going back to Alqama, from Abdallah: we were with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at Mina: the moon split until it became two parts; a part disappeared behind the mountain, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Bear witness, bear witness.”
Abu Nu’aym related, from Sulayman ibn Ahmad, a chain of Layth ibn Sa’d, from Utba, from Abdallah ibn Utba, from Ibn Mas’oud: the moon split while we were in Mecca: I saw one of its two parts upon the mountain that is at Mina, and we were in Mecca. And Ahmad ibn Ishaq related, from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Asim, a chain of Zirr, from Abdallah: the moon split at Mecca, and I saw it two parts. Then he related, from Ali ibn Said ibn Masruq, a chain of Zayd ibn Wahb, from Abdallah ibn Mas’oud: “I saw the moon, by Allah, split in two, and between the two was Hira.” And Abu Nu’aym related, through the chain of as-Suddi the younger, from al-Kalbi, from Abu Salih, from Ibn Abbas: the moon split into two flanks: a flank went, and a flank remained. Ibn Mas’oud said: “I saw Mount Hira from between the two flanks of the moon, and a flank went”: the people of Mecca marveled at that and said: “A fabricated sorcery that will pass.” Layth ibn Abi Sulaym related, from Mujahid: the moon split in the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) era and became two parts; the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Abu Bakr: “Bear witness, O Abu Bakr”; and the polytheists said: “He bewitched the moon until it split.”
These are multiple chains, strong in their isnads, imposing certainty upon whoever contemplates them and knows the uprightness of their men. As for what some preachers mention : that the moon fell to the earth, entering the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sleeve and exiting the other sleeve : it has no basis: it is a fabricated lie, not authentic. The moon, when it split, did not leave the sky; rather when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gestured toward it, it split at his gesture into two parts: one traveled until it was behind Hira, and they saw the mountain between this and that, as Ibn Mas’oud informed that he saw Mount Hira from between the moon’s two flanks, then a flank went, and Mecca’s people marveled at it.