The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 234
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 234 Sign, they turn away and say, ‘A passing feat of magic and such has been done before. ’ They denied our messengers and followed their own greed and lust, but for everything is an appointed time. We have given them such news as provides them a warning and means of awareness. ” 1 Mention of this miracle is found in the following words in Ḥadīth : َ اِن َّ اَھْل َ مَكَّة َ سَئَالُوْا رَسُوْل َ اللّٰه ِ صَلَّی اللّٰه ُ عَلَیْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ اَن ْ یُرِیَھُم ْ اٰیَة ً فَاَرَاھُم ُ الْقَمَر شَقَّتَیْن ِ حَتّٰی رَاٴَو ْ حَرَاء َ بَیْنَھُمَا Meaning, “The infidels of Makkah sought a sign from the Holy Prophet sa , upon which he showed them the moon in two pieces. Thus, they saw one piece of the moon to one side of the Ḥirā mountain, and the other piece to the other side. ” 2 In another narration related by ‘ Abdullāh bin Mas‘ūd ra , the following words are recorded: َ اِنْشَق َّ الْقَمَر ُ وَنَحْن ُ مَع َ النَّبِی ِّ صَلَّی اللّٰه ُ عَلَیْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ بِمَنی ٰ فَقَال َ اشْھِدُوا. . . . . فِرْقَة ٌ فَوْق ٗ الْجَبَل ِ وَفِرْقَة ٌ دُوْنَه Meaning, “We were at Minā with the Holy Prophet sa when the moon was rent asunder, upon which the Holy Prophet sa said, ‘Look and bear witness. ’ One piece of the moon was towards the top of the mountain and the other towards the bottom. ” 3 In addition to this, there are many other narrations recorded in Ḥadīth and books of Sīrat regarding the Shaqqul-Qamar , in which other details have also been recorded. However, the more authentic narrations are those which have been mentioned above. Moreover, since our purpose is not to 1 Al-Qamar (54:2-5) 2 * Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Manāqibil-Anṣār, Bābu Inshiqāqil-Qamar, Ḥadīth No. 3868 * Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitābu Ṣifatil-Qiyāmati wal-Jannati wan-Nār, Bābu Inshiqāqil-Qamar, Ḥadīth No. 7076 3 * Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābut-Tafsīr Sūratul-Qamar, Bābu Wanshaqqal-Qamar , Ḥadīth No. 4864 * Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitābu Ṣifatil-Qiyāmati wal-Jannati wan-Nār, Bābu Inshiqāqil-Qamar, Ḥadīth No. 7072