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 <mark>moon</mark> in two pieces. Thus, they saw one piece of the <mark>moon</mark> 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 <mark>moon</mark> was rent asunder, upon which the Holy Prophet sa said, ‘Look and bear witness. ’ One piece of the <mark>moon</mark> 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