Wednesday, 15 April 2009

Did Muhammad perform miracles?...about splitting the moon…

The only proof for his prephethood was supposedly the Qur’an.

Muslims believe that while Muhammad was in Mecca, Allah split the Moon as a miracle to the Meccans. This claim is made in the Qur’an.

Surahh 54 of the Qur’an is called “The Moon.” It starts by saying: “The hour drew nigh and the moon did rend asunder. And if they see a miracle they turn aside and say: Transient magic. And they call (it) a lie, and follow their low desires; and every affair has its appointed term”.

The great Muslim scholar Maududi explains:The amazing and wonderful phenomenon of the splitting of the Moon was a manifest sign of the truth that the Resurrection, of which the Holy Prophet was giving them the news, could take place and that it had approached near at hand. The great sphere of the Moon had split into two distinct parts in front of their very eyes. The two parts had separated and receded so much apart from each other that to the on-lookers one part had appeared on one side of the mountain and the other on the other side of it. Then, in an instant the two had rejoined.

However, there are several problems with this story.

The main problem is that it contradicts the Qur’an itself. In various places Muhammad admitted that he could not perform miracles. When asked for miracles his response was:

Glory be to my Lord; am I aught but a mortal messenger? Q. 17: 93

In another place he put the following words in the mouth of Allah:

And those who disbelieve say: Why has not a sign been sent down upon him from his Lord? You are only a warner. Q. 13: 07

Muhammad insisted that even though other prophets had miracles, his only miracle is the Qur’an. So when Muslims claim that Muhammad performed miracles, they are going against the Qur’an itself. (See the article Did Muhammad Perform Miracles?)

The other problem with this claim is that this astronomical phenomenon should have been observed, not just in Mecca, but all over the world. Many nations have recorded even eclipses, why there is no mention of such a thing that for sure would have been the most amazing phenomenon?

Moiz Amjad, one scholar that answers questions for Understanding-Islam.com site says, “I have not yet come across any historical accounts of other nations, which refer to the incident.” He thinks this is “a sign of the promised hour.”

Curiously the same site contradicts itself and claims that in fact a certain king of India observed the splitting of the Moon and he sent his son to Mecca who converted to Islam and upon returning he died in Yemen. 

This story seems to be another fabrication of Muslims. They are fond of fabricating stories to attribute Miracles to their prophet. There is no mention of an Indian converting to Islam during the life of Muhammad in any version of Sira. One such fabrication was the claim that the astronauts who landed on Moon heard the adhan (Muslim call to prayer) being chanted there. Some Muslims have based their faith on that. First of all there is no record that any King of India ever visited Muhammad. Secondly the splitting of Moon should have been observed by everyone all over the world and not just by one king. Thirdly, assuming that this Indian king saw splitting of the Moon, how could he interpret this cosmic phenomenon as the sign that there has appeared a new prophet in Mecca? Muslims claim that Indian scriptures contain predictions about the coming of a messenger from Arabia. It’s not true. There is no mention of Muhammad in any sacred book of any religion.

Note that the verses of the Qur’an and several hadiths that narrate this story do not claim that this so called miracle was performed by Muhammad. They simply state that people saw the Moon in two sides of the mount Hira and Muhammad said this is a sign from Allah to convince you that I am a prophet.

There are rilles that can be found all over the lunar surface and they do not form a belt and therefore do not in anyway support the claim of Muslims that the Moon had been split. Do these gorges look like they are cutting the Moon in two halves?

It is clear is that moon did not split neither in Mecca 1400 years ago nor in any time. The fact that Muhammad thought the moon has actually split only proves that man’s ignorance

IHS

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