Splitting of the Moon and the Doubts of the Deniers in Light of Hadith
Source: Fatāwā Amanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri
❖ Question:
Some object: If the splitting of the moon (shaqq al-qamar) really happened, why was it not transmitted through mass-transmission (tawātur), since the moon is visible to the entire world and everyone would have seen it split?
❖ Answer:
The splitting of the moon is established through the Qur’an, authentic aḥādīth, and the consensus of the Ummah. It was one of the great miracles of the Prophet ﷺ and has indeed reached us through tawātur in meaning.
❖ Scholarly Explanations
◈ Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله (d. 458H):
دلائل النبوة كثيرة والأخبار بظهور المعجزات ناطقة … وإن كانت فى آحاد أعيانها غير متواترة ففي جنسها متواترة متظاهرة من طريق المعنى … وهذا أحد وجوه التواتر الذى يثبت بها الحجة وينقطع بها العذر.
The evidences of Prophethood are many, and the reports of miracles are abundant. Even if each individual miracle is narrated by solitary reports, collectively they are mutawātir in meaning, since they all share the nature of being extraordinary events breaking norms. This establishes proof and removes all excuse.
(al-Iʿtiqād, p. 255)
◈ ʿAllāmah al-Ṭībī رحمه الله (d. 743H): quoting Imām Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī رحمه الله:
إنما ذهب المنكر إلىٰ ما ذهب؛ لأن الإنشقاق أمر هائل، ولو وقع لعم وجه الأرض وبلغ مبلغ التواتر. والجواب: أن الموافق قد نقله وبلغ مبلغ التواتر، وأما المخالف فربما ذهل أو حسب أنه نحو الخسوف، والقرآن أولىٰ دليل وأقوىٰ شاهد … فيجب اعتقاد وقوعه.
The deniers object because splitting of the moon is a tremendous matter, and if it occurred, it would have been seen across the earth and reported as tawātur. The answer is: those who witnessed and accepted it have reported it, and their reports reached the level of tawātur. As for the deniers, they were either heedless of it or assumed it was an eclipse. The Qur’an itself is the strongest evidence, and its possibility is beyond doubt. Since the truthful Prophet ﷺ informed us of it, believing in it is obligatory.
(Sharḥ al-Mishkāt 12/3731)
Conclusion:The splitting of the moon is a firmly established miracle:
- It is affirmed by the Qur’an (Sūrat al-Qamar: 1).
- Reported in authentic hadith.
- Affirmed by the scholarly consensus.
- Denial arises only from ignorance or confusing it with natural phenomena.
Thus, the event stands as a decisive miracle of the Prophet ﷺ and a proof of his truthfulness.
