The Holy Moon Split
| Posted on 16th of July, 2007 |

I. The Cosmic Prelude

Before we proceed, I would like to share my deep rooted gratification as a result of being Muslim and an astronomer which keeps me afloat in the vast sea of inner peace, unexplainable happiness, and the exploration of the regions beyond mortality, which comes through rational observation and authentic source of explanation. This is solely due to the knowledge that our Immortal Lord of the Dominions is the active source of everything, in and including the Universes of all kinds, physical and mystical, and the knowledge necessary for all of us to admire them as well. The monotheistic attitude by heart is the result and the achievement of the personally hard-gained knowledge, intense contemplation, far more precious than any treasure of the cosmos, and independently we are not able to earn it without Immortal support.

One who follows the path of acquiring the knowledge of cosmos from The Qurran, and other revealed Holy Books, is truly guaranteed to know the answers of those questions which even alone observation fails to explain, and those questions too which he may not have ever imagined to ask. The only obligation is that one needs right approach to decode the information, which requires serious and pain-staking effort. This has been the major cause of apparent discrepancies between science and the faith. While considering the revelations as the code of leading a decent life, it may not require intense investigation; in contrast deciphering the hieroglyphs of the cosmos with the help of revelations would definitely require the otherwise.

We came across a remark by the science professor at Dartmouth College in USA, 'in the past, religions used to lead the way for science to survive, and now the religions need the scientific support to survive'. Unfortunately, by investigation this remark has proven to be valid and possesses the severe consequences for both, the faith and the science. Science is a human invention of the way of looking at the things and is always open for modification or rejection of its theories if new observation cannot be accommodated, whereas, the religion is inspired by Immortal cosmic conscious, gets corrupt if modified. If particular scientific evidence co-incidentally supports any particular aspect of a religion, is the authenticity of religion implying a danger co-incidentally?

In this episode we will explore the meaning of ‘miracle’ in the light of cosmos, the event of Moon’s Split derived from the Islamic history and other contemporary cultures, its direct or indirect references in the Holy Book, the widespread false evidence and misinterpretation, prospective evidences, and the required rational approach which our Lord wants from us.

II. Nature of the Nature and the Constant Miracle, Earth

Our Lord has bestowed upon us His great mercy and wonders no matter we believe in Him or not. This is the major difference between the false mortal lords of the world and the Immortal Lord of the Dominions. With the background of knowledge we have accumulated throughout the history, today our Earth has proven to be a constant miracle in the vast inhospitable environment of the Universe, and has become a source of wonder. Every breadth we take is the miracle relative to the cosmos. Universe proved to be far more wilder than we could have ever imagined in the past and hence Earth exists in it in such a delicate balance that if any of us wants to ignore the Universe, he would not be bothered by the Universe, though it will give subtle indications of its beauty and wilderness but not everyone is forced to pay attention to them. Moreover, the indications are so persistent that a man thinks it a natural process and cannot be otherwise; at the same time, keeping in mind that we still have not understood the 'personality of Nature' itself. What do you mean by Nature or Natural Phenomenon? Is that the chaos of coincidences? If we look around our world and the Universe, the Nature does not seem to be chaos. Instead of trying to understand the 'after-effects' of Nature, we must be able to know, what Nature exactly is. Theory of Special Relativity dictates that inventing the clocks does not mean that we have understood the time. Along with time, space, and universal night in the space, Nature is also the great mystery which we frequently use to mean the 'just happenings' or 'coincidences'. We have renamed Nature to some of our Lord's attributes. In background, our Subtle Lord provokes these indications for us to hear Him, though few of us are eager to ponder, but that’s ok, no one would be punished but definitely would loose the feeling of admiration and gratification which comes from Unification of the existence, the great cosmic purpose behind the creation.

Aristotle taught us that regions below Moon, chiefly the Earth and immediate sky are prone to change and disasters, and, the regions beyond the Moon are unchangeable and eternal, thus in perfection. Democratically, he used to speak the word of people that everything is made of four elements: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air because this was the explanation our immediate perception recognizes. In contrast there were other contemporary philosophers who demonstrated that everything is made from invisible and extremely small atoms. This later definition was not recognized because it was counter intuitive and people were not ready to acknowledge it. Democracy in knowledge is the worst kind of science anyone can do it, and Nature does not usually care what we divine the meaning of reality through our limited perception. Since previous century, now we know that the Universe is not only changeable and had a beginning, but extremely inhospitable place to live in. In a new view, Earth is considered what Aristotle attributed to heavens, though it had a beginning and is changeable too. We also know that everything is really made from atoms. The changeability and time dependency proved irrelevant to perfection, perfectly contrary to what we may tend to think.

III. The Moon’s Split

When the people who are not or less aware of the persistent miracles found around them, they sometimes want the ‘short-cut miracles’ from the prophets who are certainly the messengers of the Lord of the Cosmos, and as prophet claims, the Lord can do anything. For instance, the pharaoh of Egypt asked Prophet Moses (Peace be upon Him) to show the miracle and then the courtiers observed a staff becoming a large snake, and prophet’s hand glowed like a full moon. Or, at the birth of Jesus Christ (Peace be upon Him) when he just spoke to the people that ‘you just need not any doubt, I am indeed the prophet’.

Such a time once came on our Holy Prophet, Muhammad (Peace be upon Him), when people didn’t know that their very existence in the violent Universe is not less than a miracle in itself. At that time even their sense of intuitive reasoning was not working which doesn’t require the 21st century to come and tell the people what the definition of a miracle is. About a millennium before them, the Greeks even had already calculated the circumference of Earth by examining the angles of shadows cast by Sun at different places. They also advanced in other fields, especially in Astronomy. One of the few books survived in the great library of Alexandria was written by Aristarchus of Samos who proposed that the Earth is a planet, orbiting the Sun, and other stars are very faraway, so much that there parallex shift is not possible. This all was achieved through the reasoning. And these ideas were rediscovered some two thousand years later.

In response to the pagan Arabs, the astronomical event happened in the earlier times of the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s prophecy (Peace be upon Him), namely the Moon Split. This event is part of Islamic history and explained in details in the various books considered as the explanations of Prophet’s life (Peace be upon Him). It is stated that when pagans of Arab asked the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) to show the miracle as the evidence of His prophecy, our Lord of the Dominions caused the Moon to split apart so that people could see it and testify that the Prophet is actually sent by our Lord.

IV. Anthropological Evidences

Following are the two related records which shed light on the historic astronomical observations. Sometimes the logic of one observation cannot be realized without keeping in mind another seemingly unrelated observation:

Observation of King of Malabar, India: According to legends, this event was seen at different places in the world, and was not a local sort of illusion. The incident relating to King Chakrawati Farmas is documented in an old manuscript in the India Office Library, London, which has reference number: Arabic, 2807, 152-173. It is quoted in the book “Muhammad Rasulullah,” by M. Hamidullah:

“There is a very old tradition in Malabar, South-West Coast of India, that Chakrawati Farmas, one of their kings, had observed the splitting of the moon, the celebrated miracle of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon Him) at Mecca, and learning on inquiry that there was a prediction of the coming of a Messenger of God from Arabia, he appointed his son as regent and set out to meet him. He embraced Islam at the hand of the Prophet, and when returning home, at the direction of the Prophet, died at the port of Zafar, Yemen, where the tomb of the “Indian king” was piously visited for many centuries.” The old manuscript in the 'India Office Library' contains several other details about King Chakrawati Farmas and his travel.

Analysis of Crab Nebula in relation to Moon's split: We tried to excavate the anthropological evidence of similar observation from other contemporary cultures dating back to early 7th century but surprisingly there is no record except the mentioned above. This does not decrease the credibility of the event because there are other astronomical events as well which were not documented in all cultures. One reason is same as for the lunar eclipses; some astronomical events are not visible throughout the world due to curvature and nearly-circular shape of Earth, where there is a night at one side, and a day on the other side of Earth. Another reason is also likely; according to Chinese and Japanese records, they observed a new star in the night sky in 1050 AD which was 20 times as bright as any other star, moreover it was even minutely visible during the day for several weeks. It did not displace in relation to other stars, implying it was farther away than Moon. This was actually the Supernova, the gigantic explosion of a star, which sometimes outshines the whole galaxy. Today we call it M-1, the Crab Nebula, which also hosts the extremely compact (few kilometers in diameter) and fast rotating Neutron star in it which is the aftermath of a star and an active source of radio waves; this nebula is visible through an appropriate telescope. Surprisingly, there is no record of this supernova in other cultures especially western. At that time, people in west believed that the regions beyond Moon are unchangeable, an idea which caused the dark ages in the human knowledge for millennia, as mentioned earlier it was introduced by Greek philosopher, Aristotle. Perhaps it is the similar reason of lack of any record of Moon's split.

V. The Reference in the Holly Qurran

According to narrations by earlier Muslim scholars, the following verses are the religious evidence of the event mentioned above:

“The hour drew nigh and the moon was split asunder. And if they behold a portent they turn away and say: Prolonged illusion. They denied (the Truth) and followed their own lusts. Yet everything will come to a decision.” - (54 The Moon: 1-3)

VI. Sequence of References from the Holy Qurran

There are other related references in the Qurran and would like to quote them in the sequence. It is up to the reader, what impression he or she receives:

• The Hour drew nigh and the moon was split asunder. (54 The Moon: 1)


• He asks: When will be this Day of Resurrection. (It is) when the sight is confounded. And the moon is eclipsed. And sun and moon are united. On that day, man will cry: where to escape? (75 The Day of Resurrection: 6-10)


• When the heaven is split asunder. And attentive to her Lord in fear. And when the earth is spread out. And cast out whatever was in it, and emptied. (84 The Rupture: 1-4)


• He said: Enter into the Fire among nations of the Jinn* and humankind who passed away before you. Every time a nation enters, it curses its sister nation till, when they have all been made to follow one another one by one, the last of them said unto the first of them: Our Lord! These led us astray, so give them double torment of the Fire. He said: For each one, there is double (torment), but you know not. (07 The Purgatory: 38)

There are many more verses which imply the timelessness of the Author and the Authored. Qurranic language is in such a way that sometimes the event of future is presented in the past-tense, as if it has already been happened. It is clear that on the Day of Judgment, a typical future event according to our spacetime reference frame, the people will go to hell or heaven, it is however seen in the Qurran as if some people are already in the hell or heaven after the Day of Judgment which has already been taken place. In short, we do not find the strong evidence of the time frame from the Holy Book that the event actually happened or will happen near the end of time. Though, it is not illogical to assume that the Moon-split event really happened if our Lord wanted it to happen, it is however important to know that we should be decent enough not to start providing the false or irrelevant evidences in order to somehow prove it. We can wait for the right time.

(* Jinns, or Genies, are thought to be the ancient spirit-like creatures created from the smokeless fire, or Plasma in the modern terminology. Due to their extreme plasma-related vibrational features, they are normally invisible to us. These plasmatic beings inhabited Earth and perhaps other areas of solar system long before humans and other species came into existence. They are still roaming around and are capable of traversing enormous distances at a smaller fraction of the speed of light, still fast in relation to our space and time reference. Because, with the knowledge of plasma physics, Jinns must be having some mass, they cannot achieve the speed of light, thus bounded by time-and-space restrictions, though not like us. This also means that they are immune to sense the most invisible and timeless realms of the Cosmos. According to Scripture, they are able to transform the mass into energy and vice versa. In contrast, there are some other creatures, especially the Angels who are created from the light, and are not only capable of achieving the speed of light but literally are in timeless dimension, as can be expected from a photon of light, and thus all invisible dimensions are apparent to them. According to theories of special and general relativity, light contains the absolutely mass-less particles, naming photons. Thus the angels, or photonic beings, are bound to balance between the constant speed of light and the passage of time. This is relativistically achieved through the 'timelessness', where a mass-less observer has the eye at the past, present, future, and distant places at the same time, though not necessarily be able to make alterations, unless given corresponding abilities from the further Invisible. These plasmatic and photonic beings are not the alien civilizations of the Universe, rather, they are more inhabitants of Earth than we are, in addition to the cosmos; keeping in mind that Earth and the sky are not separate physically, Earth is already in the sky. While the observed phenomena of Little Green Men or other alien entities by most people are mostly mental illusions, a smaller percentage is directly linked to the Jinns, or plasmatic beings, not some external civilization, and therefore, cannot be rightly called the 'aliens'. Their life is not dependent on the particles of plasma, but like all other animated species, it depends on personal force of the most Invisible Lord of the Cosmos. )

VII. False Scientific Evidences

We frequently receive many emails representing a NASA-library picture from Apollo Project which many people think that the evidence of Moon-split. This website also hosts the picture; please have a look on it. Subspace Research has been researching on various geophysics and astronomy subjects especially in Manchester Central Library, England dealing with lunar surfaces and magnetism, and was also actively involved in the telescopic observations. Unfortunately there is no solid evidence found. There is a reason for this lack of evidence which shall be explained later in this episode.

According to extensive research, unfortunately the picture which is shown many times as the evidence of Moon-split and has been electronically spread out internationally is completely mistakenly described by not-so-careful individuals who are trying their best to prove somehow the Moon-split event and without understanding the actual science behind the picture. They are not even bothered to know that the descriptions they extract from the geophysicists, astrophysicists, astro-biologists, and planetary scientists working on Apollo and Lunar Prospector (or likewise) Projects are perfectly contrary to the Moon-split event. This is not because the scientists want to un-prove the event, but just because their research is not based on the objectives of finding the Moon-split’s evidence physically. Let’s examine the science behind the picture which is mistakenly considered as an evidence of the event:

“It’s the fault line formed from a moonquake in the ancient past”
– NASA’s explanation for the picture.

• First, have a look on the picture and then the curve of horizon. The horizon is perfectly straight geometrically implying that the feature is extremely small even cannot be visible from Earth. There are countless features on the Moon like this rift valley or fault line; collectively they cannot contribute to the evidence of Moon-split. In the case of Moon-split and its rejoin, rift valley is not a likely result because the base of the valley would have collapsed far in the depth. We should find a fault with smaller hills along the fault, similar to Saint Andrews Fault in California where the ground is nicely divided into two, called Plate Tectonics.


• Second, in the geological time scales, scientists ironically mean the time periods in millions and sometimes billions of years. The 1,500 years may be ancient times for historians, but it’s extremely recent for geological history of Earth and Moon. The major significant quakes along with meteorite bombardment from the space ended some 3.16 billion years ago. Apollo 17 astronauts visited the ‘recent’ large impact site, namely Tycho crater, it is an impact crater with the age of 100 million years. The same holds true for the mentioned fault line. Still there are extremely occasional smaller impacts observed on the surface of Moon. Due to these miniature events we cannot see them unless we use extremely large telescopes.


• Third, because there is no more tectonic activity or atmospheric and geological erosion on the surface of the Moon, unlike Earth, the fingerprints of any activity even millions of years old can withstand for billions of years with minor changes, unless any other greater impact overlaps it. We do not see any ‘scar’ of Moon’s split while normally the scars on Moon’s face do not heal for millions of years contrary to human time frames. The footprint of an astronaut will last for billions of years, unless of course, some catastrophic incidence overlaps it. But locally the gradualism is at halt. There is a prediction of such an event once in 100 million years, the average time probability before a large asteroid may hit Earth or Moon, or both, as it hit earth some 65 million years ago, completely destroying the 'fittest ones' on earth, particularly the dinosaurs, and destroying the chain of evolution. In theory, we are still left with plenty of time, a few million years, before another asteroid may even completely vanish out the evidences of Moon-split. But if we plan to investigate in the same way as the not-so-careful individuals do, then it is likely to loose this bonus time as well. Deviation of an atom’s length in the beginning causes a different universe in the end, given enough time.


• Fourth, moonquakes are no indication of the Moon-split, at least not recently. The seismic activity is recorded about 100 millionth of Earth’s seismic activity actually is generated due to smaller impacts, and not because of significant internal processes. For creating the fault lines, there was significant quaking in the distant past. Within even 100 million years in the past, this seismic activity had remained pretty constant. We would have detected the unusual seismic activity even nowadays if there would have been a recent catastrophe. What observable results on the Moon would you expect when the underquestion moonquake was so intense that it could nicely overcome the force of gravity of such a large celestial body? Moonquake and Moon-split are events of completely different magnitudes, so their effects on Moon must also be theorized differently. If we found the evidence of moonquake, is this enough evidence of Moon-split? A semi-skilled not-so-careful individual can theorize the event illogically, misinterpret the data, and harm the concepts of laymen. Thus Moon-split cannot be explained in the light of the Quake, unless some supernatural force acted upon Moon perhaps according to different physical rules later. It is same like that we try to describe the laws of physics behind the split of the Red Sea by Prophet Moses (Peace be upon Him), though some oceanographers found the wreckages of Egyptian wheels in the Red Sea long after split of the sea.

Humans have visited the Moon many times and have been sending the probes to land and orbit the Moon for geophysical research. We know Moon as much we know our Earth. There are still some mysteries left which are also true not only for Moon, but also for Earth and even ourselves: Origins and Destiny. If Moon-split was so recent event geologically, then astronauts and other researchers would have already found it, irrespective of what it may have any significance in any religion. Results of NASA’s Lunar Prospector and other spacecrafts can be found at NASA’s website. Before trying to collect any data from various sources, the true scientific approach requires you to work out on theoretical grounds beforehand.

VIII. Prospective Geophysical Evidences

Instead of Moon’s apparent geological features, the Magnetic configuration of Moon reveals the indication of Moon’s split or similar catastrophic event but again, it requires deep investigation. According to this evidence, we already know that splitting the magnet creates two independent magnets. Following the same line, if Moon had a molten core in the past, then it had a magnetic field. Suppose, its hot and molten core was exposed to the cold space with the temperature of 3 Kelvin (-270C). Suppose the Moon split apart and its two hemispheres were away from each other at about two diameters of Moon (7,000 km). After rejoin, the magnetic filed must have been irregular and weakened due to disturbance of the ordered movement and comparatively solidification of molten core (assuming Moon was kept apart for few minutes). And, that’s exactly what we have found. The problem is that this irregularity can be accounted for other events of similar magnitude i.e. asteroid impact. Unless we research specifically for this purpose, we are not likely to know.

In a small telescope, if you observe closely, there is a small line visible apparently running from south to north crossing through the Sea of Serenity, a northern dark region near the centerline or meridian. In a brief look, it may appear as the boundary or a fault between the two hemispheres which split apart. While it could be the case underground, studies however indicate that this line is extremely ancient according to our times scales. The other features seem to overlap it, though the line itself could be more recent relative to other features. Moreover, this kind of lines, or more appropriately ‘Ray Systems’, are also found in other parts of Moon, at different angles and places, and typically are the surface-related features. They form when the asteroids outburst the lunar material away from the impact in the shape of spikes, destined to last billions of years. Please see the lunar pictures included on the website.

IX. Conclusion

We are not disputing the Moon Split event, rather, we acknowledge the event as part of our faith. What we are discrediting is the 'Scientific Work' by those great muslims who are not scientisits, nor they are mystics of any spiritual rank. We do not understand why they want to prove the holy events for which no knowledge has been given to any body regarding the mechanics of the events. These kind of events are beyond the comprehension of science, or even worldly reasoning, currently. But these events can be understood if the right approach is used. We are totally against the approach currently in use by 'Nothing Doers'.

The question is not that the event happened or not. Suppose there was a visible fault running through the center of Moon and everyone could see it without any doubt. Scientific and religious histories prove that there were always unlimited explanations of the obvious observations. In this scenario, Moon-split would have been again under question. If gathering the evidence of Holy Events is so important for us, then instead of misinterpreting the irrelevant data, why don’t we struggle to establish the scientific organization with the paramount strategy to explore the evidences of Holy Events for the sole purpose of strengthening belief through natural investigation? All kinds of appropriate researchers and equipment could be hired. In the case of Moon-split, if we have to visit the Moon for this purpose, it can be done. There are many small scale scientific and research organizations operating throughout Muslim countries, but how many are working with the mentioned purpose? The answer is none. Statistics show that many Muslim nations can afford this sort of project. If we can afford the Burj-al-Arab, Palm Islands, and other exotic projects in Dubai or Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, and likewise countless projects, then it is also possible to participate in the Space Exploration solemnly for the Higher Purpose. Alternatively, we can hire NASA and ESA to research on our behalf and for the projects we assign them. If many Muslim nations can hire US soldiers for their protection, then why not NASA or ESA can be hired for their research? Among all Books of Heavenly Revelations, Qurran is the one, which commands the most to the people to investigate the natural and cosmic sciences, so that they get the faith in Him with doubtless heart. There is no other natural way to know our Lord.

There are many phenomena in the Holy Qurran according to which our Lord has commanded us to research upon them: Alternations of Day and Night, the Origins of Life, Botany, Astronomical objects, Our Lord encompassing and being the vast expansiveness of space from atom through Universe to limitless beyond, independent of spacetime continuum (known as Subspace for mortal imagination purposes; thus Subspace Research seeks explanation of astrophysical and astronomical phenomena in the light of Subspace dimension). Unfortunately either we don’t follow the Qurran in the required manner or we do the research in the same manner as we do to Moon-split’s event. It is however important to know that the Holy Qurran does not clearly indicate that this event really happened or going to happen, in contrast to the event of Holy Transcendence which is far more advanced than the Moon’s split, and requires us to apply extreme physics to comprehend it, and is fully supported in Qurran. If we have no choice but to acquire the evidence, we would preferably like to acquire scientific evidences instead of anthropologic and historical narrations from the cultures, which no doubt can also help us, but not of the paramount importance. We need to remember: Nature never mistakes, but we do. May be our Lord wants us to figure it out with personal pain-staking and investment to stabilize our belief, the belief which is more precious than anything but we realize not.