Moon Splitting Into Two Parts

It was the eighth year of proclamation of the prophethood Holy Prophet (PBUH) when Abu Jehal along with a Jew religious scholar and few others came to see Holy Prophet (PBUH) and waving his sword said. "Prophets before you demonstrated miracles so you also have to demonstrate some miracle." Holy Prophet (PBUH) asked him in his polite manner. "Will you have faith after witnessing a miracle? Tell me what do you want to see.”

Abu Jehal was still searching his mind for some reply when the Jew scholar said. "Sorcery cannot affect the sky!”

Taking the lead Abu Jehal looked towards the sky and found e full moon shining brightly, so he demanded from the Prophet (PBUH) to split the moon in such a way that one of its portion should come over the Mount of Abu Qais and the other should go over the Mount of Qaiqan.

Holy Prophet (PBUH) pointed his index finger towards the moon and it split into two halves. One of the half stayed over the Mount of Abu Qais and the other stationed over the Mount of Qaiqan.

After a while Holy Prophet (PBUH) raised his index finger towards the sky and both the halves of the moon reassembled at its original place. Witnessing this miracle, the Jew scholar submitted to have faith and embraced Islam but Abu Jehal remained stubborn and said. "Mohammad transfixed us using his spell.” Later on various travelers of caravans traveling in the desert also testified this event.

The moon is the closest of all the celestial bodies to the earth. The distance between the moon and the planet earth is estimated to be 240,000 miles. Diameter of the moon is about 2,100 miles. Mass of the moon is estimated to be eightieth part of the mass of the earth whereas the gravitational pull of the earth six times larger than that of the moon.

About five billion years ago, according to the scientists, the moon and the earth were very close to one another and the earth used to complete its one rotation around its axis in 4 hours and 45 minutes whereas now it takes about 24 hours.

The moon, during the course of its revolution in its orbit around the earth passes through different phases. The part of the moon illuminated because of the sun light as seen from the earth determines its phases. In the beginning the moon is known as crescent. Its size enlarges with every passing night and on the fourteenth night it becomes the full moon. After the fifteenth night it starts decreasing eventually fades out of the sight completely. This cycle completes in about 29 and a half days time, which is known as the lunar month that commences with sighting of the crescent on the western horizon on the eve of new month.

Photographs taken from the satellites of the surface of that side of the moon, which remains obscure from the man's sight, show mountain terrains on the moon.

The dark spots seen on the bright face of the moon by the naked eye, in actual fact, are the desert plains at the bases of their surrounding heights that fail to reflect the sunlight and therefore appear as dark spots to the vision.

240 kilometers long crack-line can be seen in the pictures of the hidden side of the moon taken from a distance of three thousand kilometers by Orbiter-4 during the Apollo Mission in May 1967. At places this crack line is 8 kilometers wide.

Because of the gravitational pull of the moon, tide is produced in the waters of the ocean. The solar eclipse is produced when the moon revolving in its orbit comes in between the sun and the earth and the sunlight is blocked from reaching the earth whereas in the case of Lunar eclipse the earth conies in between the moon and the sun and the sunlight is blocked from reaching the moon.

The moon sighted by the spiritual eyes is altogether different from the one that the telescope presents before our vision. The scene of the moon as seen by the spiritual eyes includes hills, mountains, lakes, deserts and ponds of water. Mercury is the dominant factor in the water of the lakes and ponds of the moon that glitters like mercury. Jinns, the invisible creatures, visit the moon.

The atmosphere of the moon smells like the welding of metals. Body becomes so light during walking on the surface of moon that one can even take off in the air but despites the feeling of lightness the body remain solid. There is no permanent inhibitation on the moon. It is just an excursion resort where the astral body can go. No one can enter the atmosphere of the moon unless one is familiar enough with one's astral body to command it to travel at one's will.

The Subservient Sun

Holy Prophet (PBUH) during his stay at Sehba: a place near Khyber, was resting. Ali (RA) was holding his head in his lap when the sun set. Holy Prophet (PBUH) opened his eyes and asked Ali (RA), "Did you establish Asr Salaat (Afternoon Prayer)?” Ali (RA) didn't say anything. Holy Prophet (PBUH) supplicated to God. “O Lord! Ali was busy in obeying Thou and was serving Thy apostle, let the sun come back for him.”

The setting sun re-emerged on the horizon and sunlight was spread on the earth, affording a chance for Ali (RA) to establish his Asr Salaat.

The sun was worshipped in ancient times. Egyptians called it Ra, Greeks named it as Helios and for Romans it was Sol.

The sun, one of the average size stars of our galaxy, is situated between two rotating spirals at two third of the distance from the center of galaxy. There are twenty other galaxies near our galaxy that has been, named as Spiral Milky Way. It is said that the universe was originated about fifteen to twenty billion years ago. The entire cosmos is estimated to have one hundred billion Galaxies having one hundred billion stars each.

Scientists agree that the creative material of the universe consists of Hydrogen atoms. Cosmologists have estimated the vastness of the universe to fifteen billion Light Years. The sun is at a distance of about thirty thousand Light Years from the center of Milky Way Galaxy. The distance covered by the light traveling at a speed of 300,000 km per second in one-year time is technically termed as one Light Year.

Ile earth, according to the old theories, was considered to be the center of the universe. Babylonians thought that the earth is like a plate that is surrounded by water from all sides and the sky is an inverted cup placed upon that plate. The sun, moon and other stars revolve around the earth. Greeks considered that the sky is a big hollow globe like structure that is surrounding the earth from all sides. The stars are embedded in the sky. Globe of the sky, upon an axis that is placed in the center of the earth, is always moving towards the west.

Muslims in their times, after the fall of the Roman Empire, developed the science of Mathematics and Astrology. In order to determine the speed of movement of the stars established observatories. But, couldn't do much to change the olden views about the cosmos.

The cosmos, as appearing today, in the light of modern researches, is altogether different from the one known in the old times and the medieval era. Since the advancement of the research is in progress, therefore, it can be said that the cosmic picture in the future would be entirely different from the one known to us today.

The fundamental of Cosmology are that the planets are revolving around the stars. The stars are emitting light of their own and the planets are sighted due to the reflection of the light emitted from the stars. The planets are the cold bodies. The star known as Sun, along with its nine known planets, their moons, more than fifteen hundred asteroids and incalculable comets, is revolving in its orbit around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The sun takes 200 million years to complete one revolution in its orbit. The movement of the sun around its axis due to its gaseous composition is not constant one.

On its equator, it takes twenty-seven days to complete its one rotation around its axis and on its poles it takes twenty-two days. The planets around the sun are revolving in Elliptical Orbits.

Scientists have estimated that the circumference of the sun is more than 860,000 miles. Temperature on its surface is about 6000 degrees Centigrade. Spots, using the telescopes, have been seen on the surface of the sun, which, on the average, increase in numbers after every eleven years. The central part of these spots, known as Umbra, is estimated to have 6,400° F temperature. It surrounding part appears to be less dark have white hot gases of 11,000° F. These spots have very strong magnetic fields. When the currents of charged particles of the sunspots enter the magnetic field of the earth at its poles with a velocity of 300,000 km per second, resulting this interaction of the charged particles from the sun and the magnetic field of the earth, the most spectacular scenes of aurora borealis and aurora australis, are witnessed on the poles.

Radiant energy transfers to the planets from their respective suns. So far discovered nine planets along with their moons, according to the astrologers, are revolving anti-clock wise, around the sun in their respective elliptic orbits.

The average distance between the sun and the earth is 93 million miles. The earth is revolving with a velocity of 30 km per second to complete its one revolution in its orbit around the sun. This revolutionary movement of the earth is responsible for the changing seasons. The earth besides moving in its orbit is also moving around its axis to complete its one rotation in 23 hours and 56 minutes. The axial movement of the earth is changing the days into nights and the nights are replaced by days. The portion of the earth facing the sun bears the day and portion in the shade is covered by darkness of the night.

Findings and the research of the present day scientists about the facts of the earth and the sun and the universe around us cannot be taken as final. Keeping in view the changing theories of the medieval era to the present day findings, it can be safely said that in the times to come, it will still be much more different than what we are told today.

No doubt that the findings of the scientists so far deserve our sincere commendations. All that is stated by the sciences is made out by virtue of their material observations. The more advances researches, the deeper goes the thinking and it results in change of observations.

When we delve into observation theoretically, it is stated that something is comprehended using the material means, or to say, all that is observed is witnessed by means of material apparatuses and gadgets with a materialistic paradigm of thinking. The matter by itself is a hypothesis. The word hypothesis does not mean that it does not have any effects: it does have effects. But, the main thing required to be considered is that how near have we gone to the reality, how does it affect the effects and how far the ultimate reality has been unveiled. It is our common observation that wood burns to produce fire but when the process of wood creation is taken into consideration. We see that water plays the most dominating direct role in creation of everything existing on earth including wood. Water, which otherwise extinguishes fire, is thus related to the fire.

There cannot be any doubt in advancement and achievements of sciences but the fact remains that the quest and research of the science is more inclined towards fiction and not even a fraction of its efforts is aimed at exploring the reality. Astrologers of the past and the present have consensus in their views that the sun is hot and has light whereas the spiritual scholars have altogether a different point of view. They say that sun is not lighted; the earth is lighted. The earth is moving with rotational and linear movements. The light of the earth after Falling upon the sun is reflected back in the form of sunlight.

God has stated in the holy Quran:

“By the sun and the sunlight: By the moon as she follows him: By the Day as it shows up the glory of the sun. By the night as it conceals it: By the Firmament and its structuring and By earth its vast expanse."      (S: 91, V: 1-6)

Earth is a sphere that revolves in its orbit perpetually. The earth has dual existence.

One is its physical existence and the other is its immanent spiritual existence. The spiritual body of earth is composed of those invisible waves that feed it directly by Noor and are subtler than ultraviolet rays. The lights that cannot be seen using any material means fall upon the sun, which in actual fact, is a dark black plate that reflects them back in the form of sunlight. The darkness and the blackness of the sun are so immense that these cannot be completely described in words.

Deliberation helps us to concluded that every creature existing on the earth is given two sets of senses, have two types of conscious, or to say, have two ways of living their lives. Life is spent with open eyes, present or absent mind and making use of the movements of the corporeal body under the influence of one set of senses; whereas, in the other way of life, every creature spends its life with closed eyes, absent mind and without involving the corporeal body in its movements. There is no difference between these two types of lives. God has termed the life spent consciously, as Nihar (the Day) and the life lived under the Unconscious as Lail (the Night).

There is an agency, in the inner of every existing being which accepts, alters or rejects the information provided to it. When the agency that ascribes meanings to the information received by it, is under the influence of the Conscious Senses, we witness the Day. And, when this agency is no longer under the influence of the Conscious Senses and it starts receiving the Unconscious stimuli, we term that state as Night.

There is no moment in a person's life when he could be librated from the senses. When the conscious senses are no longer prevalent the Unconscious senses grip over instead.

It is stated in the holy Quran:

"We cause the Day to enter the Night and enter the Night into the Day."

"We draw the Night out of the Day and the Day is drawn out the Night."

"We unwind the Day from over the Night.”

All these holy statements of God clearly suggest that the Day and the Night are TWO types of Senses, that is, we spend our life is spent in these two alternating sets of senses. When we are under the influence of Diurnal Senses, we live under the constraints of Time and Space and under the influence of the Nocturnal Senses we become librated from the Spatio-temporal restraints.

God bestowed the ruling powers to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to govern the universe, which also includes governance of the Day, the Night and celestial bodies like the sun, moon and stars.

"He has made subject in you the Night and the Day, and the stars are in subjection by His Command; verily, in this are Signs for people who make use of their intellect."    (S: 16, V: 12)

"Seest thou not that God has made subject to you all that is on the earth, and the ships that suit through the sea His Command? He withholds the sky from falling on the earth except by His leave: for God is Most kind and Most merciful to people."       (S: 22, V: 65)

"Seest thou not that God merges Night into Day and He merges Day into Night; That He has subjected the sun and the moon each running its for a term appointed; and that God is well acquainted with all that ye do?"        (S: 31, V: 29)

"It is God Who has subjected the sea to you that ships may sail through it by His Command, that ye may seek of His Bounty and that ye may be grateful. And He has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth; behold in that are Signs indeed for those who reflect."    (S: 45, V: 12-13)

When the Praying Time of Ali (R.A) had lapsed and when Abu Jehal and the Jew scholar asked the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to exhibit the miracle of splitting of moon into two halves, he exercised those powers that Gad have granted him to subject the sun, the moon and the cosmos.