Spliting of the moon

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SPLITTING OF THE MOON OVSERVED BY CHAKRAWATI FARMAS, KING OF MALABAR, INDIA

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 was 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 (pbuh) 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.

The splitting of the moon is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an, Surah Al-Qamar (54), Verses 1-3:

The hour drew nigh and the moon was rent in twain.
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.

According to Maududi, the traditionists and commentators have agreed that this incident took place at Mina in Makkah about five years before the Holy Prophet's Hijra (migration) to Madinah.

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 (in Makkah) 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. This was a manifest proof of the truth that the system of the universe was neither eternal nor immortal, it could be disrupted.

This incident indicated that huge stars and planets could split asunder, disintegrate, collide with each other, and everything that had been described in the Qur'an on the Resurrection could happen. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) invited the people's attention to this event only with this object in view and asked them to mark it and be a witness to it. But the disbelievers described it as a magical illusion and persisted in their denial. They were reproached in Surah Al-Qamar (The Moon) for their stubbornness.

Other Relevant Notes:

It is due to this incident about their king, the people of Malabar became the first community in India to accept Islam. Subsequently, they increased their trade with Arabs, as the Arab ships used to pass by their shores on the way to China before the advent of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Before Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Malabar also had a Christian community dating back from the earliest followers of Prophet Jesus ('Isa), pbuh. St. Thomas is believed to have migrated to India and died there. This community remained untouched by later theological developments in Christianity until the arrival of Portugese traveler Vasco da Gama.

When the British were consolidating their stronghold in India, they deployed the largest naval operation (on the shores of India) against the Muslims of Malabar.

Thomas Carlyle:

"The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only."

De Lacy O'Leary in 'Islam at the Crossroads,' London, 1923.

Mahatma Gandhi, statement published in 'Young India,'1924.

I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.... I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophames Michener in ‘Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,’ Reader’s Digest, May 1955, pp. 68-70.

"No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam. The West has widely believed that this surge of religion was made possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts this idea, and the Qur’an is explicit in the support of the freedom of conscience."et's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life.

History makes it K. S. Ramakrishna Rao in 'Mohammed: The Prophet of Islam,' 1989

My problem to write this monograph is easier, because we are not generally fed now on that (distorted) kind of history and much time need not be spent on pointing out our misrepresentations of Islam. The theory of Islam and sword, for instance, is not heard now in any quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam that "there is no compulsion in religion" is well known,clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.

Jules Masserman in 'Who Were Histories Great Leaders?' in TIME Magazine, July 15, 1974

Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammad, who combined all the three functions. To a lesser degree Moses did the same.

References:
1. Faisal Siddiqui, "The Bible’s Last Prophet," Al-Saadawi Publications, 1995.

2. H.A. Al-Dahir, "Mohammed: A Prophecy Fulfilled," Gulf Medical Relief Fund, Inc., 4th Edition, 1994.

3. Kais Al-Kalby, "Prophet Muhammad: The Last Messenger in The Bible,"American Muslim Cultural Association, Third Edition, 1994.

4. 'Abdul Ahad Dawud, "Muhammad in The Bible, "Presidency of Shariyah Courts and Religious Affairs, Qatar, Third Edition, 1980. (The author is former Reverened David Benjamin Keldani, B.D., Former Bishop of Uramiah, a Roman Catholic Priest of the Uniate-Chaldean Sect; Born in 1867, Embraced Islam in 1904).

5. Abdul Haq Vidyarthi, "Muhammad in World Scriptures," Adam Publishers, 1990. (includes chapters on Zoroastrian and Hindu Scriptures)

6. A.H.Vidyarthi and U. Ali, "Muhammad in Parsi, Hindu & Buddhist Scriptures," IB.

7. Maurice Bucaille,"The Bible, The Qur'an and Science (Le Bible, le Coran et la Science): The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge," English version published by North American Trust Publication, 1978.

8. J.P. Green (Editor and Translator), "The Interlinear Bible (Hebrew, Greek and English Text)," Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1981.

Other General References:

9. Suzanne Haneef, "What Everyone Should Know About Islam and Muslims," Kazi Publications, 1979.

10. Muhammad 'Ata ur-Rahim, "Jesus: A Prophet of Islam," MWH London Publishers, UK, 1983.

11. "The Holy Qur'an," Text, Translation and Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 1934. (Latest Publisher: Amana Publications, Beltsville, MD, USA; Title: "The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an," 1992).