[A.U. ASIF, Darbhanga]

It was the historic date of May 4, 1967 when the U.S.A. launched the ‘Orbiter-4’ from Cape Kennedy, Florida. The mission was to photograph 95% of the lunar surface. On May 11, 1967 a wide angle picture was taken of the hidden side of the moon from an altitude of about 3000 kms. This photograph, bearing the number 67-1805, shows a straight-line crack on the moon’s surface which is estimated to be about 240 kms. long and up to eight kms. wide in places.

A careful study of the picture shows that this straight-line crack has the following features.

* The cracks by natural causes are never found in a straight line. They are always irregular or in waves. But this crack is in a perfectly straight line which shows that it must have come about owing to something unnatural.

¤ It has marked raised rims.

¤ It is near the south pole of the moon on the side hidden from view to the Earth.

¤ The centre of the straight-line crack is located at about 65 degrees south and 105 degrees east.

¤ This crack on the lunar surface cuts through several large older craters and is itself cut and partly obliterated by a small younger crater about its center.

Prediction

Later on, this straight-line crack was also photographed by the astronauts, Armstrong and Aldrin, from 63 miles above the moon. This crack too is visible in the numerous photographs brought by the Apollo mission.

Now, passing through a paragraph on page 169 in the Gospel of Barnabas, we get Jesus Christ predicting: “Verily, I say to you that the moon shall minister sleep to him in his boyhood, and when he shall be grown up he shall take her in his hands. Let the world beware of casting him out because he shall slay the idolaters…”

Again, we find Arius, the bearer of the original teachings of Jesus Christ, calculating and informing Salman Farsi that Jesus of Nazareth had foretold that the comforter, the promised Prophet, would disclose himself to the world by a miracle that would be done by him in 617 A.D. The miracle would be seen simultaneously over large areas of the then known earth, he predicted. We get also the following verse in the chapter ‘The Moon’ in the Holy Quran:

The hour drew nigh and the moon was split into two parts (each part of the moon moving away from the other)’ [Qur’an 54:1].

History

After going through the Biblical teachings and the Qur’anic verse, let us now see what the history tells:

It was the full-moon night of the 14th of the lunar month of Rajab, in the eighth year after Prophethood and five years before Hijrah i.e., corresponding to 617 A.D. On this Friday night (the period after sunset on Thursday) a group of Pagans along with a group of Jews came to Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and challenged him that if he was the Prophet of the God, he should prove it by splitting the moon into two. The Pagan challengers comprised Abu Jah-bin-Hashan, Aas Ibnil Vail, Aswad bin Mutallib and several Jewish elders. Prophet Mohammad went on top of surrounding height known as Abu Kubais and at a ‘sign of his finger, the moon was split into two’. one piece going in one direction and the other in another direction. The time was approximately three hours after sunset at Mecca.

Witnesses

The Muslim witnesses on the spot at the time were: Ali Ibne Abu Taleb, Zubair bin ­Mutam Naufil, Anas Bin Malik, Abdullah-Bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Omar Farooq, Huzaifa Ibnil Yaman (radhiyallahu anhum).

All the disbelievers (the Jews) and the believers ran to their homes and informed their relatives about the happening. Thus this miracle was seen by the whole of Mecca.

Abdullah bin Masood (radhiyallahu anhu) was at this moment at Minah about 6 to 8 miles away. He also saw it there. People of all the neighbouring towns and villages, despatched by Abu Jahl bin Hashim, confirmed seeing the moon split into two on that eventful night. It was also seen in Syria and Palestine. The caravans arriving at Mecca from these countries confirmed that all the local people of the numerous towns in these countries had also seen it with great amazement

[Pages 418.423, Vol. II – Tafrihul Askia Fil Ahwal-ul­ Ambia].

In India

Raja Bhoj, King of Dhar – a town near the Chambal river in Malwa plateau on the western side of central India, was enjoying a quiet mid­night in his palace garden, where he saw the moon split into two halves, which moved away from each other. Frightened at this sight, he raised an alarm thinking the destruction of the world was at hand. This disturbing sight was witnessed by hundreds of thousands of people of central India.

Searched

The pandits searched through various Sanskrit books and pointed out from `Bhavishya Purana’ (Chaper XVII: C-3) that it had been foretold that a great personage would be born in Arabia, whose name would be Mohammad and who would influence the world with his teachings. The splitting of the moon would be one of his miracles. That those who would not follow the teachings of this great Prophet would eventually be losers in earth and in the next life. Then Raja Bhoj immediately sent his Prime Minister to Arabia. He met Prophet Mohammad at Mecca and became Muslim. The Prophet gave the name of ‘Abdullah’ for Raja Bhoj. When his Prime Minister returned, Raja Bhoj gladly became Muslim adopting the name Abdullah. The shrine of this King Abdullah alias Bhoj is still in existence just outside the town of Dhar. [Page 10, Asrar–e–Tasovuff, published in Lahore, May, 1925 edition].

There was a merchant traveller Sahu, son of Joginder, who lived at Tarbandan. He too saw the splitting of the moon on this eventful night. There was a big uproar in the Delhi area where thousands of people witnessed this miracle. They also found out from the Sanskrit records that this miracle had been performed by the tenth or final Avtar this world would have. Those who would not follow him would be doomed eventually in this life and the next. Sabu later on embraced Islam.

Thus the straight-line crack, photographed by orbitter-4, and the Apollo mission, is nothing but the sign of the demonstration of the splitting of the moon in 617 A.D. by Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him).

[Radiance, Delhi, India]