Q. I am told that the Prophet (peace be upon him) divided the moon into two and later put it back in its original form. Is this true? Is there any evidence to support this?
Farooq Khan
A. The parting of the moon is a fact, but the Prophet did not do it. How could he when he was an ordinary human being, like all of us, except for the fact that he was chosen by God to receive and deliver His last message to mankind? It was done by God who is able to accomplish any purpose of His. Many a Qur’anic verse ends with the comment: “God has sway over all things.”
The evidence confirming this event is in the Qur’an. Surah 54, The Moon, or Al-Qamar, starts as follows: “The Last Hour has drawn near, and the moon has been split. Yet whenever they see a sign, they turn away and say: ‘It is but sorcery extended’.” (54: 1-2) When you analyze the first verse carefully, you find that it consists of a warning about the Day of Judgment, which is indicated here as the Last Hour, and a piece of news speaking about a certain event, namely, the parting of the moon. There are also several Hadiths that mention the event. One of these is reported by Abdullah Ibn Masoud who says: “The moon was split into two parts during the lifetime of the Prophet and people looked at it. The Prophet said to all people: ‘Bear witness’.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Further evidence is that the Qur’an stated this fact very clearly, confronting with it the idolaters who denied God’s message, and none of them is reported to have denied the event. They acknowledged it, but they sought to dismiss it by saying that it was sorcery. They claimed that the Prophet put a spell over them to see the moon in two. But then some of them suggested that “if Muhammad has managed to cast a spell on us, he cannot do so with all people. Let us wait until some travelers arrive and ask them.” They did and all travelers arriving in Makkah confirmed seeing the moon parted in two. Hence the unbelievers alleged, as the Qur’anic verse states, that “it is but sorcery extended.”
But why should we wonder at God’s ability to split the moon in two, or into many smaller fragments, if He so wills? Do we not believe that He is able to accomplish any purpose of His? Think of huge earthquakes that cause the tsunami that kill around a quarter of a million people in countries thousands of miles apart. It causes the movement of large islands, and makes some small islands disappear and others emerge. Then reflect what would be the effect of a similar earthquake lasting ten minutes instead of 20 seconds, and what if such a longer earthquake was ten times as strong. It could split the Earth into several parts. Besides, the creation of the moon itself and the way it functions, the cycle it follows, and the change of its position and shape every night provide a much greater sign for us to contemplate. We must remember, however, that all this occurs by God’s will, not by any of His creatures, not even the Prophet.
Undivided Inheritance
Q. My wife’s father died in 1979, leaving behind his wife, one son and two daughters, but no other heirs. Her mother died about ten years ago, and her brother a few months back. At the time of his death, her brother was a widower, but he had 3 sons and 3 daughters. No inheritance has been divided, and there is a house still registered in my wife’s father’s name. Please advise on the division of this inheritance.
A.K.
A. The Prophet emphasized that inheritance should be divided among the heirs without delay. Delay causes problems, and these could lead to long running disputes between brothers and sisters. Many families think it is better to keep things running as they were during the lifetime of a parent, particularly when there is a business that brings income to the family. Yet such thoughts are wrong. It is still possible to keep the business running, with each of the heirs knowing exactly what his or her share is and the amount of income they receive from the business. Without division some heirs lose their rights, and they often begin to nurse a long lasting ill feeling toward their close relatives. Hence the Prophet’s advice: “Divide the inheritance even though it may be only a tooth stick, or a miswak.”
Be this as it may, it is important in the case we are looking at to divide the inheritance without further delay, because there are now secondary heirs, i.e. the son’s children. If it is not divided, someone’s rights might be lost and this will land the whole family into problems. Fortunately, the case is not too complicated now, but it could become so if left undivided for much longer.
The father’s estate should have been divided in the following manner: one-eighth to his widow, and the rest to his children, divided into four shares: two for the son and one each for the two daughters. The mother’s estate should be divided among her children in four shares: one to each daughter and two to her son. This assumes that at the time of her death, the mother also had no other heirs, such as either of her parents who might have survived her. Since the mother’s inheritance follows the same lines, this means that when she died, the house, as well as any other money or property left by either parent, belonged to your wife and her sister and brother, with each of the two women taking one quarter and their brother taking one half.
As your wife’s brother died, his inheritance should go to his six children. It should divide into nine shares, with each son taking two shares and each daughter taking one share. This applies to all his estate, including half the house he inherited from his parents.
This means that the ownership of the house left by your father-in-law is: one quarter to your wife, and one quarter to her sister. The other half belongs to her brother’s children divided between them on the above lines: two shares for each son and one for each daughter.