Case file · Apparition / miracle
The splitting of the Moon
Many Muslim commentators understand Sura 54:1, 'the Hour has drawn near and the moon was split', as a miracle seen at Mecca around 617 when the Moon appeared divided in two.
617 CE · 21.42, 39.83 · status: legend
The account
Hadith collections preserve eyewitness narrations. Other commentators read the verse as a sign of the end times. A later Indian legend says King Cheraman Perumal of Kerala saw the event and converted.
The sceptical view
No record of such an event exists outside the Islamic tradition; NASA has said its lunar data show no evidence.