Was Satan Commanded to Prostate, and Is There Any Scientific Proof That the Moon Split?
Answered by Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan
Question
Why has God in the Quran commanded the angels to prostrate to Adam but then blamed Satan, who was a Jin, for not prostrating? This is in Surah 18, verse 50.
My second question is, what scientific evidence do we have for the splitting of the moon?
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Allah’s command to the angels included Satan by agreement. This is clear from Satan’s response to Allah’s command. Had he not been commanded, he would not have given a reason for his disobedience. He said, “Never would I prostrate to a human whom You created out of clay from an altered black mud.” [Quran, 15:33]
I am not aware of any scientific evidence for the splitting of the moon. However, our beliefs must not be judged by science. This is simply because of the inconsistency of science on many issues. If our belief were to be tied to a scientific doctrine, it would have to change if the science changes.
Also, it is essential to appreciate that Islam’s greatest enemies witnessed the splitting of the moon and did not deny it. They may have accused the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) unjustly of performing magic and sorcery, but they observed the splitting of the moon. Even though magic has advanced over the centuries, which magician could fool an entire society into witnessing the splitting of the moon?
There are also many narrations that refer to people from other continents witnessing the splitting of the moon. One such narration refers to an Indian king who eventually accepted Islam because of this incident.
And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdurragmaan Khan
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdurragmaan Khan received ijaza ‘amma from various luminaries, including but not restricted to: Habib ‘Umar ibn Hafiz—a personality who affected him greatly and who has changed his relationship with Allah, Maulana Yusuf Karaan—the former Mufti of Cape Town; Habib ‘Ali al-Mashhur—the current Mufti of Tarim; Habib ‘Umar al-Jaylani—the Shafi‘i Mufti of Makkah; Sayyid Ahmad bin Abi Bakr al-Hibshi; Habib Kadhim as-Saqqaf; Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh; Maulana Abdul Hafiz al-Makki; Shaykh Ala ad-Din al-Afghani; Maulana Fazlur Rahman al-Azami and Shaykh Yahya al-Gawthani amongst others.
