Crescent Moon: Symbol of Islam

[CreedIsChrist]

Why is the Crescent moon a symbol in many Islamic countries. Why is it so prevalent? What does the star next to it represent?

 

[ks777]

I can't speak for muslims and tell you why that's their symbol or insignia, but I do have my ideas.

Firstly, the moon is mentioned countless times throughout the qur'an.

I found a few quotes from a book that kind of relate to the moon cresent below. I'm sure Muslims will be able to explain why the symbols are there better than me. I guess the star is there next to the moon just to symbolise the night, or darkness.



Bukhari:V6B60N374 "We were in the Prophet's company in the middle of the lunar month. He looked at the moon and said, 'You will see your Lord as you see this moon.'" This reverence to the moon was hardly a flight of fancy. In the 8th chapter of Judges, there's a three thousand-year-old Bible reference: "The Ishmaelites hung crescent moon ornaments from their camel's necks." So today, when you look up and see crescent moons decorating Muslim mosques and flags, you'll know that the Arabian love affair with the moon has survived thirty centuries.

In the Bible, the moon is the illusory, false, and counterfeit source of illumination, therefore symbolic of Satan. Darkness is equated with evil and deception. The Bible says: "Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."

Symbols used throughout the Islamic scriptures are from the Occult. A snake, the personification of Satan, led Abraham to the Ka'aba and revealed its foundations. A snake is the only creature said to have lived in the Ka'aba. The darkened or crescent moon, another Satanic symbol representing counterfeit light, is the religion's logo. Allah was a moon god. He swore by the moon. His stone was black. The darkness of night was the best time to worship him and recite his message. The Qur'an was endorsed by jinn, demons from Satan’s tribe. Even the seal of prophethood on Muhammad’s back was said to look like an apple - the image of Satanic temptation.

Swearing by the Moon (capital "M") is incriminating. It reveals Ar-Rahman’s and Allah’s origins. Qur'an 74:32 "No, truly: I swear by the Moon as a witness, and by the darkness of night as it wanes."

source: http://prophetofdoom.net/

 

[humblemuslim]

I am going to have to correct ks777 on several details included in his post...which I am guessing all came from his quoted source.

He claims that GOD swears by the moon and darkness as though it it something sinister and specific (In a solitary sense). Unfortunately he(Or his source) cuts off the quotation in a manner that appears quite dishonest. Because the following verse omitted shows GOD swearing by the morning sun shine...GOD knows best regarding the intention.

GOD swears by other things as well...

[56:75] I swear by the positions of the stars.

[69:38] I swear by what you see.
[69:39] And what you do not see.

[74:32] Absolutely, (I swear) by the moon.
[74:33] And the night as it passes.
[74:34] And the morning as it shines.

[75:1] I swear by the Day of Resurrection.
[75:2] And I swear by the blaming soul.

[81:15] I solemnly swear by the galaxies.
[81:16] Precisely running in their orbits.
[81:17] By the night as it falls.
[81:18] And the morn as it breathes.

[84:16] I solemnly swear by the rosy dusk.
[84:17] And the night as it spreads.
[84:18] And the moon and its phases.

[90:1] I solemnly swear by this town.
[90:2] The town where you live.
[90:3] The begetting and the begotten.

GOD swears by GOD's creation.

A snake, the personification of Satan, led Abraham to the Ka'aba and revealed its foundations. A snake is the only creature said to have lived in the Ka'aba.

Source of this information? A specific Hadith or Qur'an verse?

The darkened or crescent moon, another Satanic symbol representing counterfeit light, is the religion's logo.

The moonlight is in fact sunlight. I'm not even sure what this ambiguous reference to 'counterfeit light' is even trying to refer to.

In the Bible, the moon is the illusory, false, and counterfeit source of illumination, therefore symbolic of Satan.

Citation...?

Allah was a moon god.

So now we have a past-tense existence, which is again ambiguous and not supported by evidence.

His stone was black.

Another argument from ignorance. All creation is GOD's. It is not limited to any one rock.

The darkness of night was the best time to worship him and recite his message.

Evidence? There are too many baseless assertions here for me to focus...

The Qur'an was endorsed by jinn, demons from Satan’s tribe.

I happen to know what this is referring to so even though we again have a lack of direct quotation as evidence, I can solve that problem.

[72:1] Say, "I was inspired that a group of jinns listened, then said, `We have heard a wonderful Quran.



The simple problem here is that the author of this argument disregards the diversity of jinn and rather consider them all evil demons who all swear allegiance to satan. The Qur'an brings light to the issue that some jinn are good and some are bad. They have freedom of choice just as humans do and share the same purpose in existence.


[6:112] We have permitted the enemies of every prophet - human and jinn devils - to inspire in each other fancy words, in order to deceive. Had your Lord willed, they would not have done it. You shall disregard them and their fabrications.

[7:179] We have committed to Hell multitudes of jinns and humans. They have minds with which they do not understand, eyes with which they do not see, and ears with which they do not hear. They are like animals; no, they are far worse - they are totally unaware.

[46:29] Recall that we directed a number of jinns to you, in order to let them hear the Quran. When they got there, they said, "Listen." As soon as it was over, they rushed to their people, warning.
[46:30] They said, "O our people, we have heard a book that was revealed after Moses, and confirms the previous scriptures. It guides to the truth; to the right path.
[46:31] "O our people, respond to the call of GOD, and believe in Him. He will then forgive your sins, and spare you a painful retribution."



[51:56] I did not create the jinns and the humans except to worship Me alone.


To my knowledge the prophet never used the crescent moon nor endorsed it. It is a later adopted symbol.

Historically speaking:

Historically, in accounting for the crescent and star symbol, Ottomans sometimes referred to a legendary dream of the eponymous founder of the Ottoman house, Osman I, in which he is reported to have seen a moon rising from the breast of a Muslim judge whose daughter he sought to marry. "When full, it descended into his own breast. Then from his loins there sprang a tree, which as it grew came to cover the whole world with the shadow of its green and beautiful branches." Beneath it Osman saw the world spread out before him, surmounted by the crescent.[28] The absence of any mention of a star in this dream does, however, seem to make it a rather unlikely explanation for the specific star and crescent symbol.
A perhaps more balanced view is offered by Franz Babinger.

It seems possible, though not certain, that after the conquest Mehmed took over the crescent and star as an emblem of sovereignty from the Byzantines. The half-moon alone on a blood red flag, allegedly conferred on the Janissaries by Emir Orhan, was much older, as is demonstrated by numerous references to it dating from before 1453. But since these flags lack the star, which along with the half-moon is to be found on Sassanid and Byzantine municipal coins, it may be regarded as an innovation of Mehmed. It seems certain that in the interior of Asia tribes of Turkish nomads had been using the half-moon alone as an emblem for some time past, but it is equally certain that crescent and star together are attested only for a much later period. There is good reason to believe that old Turkish and Byzantine traditions were combined in the emblem of Ottoman and, much later, present-day Republican Turkish sovereignty.[29]
​

It is certainly possible there was some cultural continuity between the pre and post-conquest populations. The Ottoman noble house should be distinguished from the population of the empire and of Byzantium itself, which was certainly mixed.

Was there, then, anything of the past that survived in Ottoman Istanbul and which would preserve memories and the culture of the past? First, it would seem that the sultan's policy of repeopling the city included provision for the return of a portion of the original population: those who had fled the city prior to the siege, as well as those who had gone into hiding in Galatia, and finally, those of the Constantinopolitans who had been taken prisoner in the final capture but who had been allowed to return either as a result of ransoming themselves or of being allowed to work toward the paying off of the ransom. These constituted the original Greek population that was allowed to return to Constantinople. They were given houses in the city and, along with Muslim and other Christian immigrants whom the sultan brought from all over the empire, constituted the original population of Ottoman Istanbul. Thus there was en element of demographic continuity, though its proportion to the total population of the new city was of course considerably diminished.[30]
​

More information : Crescent Moon - Symbol of Islam?

Based on this history, many Muslims reject using the crescent moon as a symbol of Islam. The faith of Islam has historically had no symbol, and many refuse to accept what is essentially an ancient pagan icon. It is certainly not in uniform use among Muslims.

To me the symbol is not important and has nothing to do with my spiritual path.

 

[ks777]

I started finding quotes to back up the claim, but there were too many and it would problably be easier just to read the chapter 'Dishonest Abe' which goes through it in detail.

"The moonlight is in fact sunlight. I'm not even sure what this ambiguous reference to 'counterfeit light' is even trying to refer to."


I think of it as not an original source of light. It's the reflection of light by the sun. Take the sun away and the moon emits no light. Therefore, the sun is the real light, and the moon is the counterfiet of that light. If the moon was in fact sunlight, it would produce UV rays and radiation but it doesn't because it's just a reflection. Anyway, that's just how I see it.

sorry, I don't know how to make this any larger haha

And I understand that you believe Jinn to be good and bad and to have choice, but for a non muslim, something created from fire and a part of satans tribe listening to muhummad and saying "This is the true path", knowing anything about satan; it's going to be a lie. I can't really see it any other way.

 

[humblemuslim]

I started finding quotes to back up the claim, but there were too many and it would problably be easier just to read the chapter 'Dishonest Abe' which goes through it in detail.

Very well...From what I have seen so far I do not except too much...

"The moonlight is in fact sunlight. I'm not even sure what this ambiguous reference to 'counterfeit light' is even trying to refer to."


I think of it as not an original source of light. It's the reflection of light by the sun. Take the sun away and the moon emits no light. Therefore, the sun is the real light, and the moon is the counterfiet of that light. If the moon was in fact sunlight, it would produce UV rays and radiation but it doesn't because it's just a reflection. Anyway, that's just how I see it.

Then I suppose all of GOD's messengers are evil according to this odd selective understanding...They are a manifestation or 'reflection' of GOD's light. I never would imagine someone would argue that reflected light is evil...

sorry, I don't know how to make this any larger haha

And I understand that you believe Jinn to be good and bad and to have choice, but for a non muslim, something created from fire and a part of satans tribe listening to muhummad and saying "This is the true path", knowing anything about satan; it's going to be a lie. I can't really see it any other way.
Show me where it says all the jinn are from the tribe of satan...There are in fact humans who have joined those ranks. It would be academically lazy and dishonest to just assume all humans would be included, likewise with jinn. So they are made from fire. There is nothing inherently evil about fire.

See colored comments...

 

[ApplePie7]

GOD swears by other things as well...

[56:75] I swear by the positions of the stars.

[69:38] I swear by what you see.
[69:39] And what you do not see.

[74:32] Absolutely, (I swear) by the moon.
[74:33] And the night as it passes.
[74:34] And the morning as it shines.

[75:1] I swear by the Day of Resurrection.
[75:2] And I swear by the blaming soul.

[81:15] I solemnly swear by the galaxies.
[81:16] Precisely running in their orbits.
[81:17] By the night as it falls.
[81:18] And the morn as it breathes.

[84:16] I solemnly swear by the rosy dusk.
[84:17] And the night as it spreads.
[84:18] And the moon and its phases.

[90:1] I solemnly swear by this town.
[90:2] The town where you live.
[90:3] The begetting and the begotten.

GOD swears by GOD's creation.

The God of the Bible swears by Himself, as there is nothing greater to swear by when delivering His inspiration.

Contrast this to the god “allah” of the Koran who never once swears by himself – proving once and for all that there are greater things than him. In fact, the only things sworn by in the Koran are Biblical things which the authors of the Koran copied.

 

[ks777]

They are a manifestation or 'reflection' of GOD's light. I never would imagine someone would argue that reflected light is evil...

I don't know if the metaphorical light and the physical light are really the same thing. It's not saying reflected light is evil. However, the darkness with a fake source of light is symbolic of it.

Show me where it says all the jinn are from the tribe of satan...

I probably can't find a verse that says it in those words, but it's the impression I got from the 'scriptures'.

 

[CreedIsChrist]

That is awfully allot of trust to put into Osman I. And many prominent mosques have the crescent on the top of their buildings and the flags of muslims countries. Wasn't there a suspected miracle that happened with the splitting of the moon?? I thought that might of had relation to it other than the Ottomans.

 

[LightHorseman]

The "star" in the symbol is Venus, and the astronomical arangement is called a "Venus-Lunar conjunction".
http://www.highwindsfarm.net/moon%20venus%20conjunction.JPG

Why this particular astronomical phenomena has significance for Muslims, I have no idea.

 

[ks777]

Wasn't there a suspected miracle that happened with the splitting of the moon?? I thought that might of had relation to it other than the Ottomans.

I think you mean the hadith(?) from bukhari. I copy and pasted this from a book. Muslims, I know you must hate me for always reffering to this, if it bothers you that much you don't have to read it


Qur'an 40:13 "It is He Who shows you his Ayat (Signs and Proofs)." According to the Qur'an, there were no miracles - ever. Allah never so much as rolled over. However, the Hadith contradicts Allah’s Book, and says: Bukhari:V4B56N830-1"The Meccan people requested Allah’s Apostle to show them a miracle, and so during the lifetime of the Prophet [they haven't a clue as to when] the moon was split into two parts. On that the Prophet said, 'Bear witness [to my god].'" Since there is no evidence to corroborate fanciful tale, I'm surprised Muslims don't claim that putting the moon back together as if it had never been apart was a miracle, too.

 

[JJWhite]

That is awfully allot of trust to put into Osman I. And many prominent mosques have the crescent on the top of their buildings and the flags of muslims countries. Wasn't there a suspected miracle that happened with the splitting of the moon?? I thought that might of had relation to it other than the Ottomans.

As far as I know, this was a symbol adopted by the Ottoman Empire. Since they were the leading Islamic power for a while, the symbol became associated with Islam.

 

[Supreme]

I've spoken to Muslims who hate having the crescent as their symbol. They'd rather have the Shahada in Arabic as their religion's symbol instead.

 

[Diamonds2004]

This is a response to the original poster about where the crescent symbol o Islam comes from.

In Surah 53 of the Qu’ran you can read that there used to be the worshiping of three main goddesses in pre-Islamic Arabia: Al-Lat, Al`Uzza, and Manat. According to this text as well as some archaeology finds, the crescent and the star was used as a symbol at times for pre-Islamic goddess Al-Lat. The same name can go by al-Allat. The meaning and use of crescent was changed after Islam. There is a rock inscription at Adumatu in Saudi Arabia that says, “May Allat grant every wish.” Another says, “Shalm-Allat (Peace from Allat).” The location of Adumatu in Saudi Arabia is made of broken walls and old places where no one lives anymore.

Photos for this post:

Medallion of the cresent and star of the pre-Islamic goddess al-Allat

Photo of Adumatu in Saudi Arabia

 

[ApplePie7]

This is a response to the original poster about where the crescent symbol o Islam comes from.

In Surah 53 of the Qu’ran you can read that there used to be the worshiping of three main goddesses in pre-Islamic Arabia: Al-Lat, Al`Uzza, and Manat. According to this text as well as some archaeology finds, the crescent and the star was used as a symbol at times for pre-Islamic goddess Al-Lat. The same name can go by al-Allat. The meaning and use of crescent was changed after Islam. There is a rock inscription at Adumatu in Saudi Arabia that says, “May Allat grant every wish.” Another says, “Shalm-Allat (Peace from Allat).” The location of Adumatu in Saudi Arabia is made of broken walls and old places where no one lives anymore.

Photos for this post:

Medallion of the cresent and star of the pre-Islamic goddess al-Allat

Photo of Adumatu in Saudi Arabia

Sura 53 does not actually speak of goddess worship. It can be exegetically shown that these terms were merely copied from the Biblical Book of Revelation, and pertain to the four living creatures about the throne...

 

[ProScribe]

<(.)>

 

[CreedIsChrist]

This is a response to the original poster about where the crescent symbol o Islam comes from.

In Surah 53 of the Qu’ran you can read that there used to be the worshiping of three main goddesses in pre-Islamic Arabia: Al-Lat, Al`Uzza, and Manat. According to this text as well as some archaeology finds, the crescent and the star was used as a symbol at times for pre-Islamic goddess Al-Lat. The same name can go by al-Allat. The meaning and use of crescent was changed after Islam. There is a rock inscription at Adumatu in Saudi Arabia that says, “May Allat grant every wish.” Another says, “Shalm-Allat (Peace from Allat).” The location of Adumatu in Saudi Arabia is made of broken walls and old places where no one lives anymore.

Photos for this post:

Medallion of the cresent and star of the pre-Islamic goddess al-Allat

Photo of Adumatu in Saudi Arabia

yea but that has a hand with an eye in it next to a crescent moon. Is there anything pre-islamic that just has the crescent moon??

Is there anything earlier regarding the crescent moon before the Ottomons in the Islamic period? particularity the patristic period?

I think you mean the hadith(?) from bukhari. I copy and pasted this from a book. Muslims, I know you must hate me for always reffering to this, if it bothers you that much you don't have to read it

Qur'an 40:13 "It is He Who shows you his Ayat (Signs and Proofs)." According to the Qur'an, there were no miracles - ever. Allah never so much as rolled over. However, the Hadith contradicts Allah’s Book, and says: Bukhari:V4B56N830-1"The Meccan people requested Allah’s Apostle to show them a miracle, and so during the lifetime of the Prophet [they haven't a clue as to when] the moon was split into two parts. On that the Prophet said, 'Bear witness [to my god].'" Since there is no evidence to corroborate fanciful tale, I'm surprised Muslims don't claim that putting the moon back together as if it had never been apart was a miracle, too.

yes, it was the Hadith. I wonder if there are any more documents on the splitting of the moon. Do you think maybe it was just a halfmoon that went on for a while?? Or was it both sides of the broken moon to been seen together at one time??

 

[ks777]

This is just my idea here, but when your prophet can't perform a myrical, make one up.

 

[Islam_mulia]

This is just my idea here, but when your prophet can't perform a myrical, make one up.

myrical - is that a new musical instrument?

 

[ks777]

myrical - is that a new musical instrument?

Haha, I always spell that word wrong...

 

[Islam_mulia]

Haha, I always spell that word wrong...

So, how do you spell it?