had consisted of two rakʿahs before the Night Journey. When the five daily prayers were later made obligatory, they were prescribed in full for the resident just as they are today, while the traveller was granted the concession of praying two rakʿahs, in keeping with the original ruling. In this way every difficulty is entirely removed. Allah knows best.

Section
The Splitting of the Moon during the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ

God Most High made this event a sign confirming the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the guidance and religion of truth that he brought, for it occurred exactly in response to his noble gesture.(1) The Almighty says in His decisive Book:

“The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split. Yet if they see a sign, they turn away and say, ‘Persistent magic.’ They denied and followed their desires, but every matter is destined to reach its fulfilment.” (al-Qamar 54:1-3)

The Muslims are unanimously agreed that this took place during his lifetime ﷺ. The ḥadiths attesting to it are mass-transmitted through multiple chains and convey certainty to anyone who studies them. We shall cite here, Allah willing—and in Him we place our trust—such of them as is convenient. We have treated the subject in detail in our Qurʾānic commentary, recording the various chains and wordings precisely; here we only touch upon some of those chains and trace them to the well-known collections, by Allah’s might and power. The event is related by Anas ibn Mālik, Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim, Ḥudhayfah, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd—may Allah be pleased with them all.

As for Anas, Imām Aḥmad (3) narrated: “ʿAbd al-Razzāq told us, Muʿammar told us, from [al-Zuhrī, from] Qatādah, from Anas ibn Mālik who said: ‘The people of Mecca asked the Prophet ﷺ for a sign, and the moon split in Mecca twice.’ He then recited: ‘The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split.’”

Muslim (4) transmitted it from Muḥammad ibn Rāfiʿ, from ʿAbd al-Razzāq with this chain. This is classed among the Companions’ mursal reports; it appears that Anas received it from the large company of Companions, or directly from the Prophet ﷺ, or from both.

Al-Bukhārī and Muslim (5) likewise related this ḥadith through the route of Shaybān; al-Bukhārī added Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūbah, and Muslim (6) added Shuʿbah—all of them from Qatādah, from Anas: that the people of Mecca asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to show them a sign, whereupon he showed them the moon split in two until they saw Mount Ḥirāʾ between the halves. This is the wording of al-Bukhārī (7).