Short answer
No. The Qur'an forbids the very worship the charge describes. It tells people not to bow down to the sun or the moon, but to bow down to Allah (﷾), who created them. It calls the moon a sign for counting time, not a god. Allah (﷾) is simply the Arabic word for God (﷾). Arab Christians use it too, and the standard Arabic Protestant Bible uses it in its first verse. So if Allah (﷾) were a moon god, every Arab church would worship one. The crescent is not in the Qur'an or in the practice of the Prophet (ﷺ). It became a common emblem of Muslim states only centuries later, mainly under the Ottomans. An American writer, Robert Morey, spread the charge in the 1990s. Islam's answer is that Allah (﷾) is the one God of Abraham, who made the sun and the moon.
Full explanation
Where the charge comes from
The American writer Robert Morey spread the claim widely in the 1990s, above all in The Islamic Invasion (1992). He argued that Allah (﷾) began as a pagan Arabian moon god. He said the crescent on mosques betrays that origin.
Claims that Allah was the name of a pre-Islamic Arabian moon god, and so is not the God of the Bible.
The Qur'an forbids bowing to the moon
The Qur'an answers the charge in one verse. It forbids prostrating (bowing down) to the sun or the moon, and gives the reason: Allah (﷾) created them. Elsewhere it calls the moon a light that God (﷾) measured out so people can count the years. It calls the new moons signs for marking time and the Pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam forbids bowing to the moon, because God (﷾) made it. So Islam cannot be moon worship.
“Among His Signs are the Night and the Day, and the Sun and the Moon. Do not prostrate to the sun and the moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who created them, if it is Him ye wish to serve.”
“It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time). Nowise did Allah create this but in truth and righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain His Signs in detail, for those who understand.”
“They ask thee concerning the New Moons. Say: They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time in (the affairs of) men, and for Pilgrimage. It is no virtue if ye enter your houses from the back: It is virtue if ye fear Allah. Enter houses through the proper doors: And fear Allah: That ye may prosper.”
Abraham turned away from the moon
The Qur'an tells how the prophet Abraham, whom Jews, Christians and Muslims all honour, looked at a star, the moon and the sun. He turned from each one as it set. He refused to call anything that rises and sets his Lord. He turned his face to the One who created the heavens and the earth. Muslims follow that faith of Abraham.
“When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set." When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray." When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah."”
Arab Christians also say Allah (﷾)
Allah (﷾) is the ordinary Arabic word for God (﷾). Arab Muslims and Arab Christians alike use it. The Smith-Van Dyck translation of 1865 is still the standard Arabic Bible of Protestants. It uses Allah (﷾) in its first verse and throughout. Aramaic is the language Jesus spoke. Its word for God (﷾) is Elaha, from the same root as Allah. Both words belong to the Semitic family of languages, which includes Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic. The Syriac Bibles of the Eastern churches, Syriac being a form of Aramaic, say Alaha. If Allah (﷾) is a moon god, then so is the God (﷾) of Genesis 1:1 in every Arab church that reads that Bible.
The Smith-Van Dyck Arabic Bible, completed in 1865 and still the standard Bible of Arabic-speaking Protestants, opens Genesis 1:1 with "In the beginning Allah created the heavens and the earth". Its word for God throughout is Allah.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
| Text | Word for God (﷾) |
|---|---|
| The Qur'an (Arabic) | Allah (﷾) |
| The standard Arabic Protestant Bible, Genesis 1:1 | Allah (﷾) |
| Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke | Elaha |
| The Syriac Bibles of the Eastern churches | Alaha |
If Allah (﷾) were a moon god, so would be the God (﷾) of Genesis 1:1 in every Arab church.
The pagans knew the name, not a moon god
Before Islam, the pagan Arabs already used Allah (﷾) for the supreme Creator. The Qur'an says the idolaters themselves admitted that Allah (﷾) created the heavens and the earth. They also admitted that He made the sun and the moon serve His law. The Qur'an condemned them for worshipping other gods beside Him. The Qur'an traces the Ka'ba to Abraham and Ishmael, who raised it for the worship of God (﷾) alone. The Arabs kept His name but later set idols beside Him. Islam took nothing from their idol worship. It cleared the idols away and restored Abraham's worship of the one God (﷾).
“If indeed thou ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law), they will certainly reply, "Allah". How are they then deluded away (from the truth)?”
“And remember Abraham and Isma'il raised the foundations of the House (With this prayer): "Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: For Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-knowing.”
“Behold! We gave the site, to Abraham, of the (Sacred) House, (saying): "Associate not anything (in worship) with Me; and sanctify My House for those who compass it round, or stand up, or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in prayer).”
The crescent came centuries later
The crescent on mosques and flags is found neither in the Qur'an nor in the Sunnah, the teaching and example of the Prophet (ﷺ). It became a common emblem of Muslim states many centuries after him, above all under the Ottoman Turks, who ruled a large Muslim empire. Muslims do not worship a symbol. They pray towards the Ka'ba in Mecca. The Qur'an says Abraham and Ishmael raised that House for the worship of the One God (﷾).
“We see the turning of thy face (for guidance to the heavens: now Shall We turn thee to a Qibla that shall please thee. Turn then Thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque: Wherever ye are, turn your faces in that direction. The people of the Book know well that that is the truth from their Lord. Nor is Allah unmindful of what they do.”
“And remember Abraham and Isma'il raised the foundations of the House (With this prayer): "Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: For Thou art the All-Hearing, the All-knowing.”
The moon-god claim, answered
The Islamic Invasion (1992)
Claims that Allah was the name of a pre-Islamic Arabian moon god, and so is not the God of the Bible.
Cited for
Archaeology shows that the Arabs worshipped a moon god, and Allah was that god. Hubal, an idol at the Ka'ba, was a moon deity too.
The response
The moon gods of the old South Arabian kingdoms have known names: Wadd, 'Amm, Sin and Almaqah. None of them is called Allah (﷾). Hubal was the chief idol of Mecca. The Encyclopedia of Religion, a standard reference work, describes him as a god of rain and a warrior god. It does not call him a moon god. At the battle of Uhud, where the pagans of Mecca fought the Muslims, the pagan leader cried out for Hubal to be exalted. The Prophet (ﷺ) told the Muslims to answer that Allah (﷾) is higher and more majestic. When he entered Mecca he struck the 360 idols around the Ka'ba with a stick. He said that truth had come and falsehood would not return. The Qur'an sets Allah (﷾) the Creator apart from the idols the pagans served.
Where it lands — The moon gods of Arabia had other names, and Hubal was Allah's (﷾) rival, not Allah (﷾). Allah (﷾) was the Creator whom the idolaters themselves set apart from their idols.
Perspectives
The moon-god claim
Some Christian writers, above all Robert Morey, claim that Allah began as a pagan Arabian moon god. They say the crescent is the sign of it.
Allah began as a pre-Islamic Arabian moon god, and the crescent on mosques shows that origin.
Rebuttal
Granted: the peoples of ancient South Arabia worshipped moon gods. But their names were Wadd, 'Amm, Sin and Almaqah, never Allah (﷾). The Qur'an forbids bowing to the moon, and Arab Christians call the God (﷾) of Genesis 1:1 Allah (﷾). The crescent is in neither the Qur'an nor the Sunnah; it became an emblem centuries later. And Muslims pray towards the Ka'ba, not a symbol.
The Islamic perspective
Allah (﷾) is the Arabic name of the one God (﷾) of Abraham, Moses and Jesus. The Qur'an forbids worshipping the moon, and the Prophet (ﷺ) never used the crescent as a sign of faith.
The Qur'an forbids prostrating to the sun or the moon and commands prostration to Allah (﷾), who created them.
The Qur'an presents the moon as a created thing that marks time, not as an object of worship.
The Qur'an's own story of Abraham rejects the moon as a lord because it sets.
The standard Arabic Protestant Bible uses Allah for God (﷾) in Genesis 1:1 and throughout. So on the moon-god reading, every Arab church would be worshipping a moon god.
Muslims pray towards the Ka'ba, which the Qur'an says Abraham and Ishmael built for the worship of God (﷾).