Why islam uses crescent

Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Islam Expert. Huda is an educator, school administrator, and author who has more than two decades of experience researching and writing about Islam online. Updated September 12, Cite this Article Format. A History of the Crescent Moon in Islam. The Purpose of the Islamic Phrase 'Alhamdulillah'. Resources for Choosing Muslim Baby Names.

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Why are the star and crescent symbols of Islam? By Straight Dope Staff Jul 9, Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Dear Straight Dope: The star and the crescent moon symbol that represent Islam, what do they mean? Why is it called a restroom, anyway?

How did public libraries get started? Thanks for signing up! The Kaaba is the site that Muslims visit when they make their pilgrimage to Mecca. The Kaaba contains a stone carving of the crescent moon and star. This carving is the source of the symbol. The symbol predates Islam, although most Muslims do not know this.

The Kaaba is an old cubic building made of brown bricks. Its real appearance is not very interesting. However, the structure is often covered with an attractive tarp.

That crowd of people surrounding the Kaaba is a group of Muslims who circumambulate the building. The origin of the Kaaba is expressed in two opposing ways: the Muslim way and the honest way.

Muslims attribute the construction of the Kaaba to Abraham, the Father of the Jewish people. They hold that Abraham built four temple to the Lord, three of them were in Judea, and the fourth was in Arabia hundreds of miles to the south. The Kaaba is supposed to be the fourth temple built by Abraham. Now, the Old Testament does not mention the building. Yet Muslims simply say that Jews removed the verses which described the construction of the Kaaba. Constantinople and Istanbul former Byzantium used the symbol of the crescent moon in honour of the goddess Diana.

The early Muslim community was never documented to really have an acknowledged symbol. As generations passed by, Muslim leaders continued to use a simple black, white or green flag with no markings, writings or symbolism of any kind on it. The crescent moon and star became affiliated with the religion of Islam during the Ottoman Empire.

Legend holds that the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Osman, had a dream in which the crescent moon stretched from one end of the earth to the other. Taking this as a good omen, he decided to keep the crescent as the symbol of his dynasty.

There is speculation that the five points on the star represents the five pillars of Islam, but these are just mere speculations. The five points were neither standard on the Ottoman flags nor were they standards on flags used in the Muslim world today.