Why do we insist on putting a crescent on everything?

Well I remember my Urdu teacher saying that all the countries with flags that have a moon and a star are 'Islamic' countries,

I knew it was bull...

It's really stupid man,

But I kinda like crescents.. Pakistan Zindabad!!

But stars...no waiiiiiiii

There is / (should be) only one thing to be known that we're muslims: la ilaha illa llah muhammadun rasulu'llah!! I guess it is becuase of the osmanic empire, or the another thing is:

Cercent marks the month of Ramadan which the Qur'an was revealed

Tafsir ibn kathir:

The Children of Israel safely cross the Sea, but still held on to the Idea of Idol Worshipping

Allah mentions the words that the ignorant ones among the Children of Israel uttered to Musa after they crossed the sea and witnessed Allah's Ayat and great power.

[فَأَتَوْاْ عَلَى قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَى أَصْنَامٍ لَّهُمْ]

(And they came upon a people devoted to some of their idols (in worship).) Some scholars of Tafsir said that the people mentioned here were from Canaan, or from the tribe of Lakhm. Ibn Jarir commented, "They were worshipping idols that they made in the shape of cows, and this influenced the Children of Israel later when they worshipped the calf. They said here,

[يَمُوسَى اجْعَلْ لَّنَآ إِلَـهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ ءَالِهَةٌ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ]

("O Musa! Make for us a god as they have gods.'' He said: "Verily, you are an ignorant people.'') Musa replied, you are ignorant of Allah's greatness and majesty and His purity from any partners or anything resembling Him.

[إِنَّ هَـؤُلاءِ مُتَبَّرٌ مَّا هُمْ فِيهِ]

("Verily, these people will be destroyed for that which they are engaged in) they will perish,

[وَبَطَلَ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ]

("and all that they are doing is in vain.'') Commenting on this Ayah, Imam Abu Ja`far bin Jarir reported from Abu Waqid Al-Laythi that they (the Companions) went out from Makkah with the Messenger of Allah for (the battle of) Hunayn. Abu Waqid said, "Some of the disbelievers had a lote tree whose vicinity they used to remain in, and upon which they would hang their weapons on. That tree was called `Dhat Al-Anwat'. So when we passed by a huge, green lote tree, we said, `O Messenger of Allah! Appoint for us a Dhat Al-Anwat as they have.' He said,

«قُلْتُمْ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ كَمَا قَالَ قَوْمُ مُوسَى لِمُوسَى:

(by He in Whose Hand is my soul! You said just as what the people of Musa said to him:

[اجْعَلْ لَّنَآ إِلَـهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ ءَالِهَةٌ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ]

إِنَّ هَـؤُلآء مُتَبَّرٌ مَّا هُمْ فِيهِ وَبَـطِلٌ مَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ-]

( ("Make for us a god as they have gods.'' He said: "Verily, you are an ignorant people. Verily, these people will be destroyed for that which they are engaged in, and all that they are doing is in vain.''))''

format_quote Originally Posted by AntiKarateKid

It really bugs me. Hek my prayer mat has crescents on it. Wth? We know Islam has no symbol so what gives?

The crescent on your prayer mat should not really bother you. You should be concentrating on praying to Allah and not to focus on any distractions...or just get another prayer mat!

format_quote Originally Posted by Abdul Fattah

Tafsir ibn kathir:

The Children of Israel safely cross the Sea, but still held on to the Idea of Idol Worshipping

Allah mentions the words that the ignorant ones among the Children of Israel uttered to Musa after they crossed the sea and witnessed Allah's Ayat and great power.

[فَأَتَوْاْ عَلَى قَوْمٍ يَعْكُفُونَ عَلَى أَصْنَامٍ لَّهُمْ]

(And they came upon a people devoted to some of their idols (in worship).) Some scholars of Tafsir said that the people mentioned here were from Canaan, or from the tribe of Lakhm. Ibn Jarir commented, "They were worshipping idols that they made in the shape of cows, and this influenced the Children of Israel later when they worshipped the calf. They said here,

[يَمُوسَى اجْعَلْ لَّنَآ إِلَـهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ ءَالِهَةٌ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ]

("O Musa! Make for us a god as they have gods.'' He said: "Verily, you are an ignorant people.'') Musa replied, you are ignorant of Allah's greatness and majesty and His purity from any partners or anything resembling Him.

[إِنَّ هَـؤُلاءِ مُتَبَّرٌ مَّا هُمْ فِيهِ]

("Verily, these people will be destroyed for that which they are engaged in) they will perish,

[وَبَطَلَ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ]

("and all that they are doing is in vain.'') Commenting on this Ayah, Imam Abu Ja`far bin Jarir reported from Abu Waqid Al-Laythi that they (the Companions) went out from Makkah with the Messenger of Allah for (the battle of) Hunayn. Abu Waqid said, "Some of the disbelievers had a lote tree whose vicinity they used to remain in, and upon which they would hang their weapons on. That tree was called `Dhat Al-Anwat'. So when we passed by a huge, green lote tree, we said, `O Messenger of Allah! Appoint for us a Dhat Al-Anwat as they have.' He said,

«قُلْتُمْ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ كَمَا قَالَ قَوْمُ مُوسَى لِمُوسَى:

(by He in Whose Hand is my soul! You said just as what the people of Musa said to him:

[اجْعَلْ لَّنَآ إِلَـهًا كَمَا لَهُمْ ءَالِهَةٌ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ قَوْمٌ تَجْهَلُونَ]

إِنَّ هَـؤُلآء مُتَبَّرٌ مَّا هُمْ فِيهِ وَبَـطِلٌ مَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ-]

( ("Make for us a god as they have gods.'' He said: "Verily, you are an ignorant people. Verily, these people will be destroyed for that which they are engaged in, and all that they are doing is in vain.''))''

Are you saying it is comparable to idol worship?

format_quote Originally Posted by StudentMuslim

This is something that bugs me too,

There is nothing to bug you about it at all

here is the story of such symbol in brief:


The early Muslim community did not really have a symbol. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Islamic armies and caravans flew simple solid-colored flags (generally black, green, or white) for identification purposes. In later generations, the Muslim leaders continued to use a simple black, white, or green flag with no markings, writing, or symbolism on it.

It wasn't until the Ottoman Empire that the crescent moon and star became affiliated with the Muslim world. When the Turks conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453, they adopted the city's existing flag and symbol. 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 chose to keep the crescent and make it the symbol of his dynasty. There is speculation that the five points on the star represent the five pillars of Islam, but this is pure conjecture. The five points were not standard on the Ottoman flags, and as you will see on the following page, it is still not standard on flags used in the Muslim world today.

For hundreds of years, the Ottoman Empire ruled over the Muslim world. After centuries of battle with Christian Europe, it is understandable how the symbols of this empire became linked in people's minds with the faith of Islam as a whole.

The faith of Islam has historically had no symbol. It is certainly not in uniform use among Muslims.

This leads to the question of alternatives. What other "symbol" represents the faith? Is it necessary to even have a symbol? .

Selam aleykum

format_quote Originally Posted by AntiKarateKid

Are you saying it is comparable to idol worship?

I prefer not making such statements. It is however obvious that there 's a similarity.
People from other religions introduced idolism in their religion, and some muslims had the same desire.
People from other religions invented symbols to refer to their religion, and some muslims wanted a symbol for their religion to.
Like I said, I'm not going to say that the crescent is a form of idol worship.

^ditto.

though why the particular example of staying in corners or smiling ?


a symbol is abstracted form/s used to convey meaning, as such symbols are just like the letters of languages, more compact in a a sense.
nothing wrong with it at that, until people attach additional meaning/s to it. and that happens as with every language/tool humans use, evolution is the word here, and it's not too bad, today a crescent, tomorrow a crab apple, the important thing is we shouldn't worry about it too much, otherwise we are doing what's not supposed to happen in the first place: attaching too much importance to symbols, almost turning them into idols.

but of course that's not really idolization, in the end it's a symbol that has come to represent us for many, as long as people realize it's not a religiously required matter, I believe it's fine to use whatever symbol is there, provided aesthetic design, and the Crescent fits to a T. I think :/

it must be hard to design a prayer mat...huhu

hm, not really, unless you're doing it by hand...

I have a prayer mat and its jus designs on it...geometric shapes. I've never closely examined my prayer mat...i know the buildin shape in it...but nothin else.

salams i think we shud remebr the cresent sightng plays a big role in islam Allag says: they ask u abt the cresents! Say they r appointd times for the ppl and for hajj !