Early Jewish and Christian beliefs held that the earth was flat. This was an old and outdated idea found in many places in the Bible. But in contrast, Greek scientists had proven centuries earlier that the earth was a sphere, and the real scientific reasons for the moon's phases had also been discovered. By the time of Muhammad, this knowledge was about 900 years old (link).
This was the contradiction that had been going on for centuries between science and the Bible. The Bible said the earth was flat, while scientists had presented a model that was the exact opposite.
That's why the Jews came to Muhammad and asked him about the reason for the moon's phases, because he claimed to be a divine messenger. The Jews thought that maybe Muhammad's Allah would answer and prove those scientists wrong.
But what happened?
What happened was that Allah was so unable that he couldn't even understand the Jews' question, so how could he possibly give an answer?
Allah's response in the Quran is still there today as proof:
(Quran 2:189): “They ask you about the phases of the moon. Say, “They are a means for people to determine time and pilgrimage."
Imam Qurtabi recorded the following tradition under this verse in his commentary (link):
هذا مما سأل عنه اليهود وٱعترضوا به على النبيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال معاذ: يا رسول الله، إن اليهود تغشانا ويكثرون مسألتنا عن الأهِلة، فما بال الهلال يبدو دقيقاً ثم يزيد حتى يستوي ويستدير، ثم ينتقص حتى يعود كما كان؟ فأنزل الله هذه الآية.
This is what the Jews asked about and objected to the Prophet. So Muadh said: O Messenger of God, the Jews come to us and ask us about the crescents, so why does the crescent appear thin, then increases until it becomes even and round, then decreases until it returns as it was? Upon that, Allah revealed this verse.
This answer actually shows the Quran's lack of knowledge on three levels:
First level: Acknowledging ignorance
If the Quran had just said, "This question is not in my domain," at least that would have been the truth. But for a God to admit that he doesn't have knowledge takes him outside the definition of a God, and such a God is no longer a God.
Second level: Trying to hide ignorance
The Quran gave a completely irrelevant answer, like a child who doesn't understand a question and gives a random answer to hide his "ignorance." This behaviour shows not just a lack of knowledge, but also dishonesty.
Third level: Not understanding the question at all
This is the most pathetic situation. The Jews asked a question of a scientific nature, and the answer was only about a religious calendar. It's as if God couldn't understand the question or give an answer. This is the lowest level of ignorance.
Now look at this:
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This answer is not scientific at all.
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The question was something else, while the answer was something else.
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And what the Quran said (that people look at the moon for worship) was already known to the Jews and all other people.
So this answer didn't add any knowledge for the people who asked the question, but only created disappointment.
Now, the thing to think about is that when the Jews came to Muhammad and asked, "What is the reason for the moon's phases?" it was a golden opportunity. If Muhammad was really Allah's prophet, he should have given the scientific truth to prove that the revelation came from the sky.
But the Quran's answer was extremely shallow and disappointing. The Quran didn't give any new revelation or confirm science. In fact, Muhammad's knowledge was even more limited than the Jews' because he belonged to the ignorant society of Arabs where astronomy and science did not exist.
This was the moment when the Quran should have shown scientific superiority, but the truth is that the Quran only showed "silence and ignorance". The result is that even today, Muslims present this answer as a miracle, while the world can clearly see that it was a failed attempt.
Is it possible that a book that is called the "Final Revelation of Allah" cannot answer a question that was already solved 900 years ago by scientists of that time, and which even the religious Jews were in great doubt about? If this book is really divine, then where did this ignorance come from?
After seeing this unscientific and irrelevant Quranic answer, and the inability to even understand the question, was it possible for the Jews to believe in Muhammad's prophethood?
The Greek astronomer "Aristarchus" came, whose time was 750 years before Islam. He was so good at astronomy that he not only knew that the moon and sun were spheres but also found out their sizes by using their shadows on the earth. You can read the full details in this link about how he did these calculations by using the half size of the moon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Sizes_and_Distances_(Aristarchus)
Half MoonAristarchus began with the premise that, during a half moon, the moon forms a right triangle with the Sun and Earth. By observing the angle between the Sun and Moon, φ, the ratio of the distances to the Sun and Moon could be deduced using a form of trigonometry.
Lunar eclipse
Aristarchus then used another construction based on a lunar eclipse:
Hassan Radwan