The Splitting of the Moon:Quantitative Evaluation of Global-Scale Lunar Structural Discontinuities, Predictions and Empirical Tests

This study proposes a methodological framework for transforming historical observational
narratives found in early Islamic sources, including hadith literature and Qur’anic references, into a
testable scientific hypothesis within lunar geophysics. The objective is not to evaluate theological
validity, but to reconstruct a hypothetical macroscopic lunar bifurcation event as a physically
constrained problem based on observer-dependent geometric interpretation. By translating descriptive
accounts into angular separation constraints, we derive a lunar surface fracture axis consistent with a
great-circle geometry aligned approximately with the Moon’s central meridian (0° ± 20° longitude).The
model predicts that any genuine global-scale lunar (splitting) event would necessarily produce detectable
geophysical signatures, including continuous structural discontinuities, gravitational anomalies, thermal
residuals, seismic asymmetries, and mineralogical shock bands along the inferred meridional zone. We
further define specific observational targets on the near-side lunar surface, particularly within central
mare–highland transition regions such as Sinus Medii and adjacent mare structures. Current high-
resolution datasets from lunar orbital missions, including gravity mapping, thermal imaging, and seismic
records, are discussed in the context of these predictions. While no evidence of a global-scale fracture
consistent with the proposed model is currently observed, the framework establishes a falsifiable
prediction structure and identifies precise regions for future targeted exploration. This approach
introduces an “observer-constrained event reconstruction” methodology, linking historical descriptions
with quantitative planetary science models to generate empirically testable geophysical hypothese