Short answer: the star and crescent is not a religious symbol of Islam. It does not appear in the Quran or the Sunnah, and the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions never used it: their banners were plain black and white. The design is much older than Islam and was used in the ancient Near East, by the Greek city of Byzantium and on Persian coins. The Ottoman state took it up as its emblem in the late 1700s, and from there it spread to the flags of many Muslim-majority countries and came to be seen as a sign of Muslims in general. The crescent moon does matter in Islam, but as a calendar: each Islamic month begins with the new crescent.
Not in the Quran or the Sunnah
No verse of the Quran and no hadith makes the star and crescent a symbol of the religion. The Prophet ﷺ did carry flags in battle, and the reports describe them by colour only: "The banner (raya) of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was black, and his standard (liwa) was white."1 The Rightly Guided Caliphs did not adopt the crescent either.
Islam has no official symbol at all. What marks a Muslim is belief and worship: the shahadah, the prayer, the qiblah. That is why some flags, such as Saudi Arabia's, carry the words of the shahadah instead of a picture. Read what the shahada means.
Is it wrong to use it? Scholars do not forbid it as a national emblem or a decoration, since it is a design, not an act of worship. What they reject is treating it as sacred, as a source of blessing, or as something every masjid must have. Some scholars discourage putting it on mosques for that reason. A five-pointed star "standing for the five pillars" is a modern explanation with no source in the religion.
Where the symbol came from
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Ancient times | Moon and star shapes are among the oldest symbols of the Near East, linked with moon and sky gods. |
| From about 300 BC | The Greek colony of Byzantium, the later Constantinople and Istanbul, used a crescent and star; it became a royal emblem of the kingdom of Pontus. |
| 5th to 7th centuries | The Sasanian kings of Persia put the star and crescent on their coins for centuries. |
| 7th century | After the Muslim conquest of Persia, the first Muslim coins copied the Sasanian designs, star and crescent included, before Islamic coins with only writing replaced them in the 690s. |
| Late 1700s | The Ottoman state began using the crescent and star as its emblem under Sultan Mustafa III (1757 to 1774). A decree of 1793 made it the flag of Ottoman navy ships. |
| 1844 | A red flag with a white crescent and five-pointed star became the official Ottoman flag, the forerunner of Turkey's flag today. |
| 19th and 20th centuries | As the Ottoman state was the best known Muslim power, Europeans came to read its emblem as the sign of Islam itself. New Muslim-majority states then put it on their own flags. |
A popular story says the Ottomans took the symbol from Byzantium when they conquered Constantinople in 1453. Historians have found no evidence linking the symbol with the Ottomans or with Islam before its use on Ottoman flags in the late 1700s.2
What the crescent really means in Islam
The crescent is not a symbol to Muslims, but it is a clock. The Islamic year follows the moon, and each month begins when the new crescent (hilal) is seen after sunset. Allah says:
۞ يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْأَهِلَّةِ ۖ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَٰقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَٱلْحَجِّ ۗ وَلَيْسَ ٱلْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُوا۟ ٱلْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰ ۗ وَأْتُوا۟ ٱلْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَٰبِهَا ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
Yas'aloonaka 'anil ahillati qul hiya mawaaqeetu linnaasi wal Hajj; wa laisal birru bi an taatul buyoota min zuhoorihaa wa laakinnal birra manit taqaa; waatul buyoota min abwaa bihaa; wattaqullaaha la'allakum tuflihoon
"They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the new moons. Say, "They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj." And it is not righteousness to enter houses from the back, but righteousness is [in] one who fears Allah. And enter houses from their doors. And fear Allah that you may succeed."
Quran 2:189 · translation by Sahih International
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ ٱلشَّمْسَ ضِيَآءًۭ وَٱلْقَمَرَ نُورًۭا وَقَدَّرَهُۥ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوا۟ عَدَدَ ٱلسِّنِينَ وَٱلْحِسَابَ ۚ مَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ ذَٰلِكَ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ يُفَصِّلُ ٱلْءَايَٰتِ لِقَوْمٍۢ يَعْلَمُونَ
Huwal lazee ja'alash shamsa diyaaa'anw walqamara nooranw wa qaddarahoo manaaz zila lita'lamoo 'adadas sineena walhisaab; maa khalaqal laahu zaalika illa bilhaqq; yufassilul aayaati liqawminw ya'lamoon
"It is He who made the sun a shining light and the moon a derived light and determined for it phases - that you may know the number of years and account [of time]. Allah has not created this except in truth. He details the signs for a people who know"
Quran 10:5 · translation by Sahih International
Ramadan, the two Eids, Hajj, the day of Arafah and Ashura are all fixed by the crescent. The Prophet ﷺ said:
صُومُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ وَأَفْطِرُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ
Ṣūmū li-ruʾyatihī wa afṭirū li-ruʾyatih
Fast when you see it, and stop fasting when you see it.
Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah
When you see the new crescent, there is a dua to say. Find it on the dua for the new moon page, see how the month is decided on the moon sighting guide, and check today's date on the Hijri date page. So the image of a crescent on a Ramadan card is fair as a picture of the month beginning, as long as no one treats it as holy.
Flags with a crescent and star
These national flags carry a crescent with one or more stars today:
| Country | What the flag shows |
|---|---|
| Turkey | A white crescent and star on red |
| Tunisia | A red crescent and star in a white circle on red |
| Algeria | A red crescent and star on a green and white field |
| Libya | A white crescent and star on red, black and green stripes |
| Pakistan | A white crescent and star on green, with a white band |
| Malaysia | A yellow crescent and a 14-pointed star on blue, with red and white stripes |
| Mauritania | A gold crescent and star on green, with red bands |
| Azerbaijan | A white crescent and eight-pointed star on blue, red and green stripes |
| Uzbekistan | A white crescent and twelve stars on blue, white and green stripes |
| Turkmenistan | A white crescent and five stars on green |
| Singapore | A white crescent and five stars on red and white |
| Comoros | A white crescent and four stars on a green triangle |
The Maldives has a white crescent with no star on green and red. Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Turkey, uses a red crescent and star on white. Each country gives its own meaning to the design, such as progress, light or unity, and these meanings are national, not religious.
The Red Crescent
The Red Crescent began during the war between the Ottoman and Russian empires in 1876 to 1878, when the Ottoman relief society used a red crescent instead of the red cross. It was formally recognised as a protective emblem in the Geneva Convention of 1929. Today the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement includes national Red Crescent societies in most Muslim-majority countries. Like the flags, it is a humanitarian sign, not a religious one.
FAQ
Is the star and crescent an Islamic symbol?
Not in the religion itself. It is not in the Quran or the Sunnah, and the Prophet ﷺ never used it. It became linked with Muslims through the Ottoman flag from the late 1700s.
What does the star and crescent mean?
It has no religious meaning in Islam. Historically it was a symbol of the city of Byzantium and of Persian kings, then the emblem of the Ottoman state. Countries that use it today give it their own national meanings.
Which flags have a crescent and star?
Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Pakistan, Malaysia, Mauritania, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Singapore and Comoros, plus Northern Cyprus. The Maldives has a crescent without a star.
Is it haram to use the crescent symbol?
Scholars do not forbid it as a flag or decoration. What has no basis is treating it as holy or as required on a masjid.
Why is the moon important in Islam?
Because the Islamic calendar is lunar. Each month starts with the new crescent, which fixes the start of Ramadan, the Eids and Hajj (Quran 2:189).
Sources
- Jami at-Tirmidhi and Sunan Ibn Majah, from Ibn Abbas; at-Tirmidhi graded it hasan gharib.
- "Star and crescent", Wikipedia, summarising the historians of Ottoman heraldry; on the Ottoman adoption under Mustafa III, the 1793 naval decree and the 1844 flag.
- On the Red Crescent: International Committee of the Red Cross, history of the emblems; Geneva Convention of 27 July 1929, article 19.
- Quran 2:189 and 10:5, translation by Sahih International.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.