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Hijri Calendar: Difference between revisions
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Prophet [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] hijra ("flight" or "migration") from [[Mecca]] to [[Medina]] in 622 AD marks the beginning of the '''Islamic lunar calendar''' (also known as the '''Hijri''' or '''Arabic Calendar'''). Thus, the Islamic calendar dates have the suffix '''AH''' (After Hijra). The [[Islam|Islamic]] lunar year (354 or 355 days) is between 10 and 12 days shorter than the "Western" or "Christian" Gregorian solar year (365 or 366 days)<ref>Syed Khalid Shaukat - [http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/calendar.htm What is Islamic Calendar] - MissionIslam</ref>, and so cycles through the seasons.<ref>[http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/astronomical-information-center/calendars Introduction to Calendars]. United States Naval Observatory. Retrieved 15 January 2009.</ref><ref>[http://astro.nmsu.edu/~lhuber/leaphist.html Calendars] by L. E. Doggett. Section 2.</ref><ref>The international standard for the representation of dates and times, ISO 8601, uses the Gregorian calendar. Section 3.2.1.</ref> The Islamic calendar is used in conjunction with the Gregorian calendar in some parts of the Muslim world, and is almost always referenced in relation to Islamic rituals (like the [[Hajj]]) and festivals (like [[Eid al-Adha]]), as it is with the Islamic calendar that these event correlate. | Prophet [[Muhammad|Muhammad's]] hijra ("flight" or "migration") from [[Mecca]] to [[Medina]] in 622 AD marks the beginning of the '''Islamic lunar calendar''' (also known as the '''Hijri''' or '''Arabic Calendar'''). Thus, the Islamic calendar dates have the suffix '''AH''' (After Hijra). The [[Islam|Islamic]] lunar year (354 or 355 days) is between 10 and 12 days shorter than the "Western" or "Christian" Gregorian solar year (365 or 366 days)<ref>Syed Khalid Shaukat - [http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/calendar.htm What is Islamic Calendar] - MissionIslam</ref>, and so cycles through the seasons.<ref>[http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/astronomical-information-center/calendars Introduction to Calendars]. United States Naval Observatory. Retrieved 15 January 2009.</ref><ref>[http://astro.nmsu.edu/~lhuber/leaphist.html Calendars] by L. E. Doggett. Section 2.</ref><ref>The international standard for the representation of dates and times, ISO 8601, uses the Gregorian calendar. Section 3.2.1.</ref> The Islamic calendar is used in conjunction with the Gregorian calendar in some parts of the Muslim world, and is almost always referenced in relation to Islamic rituals (like the [[Hajj]]) and festivals (like [[Eid al-Adha]]), as it is with the Islamic calendar that these event correlate. | ||
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|''Rabī‘ ath-ākhar'' | |''Rabī‘ ath-ākhar'' | ||
|رَبِيع ٱلْآخَر | |رَبِيع ٱلْآخَر | ||
|the | |the last spring | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
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|''Jumādá al-ākhirah'' | |''Jumādá al-ākhirah'' | ||
|جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْآخِرَة | |جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْآخِرَة | ||
|the | |the last of parched land | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Line 143: | Line 143: | ||
|the rest | |the rest | ||
|Saturday | |Saturday | ||
| | |This is the equivalent of the Hebrew [[Sabbath in Islam|Sabbath]], though hosts none of the accompanying rituals or practices | ||
|} | |} | ||
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However, there were some changes made: whereas the pre-Islamic Arabs allowed a practice ''Nasi'<nowiki/>'' whereby they would either choose a different set of four months to deem sacred or move about holy festivals to a more appropriate seasons (since the lunar calendar cycles through the seasons), the Islamic calendar system prohibited this practice.<ref>The Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition, Index, p. 441.</ref><ref>Muḥammad al-Khuḍarī Bayk (1935). ''Muḥāḍarāt tārīkh al-Umam al-Islāmiyya''. '''2''' (4th ed.). Al-maktaba al-tijāriyya. pp. 59–60.</ref> Some scholars suggest that ''Nasi''' was in fact a practice where the pre-Islamic Arabs used to occasionally add an "intercalary" month in order to move religious festivals into more lucrative business seasons, rather than simply shifting the date of these festivals, though this is uncertain.<ref>al-Biruni (tr. C. Edward Sachau (1879). ''"Intercalation of the Ancient Arabs", The Chronology of Ancient Nations''. London: William H. Allen, 1000/1879. pp. 13–14, 73–74.</ref><ref>Bonner 2011, page 21.</ref> Whatever the case, this too was prohibited by the Islamic lunar calendar. | However, there were some changes made: whereas the pre-Islamic Arabs allowed a practice ''Nasi'<nowiki/>'' whereby they would either choose a different set of four months to deem sacred or move about holy festivals to a more appropriate seasons (since the lunar calendar cycles through the seasons), the Islamic calendar system prohibited this practice.<ref>The Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition, Index, p. 441.</ref><ref>Muḥammad al-Khuḍarī Bayk (1935). ''Muḥāḍarāt tārīkh al-Umam al-Islāmiyya''. '''2''' (4th ed.). Al-maktaba al-tijāriyya. pp. 59–60.</ref> Some scholars suggest that ''Nasi''' was in fact a practice where the pre-Islamic Arabs used to occasionally add an "intercalary" month in order to move religious festivals into more lucrative business seasons, rather than simply shifting the date of these festivals, though this is uncertain.<ref>al-Biruni (tr. C. Edward Sachau (1879). ''"Intercalation of the Ancient Arabs", The Chronology of Ancient Nations''. London: William H. Allen, 1000/1879. pp. 13–14, 73–74.</ref><ref>Bonner 2011, page 21.</ref> Whatever the case, this too was prohibited by the Islamic lunar calendar. | ||
''<nowiki/><nowiki/>'' | ''<nowiki/><nowiki/><nowiki/>'' | ||
==Challenges== | ==Challenges== | ||
===Moon sighting=== | ===Moon sighting=== | ||
One of the greatest sources of consternation among the international Muslim community is the lack of clarity in Islamic scriptures on how the new moon, indicating the start of the new lunar month, is to be sighted. With as many as | One of the greatest sources of consternation among the international Muslim community is the lack of clarity in Islamic scriptures on how the new moon, indicating the start of the new lunar month, is to be sighted. With as many as eleven different ways to evidence the "birth" of the new moon (ranging from visual, local sighting-with-the-naked-eye to astronomical calculations), the various Islamic committees and Muslim-majority nations worldwide are essentially never able to agree on a single method. | ||
While this is otherwise innocuous, since effectively all Muslim institutions schedule events using the standardized Gregorian calendar, the ambiguity of the Islamic calendar results in immense tension when it comes to the dating of religious festivals and calendar-based ritual activity. Indeed, it is not uncommon to see Muslim communities celebrate Eid or begin Ramadan prayers and fasting on as many as three separate days. | While this is otherwise innocuous, since effectively all Muslim institutions schedule events using the standardized Gregorian calendar, the ambiguity of the Islamic calendar results in immense tension when it comes to the dating of religious festivals and calendar-based ritual activity. Indeed, it is not uncommon to see Muslim communities celebrate Eid or begin Ramadan prayers and fasting on as many as three separate days. | ||
One breakdown of the various methods of sighting the moon to determine the start of an Islamic month is as follows: | |||
#Use astronomical calculations exclusively: | |||
##calculate the birth of the moon that lasts for any period whatsoever, no matter how brief | |||
##calculate the birth of the moon that lasts for at least two minutes after sunset | |||
##calculate the birth of the moon that lasts for at least thirty minutes after sunset | |||
#Site the moon visually all over the globe (that is, with the agreement of a majority worldwide) while allowing calculations to dis-confirm these sightings if the calculations suggest the moon has not been born yet | |||
#Site the moon visually all over the globe (that is, with the agreement of a majority worldwide) while disregarding calculations that disagree with these sightings | |||
#Site the moon visually all over the globe while disregarding calculations that disagree with these sightings, while referencing only those global sightings that occur to one's east and in one's immediate vicinity (that is, not considering the sightings - or lack thereof - of communities westward of one's locale) | |||
#Site the moon only locally using optical aids while viewing the sky from anywhere within one's time zone | |||
#Site the moon only locally using optical aids while viewing the sky from anywhere within one's country | |||
#Site the moon only locally without using optical aids while viewing the sky from anywhere within one's time zone | |||
#Site the moon only locally without using optical aids while viewing the sky from anywhere within one's country | |||
#Rely on the moon sighting using any of the above techniques from Mecca and Medina, or (taking a practical turn) just comply with the judgement of the Saudi Arabian government in general (so as to avoid global contestation) | |||
==Relevant quotations== | ==Relevant quotations== | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
[[Category:Ritual]] | |||
[[Category: | [[Category:Pre-Islamic Arabia]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Paganism]] | ||
[[Category:Sacred history]] | |||
[[Category:Shariah (Islamic Law)]] | |||