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We all know that Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic
or Hijra calendar, but how and when did this calendar come to be used by
the Muslims?
Before the advent of Islam, Arabs used the lunar
calendar. This calendar - 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar-
did not follow the seasons. The yearly Hajj or Pilgrimage at that time
of idol worshiping was more like a big festival, and since the lunar
calendar did not follow the seasons, the Hajj took place during a
different month each year. This meant that during certain years, the
Hajj came during the seasons when the crops were not yet ready for
harvest and therefore not available for sale, thus interfering with the
feast preparations for this event.
The Arabs therefore devised a method to overcome this
predicament by adding a month to the calendar on certain years. This
method was called kabisa. The time when the Hajj was to occur thus
became variable and the announcement of its date was subsequently made
during the preceding Hajj. This announcement was first the
responsibility of a man named Qalammas. Qalammas was from the Bani
Kinana tribe, the tribe from which Hashim 464–546 A.D. was a
descendant and who later became the father of the Quraish tribe (the
tribe of the Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him). Qalammas was also
responsible for announcing which month was to be followed by the extra
thirteenth month. All those who took up this occupation of announcing
the Hajj time were thence called Qalammasa.
The Lunar Calendar in the Quran
The Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) announced the
discontinuation of the practice of kabisa and the abandonment of the
Qalammasi calendar. The lunar calendar was used as ordained by Allah and
the time for Hajj was fixed on the same day of each lunar year.
The following Quranic verse entails the use of the lunar calendar as the
calendar to be followed by Muslims:
“He it is who appointed the sun a splendor and the
moon a light and measured for her stages, that ye might know the number
of the years, and the reckoning.” (Surah10 Verse 5)
In this next verse Allah directs the Muslims to fix the
time of Hajj:
“They ask thee concerning the New Moons. Say: They
are but signs to make fixed periods of time in (the affairs of) men, and
for Pilgrimage.” (Surah 2 Verse 189)
The number of months in each year as directed by Allah
was to be 12 as shown in the following verse:
“Lo! The number of the months with Allah is twelve
months by Allah's ordinance in the day that He created the heavens and
the earth.” (Surah 9 Verse 36)
Setting the Beginning of an Era
The Lunar calendar was therefore used during the time of
the Prophet; no fixed year, however, was set to be used as the beginning
of the Islamic era. It is reported by Ibn Abbas that the people of
Medina came to use a month or two after the arrival of the Prophet (p.b.u.h)
as the beginning of their calendar, but this was discontinued after his
death. There was no era used during the caliphate of Abu Bakr. It was
not until the fourth year of the second Caliph, Omar ibn AlKhatab, that
the Hijra calendar was to be used. Ahmad ibn Hanbal and al-Bukhari
report through Maymun ibn Mihran that "an I.O.U. payable in Sha'ban
was presented to Omar. Thereupon, Omar asked which Sha'ban, last Sha'ban,
or this one or the coming one? Give the people something that they can
understand."
AlHurmuzan, the former king of alAhwaz (before his
capture by the Muslims during the conquest of Persia) who later
converted to Islam, suggested the use of the Persian calendar. This
calendar, however, did not gain acceptance by the Muslims, as it had no
fixed epoch since the Persian era was started anew after the ascension
of each new king to the throne. After listening to the different
suggestions, the Muslims agreed upon the use of the Hijra (immigration)
of the prophet from Mecca to Medina as the start of the Islamic era. The
first of Muharram of the year 1 A.H coincided with July 16, 622 by the
Gregorian calendar.
The Hijra was used instead of the birth date of the
Prophet (p.b.u.h) or the date of the revelation of the Holy Quran since
the exact date of these two events was not known for certain. The date
of the prophet’s death, although known, was too sad an event to use.
It was thus decided that the Hijra was to be used to mark the beginning
of the Islamic calendar.
Before the advent of the Hijra calendar, years were
named according to the major event that occurred during that particular
year and this was used as their dating system. For example, the first
year of the Prophet's stay in Medina was called 'The year of the
permission to travel'. The second year was 'The year of the command to
fight'. The third year was 'The year of the test', and so on. This
system was abandoned after the Prophet’s death. (Said, Hakim, 1984)
The twelve lunar months are Muharram, Safar, Rabi I,
Rabi II, Jumada I, Jumada II, Rajab, Sha’ban, Ramadan, Shawwal,
Thulka’dah, and Thulhijjah. The number of days in each month
alternates between 29 and 30 days. The lunar year therefore consists of
354 days. The Islamic calendar divides time into cycles of 30 years. In
each cycle there are 19 years consisting of 354 days and 11 years
consisting of an extra day making them 355 days long.
Ramadan and the Lunar Calendar
The beginning of the month of Ramadan is marked by the
spotting of the crescent (new moon). The moon is considered new when it
begins its new cycle around the Earth. The moon goes through phases,
starting with new moon, passing through crescent, half and gibbous
moons, to the full moon, and back again. The time it takes the moon to
go from one new moon to the next is known as the synodic month, and is
29.530589 days on average. However, since the Earth is also orbiting the
sun at the same time, by the time the moon completes its cycle around
the Earth, the Earth itself has moved a twelfth of its journey around
the sun. In order for the moon to complete its cycle to new moon, it
must complete its orbit and a bit more in order to get back in between
the Earth and the sun again. Because of the perturbations of the orbits
of the Earth and Moon, the actual time between new moons may range from
about 29.27 to about 29.83 days (Hermit eclipse, 1995).
The date and time of each new moon can be precisely
calculated, however for the marking of the start of Ramadan in most
Islamic countries, the new moon must be seen by the unaided eye. Some
Islamic countries, nevertheless, depend on scientific calculations
instead of the actual sighting.
The visibility of the crescent moon depends on several
factors, such as the location and experience of the observer and how
clear the sky is at the time of the sighting. It is usually difficult to
see the crescent moon during the first day of the new moon. It lies very
low in the western sky after sunset, has low surface brightness and is
very thin at this time. According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the
record for an early sighting of a lunar crescent with a telescope is
12.1 hours after new moon; for naked-eye sightings, the record is 15.5
hours from new moon. These are exceptional observations and crescent
sightings this early in the lunar month should not be expected as the
norm.
The Islamic calendar being lunar instead of solar has
great significance concerning the month of Ramadan. If the calendar used
was solar, Muslims living in one hemisphere would have the advantage of
fasting in cooler, shorter days, while those living in the other
hemisphere would have to fast in the hot and longer days throughout
their lifetime. With the lunar calendar, however, the seasons rotate
every 32 or 33 years so that the difficulty or ease of fasting is
equally shared by all Muslims around the world. This calendar also leads
to the rotation of Hajj among the different seasons.
The start of the Islamic calendar with the Hijra shows
the importance and significance of this event in Islamic history. It is
a period of great sacrifice on the behalf of Muslims and of their
patience and perseverance. To begin the calendar with this year in
particular is harmonious with the teachings of Islam, which are based on
self-sacrifice in the sake of a greater and more important purpose. This
sacrifice committed by the early Muslims is the basis by which the
Muslims became powerful and the word of Allah spread not just throughout
Arabia but also throughout the whole world.
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