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.
Sources:
Dr.
Aisha El-Awady is an Instructor of Parasitology, Faculty
of Medicine, Cairo University.
