Jewish, Christian and Islamic calendars, and Ghadir and Aushura (‘Aashoora) - Part 3

And as for the calendar used by Arabs before Islam, as stated in the English Wikipedia: “Scholars, both Muslim, al-Biruni [11^th century C.E.] and Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi [9^th century C.E.] concur that it was originally a lunar calendar, but about 200 years before the Hijra [Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH&HP) migration from Mecca to Medina] it was transformed into a lunisolar calendar containing an intercalary month added from time to time to keep the [pagan] pilgrimage within the season of the year when merchandise was most abundant for Bedouin buyers. This intercalation was administered by the Nasa'a of the tribe Kinana, known as the Qalāmis, the plural of Qalammas, who learned of it from the Jews. The process was called Nasi or postponement because every third year the beginning of the year was postponed by one month. The intercalation doubled the month of the pilgrimage, that is, the month of the pilgrimage and the following month were given the same name, postponing the names and the sanctity of all subsequent months in the year by one. The first intercalation doubled the first month Muharram, then three years later the second month Safar was doubled, continuing until the intercalation had passed through all twelve months of the year and returned to Muharram, when it was repeated. Support for this view is provided by inscriptions from the south Arabian pre-Islamic kingdoms of Qataban (Kataban) and Sheba (Saba) (both in modern Yemen), whose lunisolar calendars featured an intercalary month obtained by repeating a normal month.” ("Intercalation of the Ancient Arabs", The Chronology of Ancient Nations, tr. C. Edward Sachau, London: William H. Allen, 1000/1879, 13–14, 73–74; Kitab al-Uluf , Journal Asiatique, series 5, xi 1858, 168+; A. Moberg, "NASI'", The Encyclopaedia of Islam VII:977; E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam)

Let us pay careful attention to the fact that every Prophet of Allah who came, according to the command of Allah, reemphasized certain Commands which the previous Prophets had commanded, including the command of using the twelve month Lunar calendar. The pre-Muhammad (PBUH&HP) Arabs still had in their pagan culture, traces of Hadrats Ibrahim’s and Ismael’s (PBUT) teachings, although quite distorted; i.e. they had distorted and paganized the pilgrimage of Ka’bah, the Lunar calendar and … . When the last and most Perfect Prophet of Allah, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP) came, he -by direct command of Allah in Qur’an- again ordained the use of Allah Commanded Lunar calendar and prohibited  the practice of Nasi’ (Postponement) or the adding of intercalary months:

Qur’an 9:36 Surely the number of months with Allah is twelve months in Allah's Ordinance since the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four being sacred; that is the Right Religion; therefore be not unjust to yourselves regarding them …

Qur’an 9:37 Verily the Nasi’ (postponing of the sacred months) is an addition in unbelief, wherewith those who disbelieve are led astray; violating it one year and keeping it sacred another, that they may agree in the number (of months) that Allah has made sacred, and thus violate what Allah has made sacred; the evil of their doings is made fairseeming to them; and Allah does not guide the unbelieving people.

This prohibition was repeated many times by Hadrat Muhammad (PBUH&HP) including during the Farewell Hajj (Allah Specified Pilgrimage):

“O’ people! Assuredly time has turned and today it has reached the start of its revolution as it was at the creation of the heavens and the earth. The number of the months with Allah is twelve, as it is written in the Ordinance of Allah in the beginning of the creation of heavens and earth. Among these twelve months four are sacred: Rajab, which is between Jamaadi and Sha’baan, and Dhyl-Qa’dah and Dhyl-Hajjah and Moharram; in these months do not be unjust to yourselves. Postponement and substitution of sacred and forbidden months is certainly an addition to disbelief, wherewith disbelievers have gone astray. One year they make a month Halaal, and Haraam another year, to resemble the number of the months which Allah has declared sacred. In a year which they declared Moharram Haraam, they declared Safar Halaal, and in a year which they declared Safar Haraam, in its place they declared Moharram Halaal.”

(Khesaal of Shaikh Sadooq, vol. 2, p. 487; …)

Also Allah (SWT) in His Book, the everlasting Qur’an, has clearly emphasized upon observing the new crescent moon for determining the times of months; here we mention a sample:

Qur’an 2:189 They ask you concerning the crescent moons. Say: They are appointed times for humankind, and (for) the Hajj …

Imam Saadeq (PBUH) was asked in regard to the crescent moons mentioned in this verse and he (PBUH) responded: “They are the months of year; so when you see the new moon of the month of Ramadan, fast and when you observe the new moon of the month of Shawwaal, break the fast.”

(Tafsir Borhaan, vol. 1, p. 404; …)

The Hadiths of the Infallible Ones (PBUT) in this regard are many; here we are going to mention another Hadith:

Imam Saadeq (PBUH) was asked in regard to the number of people necessary for sighting the crescent moon, and he (PBUH) said: “The month of Ramadan is an obligatory duty (Waajeb) among obligatory duties before Allah, thus do not perform it based on guessing! And observing a crescent is not that a person in a group of watching people says that he has seen it while others do not see it; when one individual sees it, one hundred persons will see it, and when one hundred persons see it, a thousand individuals will see it. When there is no obstruction in the sky, less than fifty individuals are not enough for sighting the crescent, and when there is an obstruction in the sky, the testimonies of two men leaving the city and returning to it is sufficient.”

(Wasaa’el al Shi’ah, vol. 7, p. 209; …)

The Muslims have to be EXTREMELY careful; unless they follow Qur’an and the Prophet Mohammad’s and his Allah Chosen Successors’, the twelve Infallible Imams’, (PBUT) Allah-Taught interpretations and teachings, the same dark clouds of Successorship usurpation, pagan philosophies, mysticism and … have been casting their satanic shadows on the nation of Islam, and as the result it has been predicted that those Muslims -who have not TRULY followed Qur’an and the Pure teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and his Infallible AhlulBayt (PBUT)- would step into the same dark footsteps of the nations of the previous Prophets (PBUT) and thus would deviate from the Straight Path of Allah to Eternal Salvation; as a sample Hadith let us look at a saying from the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP) in regard to the verse 84:19:

“You will follow the manner of your previous ones step by step and to a hair … in a way that if they had entered a crocodile hole you will undoubtedly enter into it too!”

The companions asked the Prophet (PBUH&HP) who the previous ones were? And the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH&HP) responded: “The Yahood (jews) and the Nasaara (christians).”

(Tafsir al-Qomi, vol. 2, p. 413; Behaar al Anwaar, vol. 24, p. 350; …)

Now  as a sample, let us briefly look at how deviations among Muslims -those disregarding the Qur’an and its Divine Interpretation as protected by teachings of the 14 Infallible ones- in regard to the sighting of the crescent moon and thus determining the beginning of each lunar month have been occurring, as indicated in the English Wikipedia:

“In a lunar calendar based on astronomical calculations, each month begins at the time of the monthly calculatable "conjunction", when the Moon is located on a straight line between the Earth and the Sun … but, the lunar crescent becomes visible only some 15–18 hours after the conjunction, and only subject to the existence of a number of favourable conditions relative to weather, time, geographic location, as well as various astronomical parameters.” (Karim Meziane et Nidhal Guessoum: La visibilité du croissant lunaire et le Ramadan, La Recherche n° 316, janvier 1999, pp. 66–71)

As an example, one variable geographic characteristic is due to the fact that the moon sets progressively later than the sun as one goes west, thus western Muslim countries are likely to observe the new moon one day earlier than eastern Muslim countries.

“[Sunni] jurists Ahmad Muhammad Shakir and Yusuf al-Qaradawi both endorsed the use of calculations to determine the beginning of all months of the Islamic calendar, in 1939 and 2004 respectively.” (Ahmad Shakir : « The beginning of Arab months … is it legal to determine it using astronomical calculations? » (published in Arabic in 1939) reproduced in the Arab daily « Al-Medina », 13 October 2006 (n° 15878)

“Since AH 1419 (1998/99) several official hilal sighting committees have been set up by the government of Saudi Arabia to determine the first visual sighting of the lunar crescent at the beginning of each lunar month. Nevertheless, the [Sunni] religious authorities also allow the testimony of less experienced observers and thus often announce the sighting of the lunar crescent on a date when none of the official committees could see it. The country also uses the Umm al-Qura calendar, based on astronomical calculations … The rules of the Umm al-Qura calendar are essentially the same rules used by [Sunni] Malaysia, Indonesia, and others (except for the location from which the hilal [crescent] was observed) … A number of [Sunni] Muslim countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt and … have been applying different astronomy-related rules to determine the beginning of months … .”

“In 2007, the [Sunni] Islamic Society of North America, the Fiqh Council of North America and the European Council for Fatwa and Research announced that they will henceforth use a calendar based on calculations, using the same parameters as the Umm al-Qura calendar, to determine (well in advance) the beginning of all lunar months (and therefore the days associated with all religious observances).” (Ramadan and Eid announcement by the Fiqh Council of North America (revised))

Thus only those humble Muslims -who, without any usurpative, philosophical, mystical and … impositions, justifications, distortions and …- have been trying to follow the Majestic Qur’an as taught and interpreted by the Infallible Prophet Muhammad and his Allah Appointed twelve Successors, while seeking spiritual assistance from them -including specially from their living Imam of Time, the last Infallible one, Hadrat Mahdi- (PBUT), have actually been InshaaAllah endeavouring hard to be steadfast and remain on the Allah Defined Straight Path, be it in regard to the calendar issue and all its parameters as specified in Hadiths, or in regard to all other Religious matters.

THEREFORE THE DATES OF SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AS STATED BY THE TRUE AND GENUINE ISLAMIC DOCUMENTS NARRATED FROM THE FOURTEEN INFALLIBLE ONES (PBUT) ARE ABSOLUTELY ACCORDING TO THE TWELVE MONTH LUNAR YEARS COMMANDED BY ALLAH SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE CREATION OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, AND THUS ARE ACCURATE AND VALID.

To be continued …