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Hijri Calendar: Difference between revisions
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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 of 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 | |||
# Relying on the moon sighting using any of the above techniques from Mecca and Medina, or (taking a practical turn) just complying with the judgement of the Saudi Arabian government in general (so as to avoid global contestation). | |||
==Relevant quotations== | ==Relevant quotations== | ||