Calendar in Islam
A practical calendar must be based upon certain principles. The dates must be fixed and not liable to any change at any time in history. The day for any date, past or future must be calculable. The calculated number of days from one date to the other must be the exact combination of the week days. The purpose of a calendar is to know the time of an event, not of the weather condition of that time. Holy Quran gives such a perpetual calendar and Prophet SAW had explained it in the events of his life.
The Ummul Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia from 1300H to 1429H provided such a calendar. It was based on the manazil (elongation) of the moon as directed in the Quran and Sunnah. It is presumed that Saudi Government would have published it after thorough study and investigation of the past history and dates observed in the holy Haramaen. Name of the author was not given in the book.
The past and present dates of Haramaen match exactly with astronomical calculations. The months began next day after conjunction. For example First Muharram of the First year of the Hijra calendar was Thursday the 15th of August 622AD. The sun was eclipsed on the previous day (Wednesday) which was the day of conjunction, the last day of the previous month. Later the science adopted this method to define the synodic lunar month. Great Islamic scholars like Albiruni, Qaradawi and others agree with it. Solar eclipse marked the end and lunar eclipse the middle of the lunar month. We can examine some more events of that time. Rasulullah SAW was born on Monday the 12th of Rabiul Awwal according to Arabic calendar. It was Monday which came in the middle of Rabiul Awwal, the full moon day. Moon was eclipsed at night. He passed away on 8th of June 632AD Monday, which came in the middle of Rabiul Awwal. It was the 12th of Rabiul Awwal in the Arabic calendar. It was the full moon day. Ibrahim, the son of Rasulullah passed away on Monday, the last day of Shawwal. It was the 27th of January 632AD. The sun was eclipsed. On Friday the 25th of Zulqaed the Prophet announced his departure for Hajj on the next day, Saturday to the thousands gathered there to perform hajj with him. This shows Zulqaed had begun on Tuesday. It is reported that Zulqaed of that year had 29 days. All this prove that the dates they followed matched with the manazil of the moon and with the astronomical data.
The Arabic calendar was an artificial lunar calendar beginning after sighting the hilaal, like the Hebrew calendar. Therefore it ran two or three days behind the manazil of the moon. Their fixed lunar calendar has 354 days in a year. They used leap year to adjust with the moon. It was done by giving 30 days to the last month, which ended in 29 in other years. Later this calendar was known as the Hijra calendar. This was in vogue in all Muslim countries and it was believed to be the Islamic calendar. This is why countries other than Saudi Arabia are two days behind the actual lunar date.
Rasulullah talked to Sahaba when fasting was prescribed in the second Sha’ban after his arrival in Madinah. They had fixed number of days 30, 29 alternating in a regular order in their Arabic calendar. He said Sha’ban is not 29 always and Ramadan not 30 as it was in their calendar. Since they were illiterate he ordered Sahaba to see the moon and begin fasting and not to perform the Eud and rituals without seeing it.
According to Quran time depended on the angle of the sun with the horizon. This is different everywhere. Date depended on the manazil of the moon. This is same everywhere except where the week days begin on earth.
They did not know the calculations of the sun or moon. So they decided time by seeing the sun and date by seeing the moon. Their dates were correct and matched with the manazil of the moon, which Allah had fixed on the day of creation.
At the same time the dates of other parts of the world were two or three days behind. They followed the Arabic calendar thinking that it was the Islamic calendar. But some of their important dates matched with the manazil of the moon. For example India got freedom on Friday the 15th of August 1947 AD. It was 28th of Ramadan 1366H. Pakistan emerged one day before on Thursday the 27th of Ramadan. In those days all Muslims in the world observed unity as far as possible in Ramadan and Eids. Under the British rule too Muslims were united in Ramadan and Eids. Telegraphic communication enabled this unification. Ramadan of 1366H began on Saturday and ended in 29 days on Saturday. The Eid was on Sunday, the first of Shawwal 1366H. All these matched with the astronomical calculations.
Zulhijja 1439H began on Sunday. Hilal could not have been seen on 29th of Zulqaed on Saturday anywhere in the world. Hilaal the first crescent is never seen on the last day of the month. Hilaal is seen in some places on earth on the first day of the month. The rituals were performed on correct days by observing the moon in the proper way. They observed the waning crescents in the last days of the month. This enabled them to find out the correct beginning of the months. Even today the Bedouins of Saudi Arabia living on hill tops practice this Quranic method. This was known to some Alims in the last century. It was gradually forgotten in course of time because people used the Christian calendar for their day to day life instead of the Hijra calendar. Had they practiced the moon sighting of today they would have never been correct and united in fasting and Eids.
Belief that hilaal indicated the beginning of the lunar month for performing the religious rites got established in the minds of the people in course of time.
In fact the first crescent Hilaal is seen low on the horizon in some parts of the world on the first day of the month. It sets by magrib time. The second one is seen high on the horizon after sunset and remains till Isha. Sahaba RA were familiar with this phenomenon. This Hilaal is seen often and Muslims in other countries began fasting and celebrated Eid after seeing it. They believed that the lunar months began after the Hilaal was seen. But Hilaal always becomes visible only on the first day. It cannot be seen on the last day 29/30, which is the day of conjunction, on which both the sun and the moon are in one manazil and the moon over takes the sun. Rising or setting of the moon cannot be seen from anywhere on earth on this day. So the practice of beginning the month after seeing the hilaal was not the way of Rasoolullah and the Sahaba. A wrong way contracting Quran would not have been practiced by them. But somehow the wrong method of beginning the month after seeing the Hilaal continued in other countries except Arabia and that is why the dates of those countries are one or two days behind the dates of Arabia. Now the modern education has confused Saudi Arabia also. It is high time that the wrong practice of celebrating one Eid for three days in the world is stopped.
First of Shawwal is the date fixed by the Prophet for Eidul Fitre and it is silly to make it two or three days in a year.
During Ottoman empire the news of Ramadan and Eid was communicated far and wide by telegram and the Muslim Ummah all over the world celebrated Eid on the same day. When they missed the first days of Ramadan it was compensated by fasting after Eid. This practice was in vogue during the Khilafat of Islam. But this correct Sunnah is not practiced now because of the invention of the “Ikhthilaful Mathalia” and people believed that the decision taken in their land was applicable only to them.
After Khilafat disintegrated Rabithathul Aalamil Islamiyya was formed. The Alims of Rabitha felt that months should begin after the hilaal became visible. They interpreted “soomoo li ru’uyahihi” as “soomoo ba’da ru’uyathihi.” and they did not verify the hilaal by observing the crescents in the proper way. They depended on the vague reports of moon sighting. Alims of Rabitha believed that the hilaal would be seen on the last day of the month. They did not know that It became visible only on the first day of the month. They did not know anything about the manazil of the moon and how to observe them. This was not taught in the Madrasas. They had no knowledge about the Islamic calendar.
Mr. Habeeb Alawi al Hosseini who acted as an astronomer to Rabitha in 1992AD was not an astronomer. If he was aware of the astronomical rules which defined the lunar months he could have explained it to the Alims of Rabitha. Instead he followed the Ulema who had no knowledge in astronomy. Dr. Mohammed Ilyas of the International Islamic Calendar Project (IICP) of Malaysia, who was also not an astronomer, suggested that sun set and moon set difference is a good criterion to calculate the lunar month. He suggested that the International Date Line (IDL) established in 1886 AD to begin the day and date in the world should be replaced by International Lunar Date Lines (ILDL) to be marked in the world map to begin the lunar months of the Muslims.
Rabitha requested all organisations under them to make lunar calendars based on the sun set and moon set difference of their locations. So all countries followed it and they made calendars for their locations based on this wrong principle. This resulted in observing different dates for different places. Now all the Muslims believe that it is the Islamic norm. This is absurd because the day is same for all while the date which represented it is not same. They ignored the basic principle that day and date must be same for all in the world.
After freedom from the British rule, Khazis in different parts of the world declared fasting of Ramadan and Eids independently based on the local visibility of hilaal without consulting others. Most often these reports of hilaal were fake. They thought that unity in fasting and Eids was not necessary. They used the Christian calendar for their day to day life and Hijra calendar was neglected. Celebrating Eid on different days had become a common practice in India by 1960AD.
The Ulema convened a meeting in Lucknow in 1967AD to find a solution to this wrong practice of Eid falling on many days. They decided that Indian subcontinent should celebrate Eid in one day. Moulana Shihabuddin Nadwi quoted this in his article in the Islamic Voice of 2000AD.
The Christian calendar was used for day to fay needs and the scholars believed that Hijra calendar cannot be used in this world because the moon was sighted differently. When the public murmured about the difference in Eid and fasting the Ulema pacified them telling that it was so even in the time of Sahaba. Kuribe episode was put forth as evidence for their stand. This continued till the wrong concept of celebrating Eid on different days got fully established in the minds of the people. They thought that Islam prescribed many days for one Eid unlike Christmas of the Christians who celebrated it on the 25th of December in one day all over the world.
Saudi Arabia used the Ummul Qura calendar for civil purposes. The religious events like fasting and Eidain were observed under the jurisdiction of the concerned authorities. Most often their decisions matched with the Scientific Ummul Qura calendar.
Since the Ummul Qura calendar was not used for religious purposes there was no need to change its astronomical rules. But somehow the correct rules of the Ummul Qura calendar were scrapped in 1420H following the Fatwa of Yousuful Qaradawi which stated that Makkah celebrating Edul Fitre of 1420H on Friday was in Ramadan. His statement was based on the sun set and moon set difference of Makkah, which was not the correct way to define the lunar month. Qaradawi’s Fatwa was wrong. Furthermore, Ramadan had begun on Wednesday and so the 29th of Ramadan too was Wednesday. Since Hilaal was not present on 29th they completed 30 on Thursday. Eidul Fitre on Friday was perfectly in order, but Qaradawi’s Fatwa confused the Ulema who felt that Ummul Qura calendar was wrong. Without knowledge in astronomy they argued that the conjunction should take place before sun set of Makkah in order to begin the month on the next day. If not, the month should begin a day after conjunction day. They thought that sun set of Makkah was the end of the week days.
This change was for three years, to come back to astronomical rules after that. The calendar was renamed as New Ummul Qura. The complaints made against the wrong decision had no effect.
After 3 years “New” was removed and the wrong calendar continued in the name of the Ummul Qura calendar. They have not done according to the promise. People now believe that this wrong calendar is the real Ummul Qura calendar. The authorities forgot that Friday, the leader of days, does not end with Magrib of Makkah. Many countries have not yet prayed Jumu’a by that time. Makkah, the centre beginning Saturday before all have prayed Jumu’a will not be in order. By fajre of Makkah all would finish Jumu’a and that is the right time for Makkah to begin Saturday. So day change in Makkah should be just before fajre and this is in conformity with the Sunna and science. There is an established order for performing the daily routine of prayers in Islam. This is known by Jumu’a prayer on Friday. First Jumu’a is not prayed in Makkah. It begins before nine hours of Jumu’a at Makkah. So all daily Ibadah follow this order. Thus there are people in the world who perform Ibadah 9 hours before Makkah and 15 hours after Makkah. This order cannot be violated.
Quran says:”waqaddarahu manaazila li tha’lamoo adadas sineena wal hisaab”. He has fixed manazil for the moon so that you may learn the count of ages and the calculations. The astronomers studied the moon, it’s phases, stages and ages and learnt calculations. The Muslim authorities must learn it instead of groping in the dark. We calculate times of prayer shown by the angles of the sun. We perform all Ibada basing on calculation without seeing the sun. The same rule must apply to moon also because the Quran says “sun and moon are with precise calculation”. The angular distance between the moon and the sun marks the date, which would never change. So the date shown by it also cannot change. For example, the elongation measured at Vallioor on the evening of Monday the 20th of August 2018AD was 115 degrees. Elongation per day is about 12 degrees. So dividing 115 by 12 we get 9 which is the date for Monday. So Monday was 9th of Zulhijja 1439H. It cannot be Sunday or Saturday. By calculation also we can prove that 9th of Zulhijja 1439H is Monday, not Tuesday. 9-12-1439 – 1-1-1=Thursday = 8 days 11 months and 1438 years. This is the time passed between the two dates. Converting this into days 1438*354.3671 =509579.89 +(11*29.53=324.77)+8=509912.74 days. This is the total number of days passed from first Hijra Thursday to 9th of Zulhijja 1439H Monday. Now this figure is a combination of 7days of the week. So dividing this by 7 we get 72844 weeks and 4 days. Counting 4 days from Thursday is Monday. This proves that science confirms that 5:55 is correct. But the Muslims of today believe that calculation of date is forbidden while calculation of time is allowed in sharia.
The dates that depend on the manazil of the moon never change. They were fixed on the day of creation says the Quran. Changing it is interference with the matters of Allah. This is addition into Kufur. 9:37 Quran.
Ramadan 1440H begins on Sunday as per the manazil of the moon that Allah had appointed for the moon on the day of creation. But the wrong Ummul Qura puts it as Monday, postponing Ramadan by one day! They include a day of Ramadan in Sha’ban. Ramadan ends in 30 days on Monday. Ummul Qura too ends it on Monday. It gives 29 days to a Ramadan to which Allah has appointed 30 days. Is this not a serious mistake? Who is responsible for this? Is the author of this wrong Ummul Qura calendar really an astronomer?
Without knowledge in astronomy the Alims of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other places complained that the dates of the Ummul Qura calendar were two days ahead, where as their dates were two days behind. Islam reached their lands much later. The wrong interpretations of Quran and Hadees created confusion in their method of seeing the hilaal and fixing the lunar months. Since they used the Christian calendar for day to day needs, instead of Hijra calendar they had not learnt rukes of the Islamic calendar. Their Ulema used the published dates of the Arabic calendar in their literary works. So they felt that the dates of Saudi Arabia were two days ahead. As a result now they believe that celebrating Eid on different days is the Islamic way. Some of the Alims say that since earth is a globe Eid can never be celebrated in one day in the world. They do not know how it is possible to perform Jumu’a on the same day on earth. No one prays Jumu’a on Saturday or Sunday. If the Eid fell on a Friday will the Muslims pray Jumu’a on Friday and Eid on Saturday and Sunday?
Maulana Sameeruddeen Qasmi and others had visited Saudi Arabia many times and met great Alims like Ibn Baz and Shaikh Uthaimeen with the complaint that Saudi Ummul Qura calendar used new moon instead of Hilaal. They thought new moon is different from Hilaal. Without knowledge in astronomy they argued that Ummul Qura Calendar was two days in advance. Saudi Alims too had no knowledge in astronomy. So their discussions complicated the matter further.
After Galileo astronomy had developed and got separated from astrology which is forbidden in Islam. Astronomers studied the movements of the heavenly bodies systematically and found out the laws of their movements by which they could calculate the orbits of planets. They could tell when an eclipse would take place exactly. These calculations helped to find our locations on earth and space. Lunar dates and months could be calculated exactly by using these laws. Most of the stars used in navigation bear Arabic names. This proves that Muslim astronomers in the past rendered great service in the development of astronomy.
Saudi Government established astronomy department in Saudi Arabia in 1970AD to study times and dates required for prayers, fasting and other purposes with the help of Dr N. M. Fadhl who retired in 1990AD. The book containing calendars from 1300H to 1429H, used for their civil needs, compiled by him. Saudi Government had published it at that time. It was scrapped in 1420H and a new Ummul Qura calendar from 1420 to 1450h based on wrong principles was publishe. The principle now used is when the conjunction occurred before 12:00 hrs U T the next day is the first day of the month. If it is after 12:00 UT the second day will be the first. This is totally wrong because a day is 24 hours, not 12 hours. What happens in this method is that the conjunction/solar eclipse occurring in the Asian hemisphere is considered while the American hemisphere is ignored. By this method the months of 29 get 30 and vice versa. Because of this mistake Ramadan, Eid and Hajj fall on wrong days in many occasions and the Muslims living in other countries get confused
Next Ramadan is to begin on Sunday and end in 30 days on Monday. Eidul Fitre falls on Tuesday. This cannot change because Allah had already decreed it on the day of creation. We know this because Allah has said in Quran “waqaddarahu manazila lith’tha’lamoo adadas sineena walhisaaba, maa khalaqallahu illa bilhaqqi”. But the present Ummul Qura begins Fasting on Monday and ends Ramadan in 29 days. This is very serious with Allah.
1-1-1400H was Tuesday. We can establish this by calculation that it matched exactly with the manazil of the moon. 1-1-1400H – 1-1-1=1399 years. Total number of days passed is 495759.57 days. Dividing this by 7, we get 70822 weeks and 5 days. Counting 5 days from Thursday we get Tuesday. Conjunction took place on 19-11-1979AD Monday at 18:03hrs UT. Hilaal could not be visible to the naked eye on Monday anywhere in the world. But Tuesday was the first of Muharram. That Zulhijjah had 29 days only. They would not have ended the month in 29 without proper observation. According to the present rules of the Ummul Qura 30 must be completed because the conjunction was after 12:00 hrs UT. All this proves that Maulana Sameeruddin Qasmi and others argued without knowledge that Ummul Qura dates are 2 days ahead. On the other hand their dates are two days behind and do not match with the manazil of the moon. They contradict with the Quran 10:5.
New year of 1440H began on Monday. But the wrong Ummul Qura puts it on Tuesday, including a day of Muharram in Zulhijja. The moon set on Wednesday was at 20:39hrs and sun set at 18:23hrs IST at Bangalore. The difference 133 minutes divided by 48 gives 3, not 2, which confirms that Wednesday is the third day of Muharram. So the present Ummul Qura contradicts Quran 2:189, 10:5, 36:39, 55:5. From this it will be evident that if the calendar is made with wrong criteria, the months of 29 will get 30 and,30 will get 29. This is not allowed in sharia.
Dr N. M. Fadhl, the Director General of the astronomy department of Saudi Arabia was the author of the original Ummul Qura calendar. He was the only Muslim astronomer holding a Ph. D in astronomy. He had published a calendar book containing civil Hijri calendars from Hijra 1to 2000 as a continuation of his earlier work before he passed away in 2006. We request Saudi authorities to recognise this work and use it as the civil calendar for Saudi Arabia and the Muslim world. The Arabic calendar which was not approved by the Prophet SAW should be given up. It is a great pity that the calendar prescribed in the Quran has not been put into practice in the world even after 1440 years have passed since the revelation of the Quran while the erroneous Gregorian calendar has been accepted by the world. Even in Saudi Arabia the true Hijri calendar is not being practiced.
We request Authorities of Saudi Arabia to implement it with all confidence. Saudi government should request all Muslim countries to publish the Hijri calendars based on astronomical data. The method of calculating lunar months depending on the sun set moon set difference should be given up since it is a wrong method giving different dates for different regions. It confuses the Ummah and ridicules the Deen of Allah.
In Sha Allah the present confusion rampant in the Muslim Ummah in the world today could be removed by adopting the lunar calendar prescribed in the Quran for the civil use of Saudi Arabia and the Muslim Ummah using it in the day to day life along with the conventional calendar. Dates of Ummul Qura must be followed by all Muslims. When Makkah pray Jumu’a people in all countries pray Jumu’a on the same Friday, some before and some after Makkah. The same order must be maintained in fasting and Eids also. The correct lunar dates must be written every day in the prayer time boards of every mosque. Publishing of wrong Hijri dates in news papers, calendars and in TV and Radio must be prohibited.
May Allah forgive us our mistakes and shower His peace and blessings upon all of us. May He lead us to His straight Path.