They ask you about the phases of the moon. Say, “These are signs for the people to reckon dates and fix the periods for hajj.” Also tell them, “It is no virtue to enter your houses from their backs; real virtue is that one should refrain from incurring the displeasure of Allah; so enter your houses by their proper doors. and fear Allah so that you may gain (true) success. (Al Quran, Chapter 2, Verse189) What is the meaning of the word “Ahillah” in the above verse and how is it important for the dates (“Mawaakeeethu linnaasi wal hajj”)? The different translations of the Qur’an render “Ahillah” as ‘new moons’. We have examined Quran translations in eight languages. All give the same meaning. In fact, Ahillah does not mean ‘new moons’. Tafseers Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Kurtubi etc give clear explanation. People wanted to know how the moon waned and waxed and they asked the Prophet SAW about it. It is clearly known from this that they did not ask about the Hilaals seen on the first day of every month. They, in fact, asked how the moon waned and waxed. Allah SWT ordered the Prophet (SAW) to tell them the purpose behind it. So he (SAW) tells them they are dates for people and Hajj. People need dates to record and plan their activities of daily life. They were not a community like us using paper and pen. Very few of them knew that art. So their dates were not in calendars as we have today. They looked at the moon for their date. Their true calendar was hung in the sky while our false calendars decorate our walls deceiving us in our dates. The Mufassireen say that Quran should be interpreted from Quran. One ayath explains the other. So we should look into Quran, not into man-made dictionaries for understanding the meanings of the words used in the Quran. The word ‘Ahillah’ is used in Quran only once in 2:189. It is not used again anywhere else in Quran. People say that Ahillah is the plural of Hilaal. But ‘Hilaal’ is not found in Quran. Then, how can we know the meaning of this word? In Surah Yaaseen this word is explained in the verse 36:39, “Wal qamara qaddarnaahu manaazila hatta aada kal urjoonil qadeem” (“We have appointed stages for the moon till it returned like an old urjoon (date stalk) )”. Moon does not remain in one place or at one stage in the sky always as sun is seen to us. It changes its position or stage as well as its shape everyday and at last it comes back as it began and resembles like an old urjoon (date stalk). This is another form like Hilaal which is one of the phases of the moon seen on the first day of the month. So it is clear that the word ‘ahillah’ means different shapes of the moon seen to us in different stages of its travel. We call them ‘phases’ in English.