Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Why intercalation is haram; Muhamad's confusion in astronomy and times

Hadith from Abu Dawud

Book 10, Number 1942:
Narrated AbuBakrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) gave a sermon during his hajj and said: Time has completed a cycle and assumed the form of the day when Allah created the heavens and the earth. The year contains twelve months of which four are sacred, three of them consecutive, viz. Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram and also Rajab of Mudar which comes between Jumadah and Sha'ban.
"Time has completed a cycle" in year 632 and assumed its original form. Up until then lunar months didnt match seasons not because the lunar year is 11 days shorter than the solar year, but because "infidels and Jews" were messing with the order of months and adding the intercalary month every few years, to get the math add up.

Muhamad figured that intercalation is "haram":

[9.36] Surely the number of months with Allah is twelve months in Allah's ordinance since the day when He created the heavens and the earth [...]

[9.37] Postponing (of the sacred month) is only 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.


Muhamad didn't realize that intercalation is necessary in a lunisolar calendar to get seasons match the same month throughout years, but he figured the additional 13th month is a blasphemy, and in year 632 "time has completed a cycle" and there is no need for intercalation anymore. People should just keep countin 12 lunar months, and seasons will coincide the same month every year naturally. Too bad Muhamamd passed away in 632. If he lived another 10 years he would realise his mistake seeing seasons not matching the lunar months as they did few years before.

Intercalation is necesary in a lunisolar calender. Muslims observe a purely lunar calendar to this day. Their holidays coincide a different time of the year each time.

1 comment:

Neo Anderson said...

Muhammad didn't invented Islamic calendar but Omer after the death of the prophet actually after some years of his death. He was never against the intercalation but against the addition of 13 month where there was no reason for this addition except for fighting. Arabs were adding 13 month when ever they wanted to fight, it had nothing to do with intercalation