'Ismaili Lunar Calendar': An ideal base to unite the 'Ummah' - Part I
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Dr. Qazi Shaikh Abbas Borhany PhD (USA), NDI, Shahadat al A'alamiyyah (Najaf, Iraq), M.A., LLM (Shariah) Member, Ulama Council of Pakistan
The purpose of the following dialogue is to promote tolerance and intellectual understanding among the Muslim community of the global village. The Modern World humiliates the Muslims with the fact that while astronauts have landed the Moon, and other scientists are busy in discoveries of the universe, majority of the Muslims are still following the directions of the clergy, regarding the sighting of the Moon, instead of following the scientific course, upon which religion of Islam is based.
Origin of the Lunar Calendar: Base of the 'Ismaili Lunar Calendar' is Qur'an: "The Sun and the Moon follow exactly computed courses."[1]
This Ayat lays the foundation on which it is permissible to calculate the emergence of new crescent from a Shariah standpoint, and refutes any claim raised by people of limited-understanding who believe that crescent sighting should be followed; because all such erroneous sightings would contradict the findings of this Ayat and at the same time contradict the 'words of Qur'an', explaining the orderly movement of the Moon and other celestial bodies. The precise laws, made by Allah, governing the Universe, bear witness to Hikmat ilahiyyah and Adal and also of His favours to His creatures.
It was Bani Fatimah who realized the need of the Lunar Calendar, and they introduced it to the world at large, as soon as they established their vast Empire, even spreading across Europe. This Lunar Calendar remained in practice officially for more than 225 years, in North Africa and across the Atlantic Ocean. The same calendar is in practice officially by the Ismaili Nizaries & Musta'alavis (Dawoodi, Sulaiymani, & Alavi). The notable powerful dynasty of the Sumrahs of Sindh (Pakistan) followed the Lunar Calendar from 365(A.H) to 974(A.H) for more than 609 years, and without any alteration. As elites of Sindh, the Sumrahs handled the affairs of Al Dawah al Hadiyah as Aa'mil of the Ismaili Fatemi Imams in Sindh, whose jurisdiction extended up to the 'Attock Fort'. Their relationship continued to remain under the command of Al Dai al Mutlaq, one after the other, during the period of Satar. The Ismailis calculate their months according to this Lunar Calendar and least bother(scarcely depend) on the sighting of the Moon for starting a New Year or a New Month, as they have carried out an accurate scientific research on the movements of the Moon. They have a very rich and valuable literature on the subject of 'Lunar Calendar', the glorious origin of which goes to Amir al Mumineen, Ali ibn Abi Talib through the references of Abi Abdillah Imam Jafar Assadiq. An authentic scientific chart of 'Qaran-e-Saghir' and 'Qaran-e-Kabir' is attributed to Ali. [2]
Calculation of the Lunar Cycle: On an average, a lunar month (or lunation) comprises 29 days 12.73 hours, but it can sometimes be as short as 29 days 6_ hours, or as long as 29 days 20 hours. Fluctuations in length are cyclic. There is a fast cycle averaging about 412 days (which is just under 14 lunar months); which is associated with changes in the eccentricity, or shape of the lunar orbit. This rapid cycle is modified by a slower one whose mean wavelength is 8.85 years (equal to one complete revolution of the axis of the Moon's elliptical orbit). In addition, there are other oscillations, some causing variations extending over many hundreds of years – when it may not even make sense to look for an average wavelength. Other factors too contribute to the Moon's complex behavior.
For instance, a longer than normal lunation tends to occur between October and March because of the faster movement by the Earth in its orbit round the sun. In February and March, this delays the instant when the Moon appears to overtake the sun. Also, the sun lies closer to a newborn crescent than it would if the Earth's speed was uniform - thus postponing the onset of New Moon visibility. In October and November, on the other hand, the sun's position on the ecliptic line is "behind schedule" - so the Moon overtakes it earlier. Occasionally, four consecutive lunation will span more than 119 days. Under these circumstances, it is possible to have four successive 30-day months. When that happens, the Moon only just becomes visible at the beginning of the first month in the sequence, and just fails to do so on the 29th of the 4th month. A predetermined calendar would certainly make it easier to plan events. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to predict that a newborn crescent will definitely be visible or invisible from a given location, because of the wide grey area separating the two categories. This uncertainty is caused by day to day fluctuations in atmospheric water vapor and dust content.
A Few Logical Examples: The Ismailis follows a pre-calculated calendar based on a cycle of 30 Muslim years (eleven of which contain 355 days instead of the more common 354–thus totaling 10631 days). The accumulated error in that calendar is about one hour per century. This, together with the cyclic variations in the behavior of the lunar orbit, can bring the Ismaili dates two (or on rare occasions even three) days earlier than those governed strictly by Crescent visibility. In 1412 (A.H), for example, their Ramazan commenced on the morning of 4th March 1992, whereas throughout much of India and the Far East, Sawm did not start till 7th March. There are of course other ways in which a predetermined calendar might be constructed. Mathematical criteria could be laid down – and adopted, regardless of whether or not the crescent happens to be observed. Such guidelines might be based, for example, on the age of the New Moon at dusk (suitably defined), or the lag between sunset and moonset, or the number of degrees separating the sun and moon as they descend. It is then essential to specify either the exact time at which the criteria are to be applied–or the precise location; for example, Makkah would probably be universally acceptable. [3]
Qur'an says:
"Allah enlightens the sun and effulgent moon and created stations for the moon's movement so that you can keep the counting and records of years". [4]
The Circulation of the Moon around the Earth is described in the Qur'an, and on the basis of it the Lunar Calendar was designed. The 19th Al Dai al Fatemi, Syedna Idris Imaduddin(d.872/1468, Shib'am, Yemen) discussed the issue and proved that the Moon circulates one time around earth in 29 _ days and some minutes, and a single circulation is counted as one month. According to calculations, in the Lunar Calendar, a 30 days month is considered complete, and a 29 days month is called incomplete. The first month of Muharram is of 30 days and the second month is of 29 days, so according to this, the last month of Zilhajjah will be of 29 days. At the end of 12 months, some fraction is left between the movement of the Moon and 12 months, and as per calculation 11 leap-years are set in every 30 years in the lunar calendar. That means a leap-year will have 30 days instead of 29 days in the last month, which is Zilhajjah. [5]
Shia Ismaili Point of view: Shia Ismailies argue that Rasulullah (S) always observed Siy'am by particular calculations and commanded the Ummah to do accordingly. A valuable reference of Maaz bin Kasir is available in "Majm'a al Bahraiyn" which has been transmitted by Huzaifah bin Mansur who asked Abi Abdullah Imam Jafar Assadiq that people say: Rasulullh(S) observed some months of Ramazan for 29 days and some for 30 days. Imam Jafar Assadiq spontaneously rejected this allegation and replied:
"These people are telling lies; Rasulullah(S) has always observed 30 days Siy'aam in the month of Ramazan. From the day Allah created the Sky and the Earth, Ramazan has never ended in 29 Naqis (incomplete) days". [6]
As Muslims of the early era were not familiar with calculations at that time, the day on which everyone observed Sawm, and celebrated Eid, used to be announced. Once when Rasulullah(S) was leaving Madinah for expedition of 'Ghazwah Hunain', people behind him questioned, "We observed Sawm of Ramazan with you, and celebrated Eid with you, as you are leaving, how should we observe it?" Rasulullah(S) guided as follow:
"Observe Sawm of Ramazan by watching Him and celebrate your Eid by watching Him too." [7]
Children of the Ismaili Dawah argue that the meaning behind the word of Hadith "Ley Ruyate Hee" was Ali, as Rasulullah (S) had appointed him 'Wali al Amar' on his seat, in his place. Similarly, there is no doubt that Rasulullah(S) is the Sun of Nubuwah while Ali is the Moon of Imamah. Pointing out this divine reality, Syedna al Moayyid al Shirazi (d.470/1078, Qahera, Egypt) says in a couplet, available in his "Diw'aan" as follow:
"Wa Ya Qamaran B'aada Zakas Siraji; Muniran Bada Lid'diyaji Mubira" [8]
(O Moon which appears after the Sun; in order to remove darkness)
Selected Bibliography
[1] "Al Qur'an", Surat No.55,Ayat No.5
[2] Alibhai Sharafali, "Sahifat us Sal'aat", Chart of' Qaran al Kabir wa Qaran al Saghir', Mumbai
[3] David Mc Naughton,"Crescent- sighting & Islamic Calendars", Hamdard Islamicus, Karachi,January 1997
[4] Al Qur'an
[5] Syedna Idris Imaduddin, "Kit'aab Izah ul Ael'aam", (in explanation of 29 days of Shab'an and 30 days of Ramazan),manuscript.
[6] 1-"Majma al Bahraiyn", 2- 39th Alavi Dai, "Kit'aab al ib'anate wal Hil'aal",
Manuscript, (Cross-examination by the learned Shaikh on books like "Kit'aab al Hid'ayah" and "Man La Yahzuruhul Faqih" and established logical scientific approach of the Ismailies)
[7] Syedna Idris Imaduddin, "Kit'aab Izah ul Ael'aam", (in explanation of 29 days of Shab'an and 30 days of Ramazan). Hadith
[8] Syedna al Moayyid al Shirazi, "Diw'aan", Qahera
The writer is Attorney at Law & Religious Scholar
Email address: [email protected]
Ismaili Lunar Calendar’: An ideal base to unite the ‘Ummah’
Ismaili Lunar Calendar’: An ideal base to unite the ‘Ummah’
Ismaili Lunar Calendar’: An ideal base to unite the ‘Ummah’ Part 2
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Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany
The purpose of the following dialogue is to promote tolerance and intellectual understanding among the Muslim community of the global village. The Modern World humiliates the Muslims with the fact that while astronauts have landed the Moon, and other scientists are busy in discoveries of the universe, majority of the Muslims are still following the directions of the clergy, regarding the sighting of the Moon, instead of following the scientific course, upon which religion of Islam is based.
Syedna Hamiduddin al Kirmani (d. in between 411-427 A.H.), maintained that Allah has created everything in pairs, so no one could share and compete with Him. Qur’an says:
“He is sacred who created everything in pairs.”
In another Ayat this matter is clarified as follow:
“We have created everything in pairs. May you remember”
The learned writer of “Al Risalah al Lazimah”, Syedna Hamiduddin al Kirmani says:
It is fact that we also find pairs in everything for e.g. diamond and gems, dryness and swamp, high lands and tropical area, similarly day and night, good and bad deeds, body and soul, emergence and disappearance, Duniya and Akhirah, male and female etc. this chain is very long. Similarly Rasulullah (S) has raised Shariat on the basis of pairs, for e.g. Sal’aat & Zak’aat, Siy’aam & Haj, Az’aan & Iqamat, Haj & Umrah, Safa & Marwa, Faraz & Sunnat, Ruku & Sujud etc. In this manner there are two types of observation, which are adjoining with each other, physical and spiritual. Physical observation is linked with eyes that can observe colours and geometrical figures; on the other hand a spiritual observation is linked with the mind and soul which can attain and observe those things, which physically is not possible. Attainment of these objects is beyond the physical power. Qur’an says:
“Thus heart did not lie whatever it saw and……O’ Mohammad! Did not you observe your Creator that how He enlarged the shade (of sky)”
And Qur’an says:
“(O’ Mohammad!) Did not you see what your Creator did with ‘Ash’aab al Feel’?”
Rather we know that Rasulullah (S) was not present in the period of ‘Ash’aab al Feel’, that he would see them. So, the meaning of observation is linked with ilm and Marifat. For example we say that someone is blind by heart, which means he is short- sighted and incapable to understand.
It is the opinion of the people, who follow Qiyas that sometimes the month of Ramazan, is perfect and sometimes imperfect. They believed that the Siyam of Ramazan is based on the sighting of moon. These people refer to the following Hadith as evidence:
“People should observe Siy’am and celebrate their Eid by observing him. If clouds appear, then observe Siy’am for thirty days.”
This Hadith is Zaeef and non authentic. We will describe with irrefutable arguments that the month of Ramazan is always perfect and is not imperfect in any circumstances. First of all, we categorically deny and refute the argument of any person who says that, “observe Ramazan and celebrate Eid by watching (Moon) him”. We would like to guide that person and explain the meaning. When Rasulullah (S) decided to join the expedition, prior to the month of Ramazan, some of his Ash’ab approached him and asked, “O Rasulullah (S) we did our Siy’am by observing you and similarly celebrated Eid by watching you, so what should we do in your absence. Rasulullah (S) directed as follow:
“Observe Siy’am and celebrate your Eid by observing him”.
Syedna al Moayyid al Shirazi explained this Hadith in Majlis No. 42 of “Al Majalis al Moayyidiyah” as follows:
Thus the root origin of this Hadith explains that it was obligatory to observe the Siyam by the Siy’am of Rasulullah (S) in his presence. Similarly it becomes obligatory to do so with his successor too, in his absence. Thus this law attains permanency in other cases too when Rasul is absent or Imam is present, just as the Ash’ab declared that we observed Siy’am by you. Argument in favor of beginning of the month by sighting the Moon by one of the major wing is totally non acceptable on both bases, religious as well as logical. One of the reasons is that Rasulullah (S) always said that Jibrael regularly came and informed each and everything in the morning or evening. So the one, to whom in the morning and evening, the news of heavens was disclosed, did not have the need to search for the Moon in the sky. If Rasulullah (S) came out in search of the Moon, it is a self contradiction of his own declaration of Wahi, allowing the opponents of Wahi who may raise the question; O Rasulullah (S)! Why did not you ask about the Moon from Jibrael, so that you may be saved from this problem?
The second reason is the following Hadith, which has been recorded in several books as follow:
“Ana Be’turuq’aatis Sam’aae Aarafu Minkum Be ‘turuq’aatil Ard”-“I am more aware od the celestical courses than you are aware of the ways of earth”.
After this Hadith is it logical to assume that Rasulullah (S) would look out for the emergence of the Moon after every 29 days, when an ordinary astrologer is well aware of this fact? It is also a fact that the condition of the earth is different, at different places. At some places the height of the land is so much high i.e.: in mountainous regions where sighting of the Moon becomes easy, while elsewhere it is so much low that the appearance of moon takes time. It is a fact that nothing was hidden from the knowledge of Rasulullah (S). If any knowledge was hidden from Rasulullah (S) than Nubuwah would have been incomplete. It is a universal fact that Rasulullah(S) was free from all faults and defaults. After knowing the difference of opinion, we become sure about the fact that our intellects follow only one aspect, and ignore the logic, reasoning, and even the divine realities of Nubuwah. Why Siy’am was declared Faraz and linked with Haj? It is common that the Moon is visible at some places and not visible at some other place. It is also incorrect and unacceptable, that there should be a day in the month of Shab’an in which the Moon does not appear. This is such an authentic argument that an intellectual just can not ignore it, except an irrational mind. Similarly Qur’an says:
“So, Siy’am has been made Faraz upon you similarly as it was Faraz before you on others. May you become pious”.
Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany has PhD (USA), NDI, Shahadat al A’alamiyyah (Najaf, Iraq), M.A., LLM (Shariah) Member, Ulama Council of Pakistan. He is Attorney at Law & Religious Scholar. He can be reached at [email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany
The purpose of the following dialogue is to promote tolerance and intellectual understanding among the Muslim community of the global village. The Modern World humiliates the Muslims with the fact that while astronauts have landed the Moon, and other scientists are busy in discoveries of the universe, majority of the Muslims are still following the directions of the clergy, regarding the sighting of the Moon, instead of following the scientific course, upon which religion of Islam is based.
Syedna Hamiduddin al Kirmani (d. in between 411-427 A.H.), maintained that Allah has created everything in pairs, so no one could share and compete with Him. Qur’an says:
“He is sacred who created everything in pairs.”
In another Ayat this matter is clarified as follow:
“We have created everything in pairs. May you remember”
The learned writer of “Al Risalah al Lazimah”, Syedna Hamiduddin al Kirmani says:
It is fact that we also find pairs in everything for e.g. diamond and gems, dryness and swamp, high lands and tropical area, similarly day and night, good and bad deeds, body and soul, emergence and disappearance, Duniya and Akhirah, male and female etc. this chain is very long. Similarly Rasulullah (S) has raised Shariat on the basis of pairs, for e.g. Sal’aat & Zak’aat, Siy’aam & Haj, Az’aan & Iqamat, Haj & Umrah, Safa & Marwa, Faraz & Sunnat, Ruku & Sujud etc. In this manner there are two types of observation, which are adjoining with each other, physical and spiritual. Physical observation is linked with eyes that can observe colours and geometrical figures; on the other hand a spiritual observation is linked with the mind and soul which can attain and observe those things, which physically is not possible. Attainment of these objects is beyond the physical power. Qur’an says:
“Thus heart did not lie whatever it saw and……O’ Mohammad! Did not you observe your Creator that how He enlarged the shade (of sky)”
And Qur’an says:
“(O’ Mohammad!) Did not you see what your Creator did with ‘Ash’aab al Feel’?”
Rather we know that Rasulullah (S) was not present in the period of ‘Ash’aab al Feel’, that he would see them. So, the meaning of observation is linked with ilm and Marifat. For example we say that someone is blind by heart, which means he is short- sighted and incapable to understand.
It is the opinion of the people, who follow Qiyas that sometimes the month of Ramazan, is perfect and sometimes imperfect. They believed that the Siyam of Ramazan is based on the sighting of moon. These people refer to the following Hadith as evidence:
“People should observe Siy’am and celebrate their Eid by observing him. If clouds appear, then observe Siy’am for thirty days.”
This Hadith is Zaeef and non authentic. We will describe with irrefutable arguments that the month of Ramazan is always perfect and is not imperfect in any circumstances. First of all, we categorically deny and refute the argument of any person who says that, “observe Ramazan and celebrate Eid by watching (Moon) him”. We would like to guide that person and explain the meaning. When Rasulullah (S) decided to join the expedition, prior to the month of Ramazan, some of his Ash’ab approached him and asked, “O Rasulullah (S) we did our Siy’am by observing you and similarly celebrated Eid by watching you, so what should we do in your absence. Rasulullah (S) directed as follow:
“Observe Siy’am and celebrate your Eid by observing him”.
Syedna al Moayyid al Shirazi explained this Hadith in Majlis No. 42 of “Al Majalis al Moayyidiyah” as follows:
Thus the root origin of this Hadith explains that it was obligatory to observe the Siyam by the Siy’am of Rasulullah (S) in his presence. Similarly it becomes obligatory to do so with his successor too, in his absence. Thus this law attains permanency in other cases too when Rasul is absent or Imam is present, just as the Ash’ab declared that we observed Siy’am by you. Argument in favor of beginning of the month by sighting the Moon by one of the major wing is totally non acceptable on both bases, religious as well as logical. One of the reasons is that Rasulullah (S) always said that Jibrael regularly came and informed each and everything in the morning or evening. So the one, to whom in the morning and evening, the news of heavens was disclosed, did not have the need to search for the Moon in the sky. If Rasulullah (S) came out in search of the Moon, it is a self contradiction of his own declaration of Wahi, allowing the opponents of Wahi who may raise the question; O Rasulullah (S)! Why did not you ask about the Moon from Jibrael, so that you may be saved from this problem?
The second reason is the following Hadith, which has been recorded in several books as follow:
“Ana Be’turuq’aatis Sam’aae Aarafu Minkum Be ‘turuq’aatil Ard”-“I am more aware od the celestical courses than you are aware of the ways of earth”.
After this Hadith is it logical to assume that Rasulullah (S) would look out for the emergence of the Moon after every 29 days, when an ordinary astrologer is well aware of this fact? It is also a fact that the condition of the earth is different, at different places. At some places the height of the land is so much high i.e.: in mountainous regions where sighting of the Moon becomes easy, while elsewhere it is so much low that the appearance of moon takes time. It is a fact that nothing was hidden from the knowledge of Rasulullah (S). If any knowledge was hidden from Rasulullah (S) than Nubuwah would have been incomplete. It is a universal fact that Rasulullah(S) was free from all faults and defaults. After knowing the difference of opinion, we become sure about the fact that our intellects follow only one aspect, and ignore the logic, reasoning, and even the divine realities of Nubuwah. Why Siy’am was declared Faraz and linked with Haj? It is common that the Moon is visible at some places and not visible at some other place. It is also incorrect and unacceptable, that there should be a day in the month of Shab’an in which the Moon does not appear. This is such an authentic argument that an intellectual just can not ignore it, except an irrational mind. Similarly Qur’an says:
“So, Siy’am has been made Faraz upon you similarly as it was Faraz before you on others. May you become pious”.
Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany has PhD (USA), NDI, Shahadat al A’alamiyyah (Najaf, Iraq), M.A., LLM (Shariah) Member, Ulama Council of Pakistan. He is Attorney at Law & Religious Scholar. He can be reached at [email protected]
part 3
An ideal base to unite the ‘Ummah’ (Part 3)
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YEMEN TIMES published this article in episodes
Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany
*********************************************************
The purpose of the following dialogue is to promote tolerance and intellectual understanding among the Muslim community of the global village. The Modern World humiliates the Muslims with the fact that while astronauts have landed the Moon, and other scientists are busy in discoveries of the universe, majority of the Muslims are still following the directions of the clergy, regarding the sighting of the Moon, instead of following the scientific course, upon which religion of Islam is based.
The Qur’an points out towards the Christians, among whom Siy’am, is based not on sighting of Moon but on the basis of calculation. Afterwards, Qur’an has indicated a fixed period. It emphasizes that: “It is the counted days.”
(The readers are requested to please study the above Ayat carefully)
Thus the counted days are those which were surely calculated. Thus there is no need to search for the Moon while the days are calculated. If there is the slightest doubt left, that once the month of Ramazan would be of 29 days and once of 30 days, than Qur’an would never have mentioned the specific words: “Calculated Period”, with great emphasis. Thus the meaning of the “Counted Period” is the perfect counted time. It means it is an equivalent of the statement of the one who has mentioned that this one is counted, and this one is weighed in gold. Another argument is that if the base of a year is on six complete and six incomplete months, so it is compulsory that the base of year should be perfect without any lacuna. The first month Muharram should be perfect and Safar should be imperfect, Rabi al Awwal should be perfect while Rabi al Aakhar should be incomplete, Jamadil Awwal should be perfect while Jamadil Aakhar should be imperfect, Rajab and Ramazan should be perfect. Therefore, the famous Hadith:
“Shab’an will never be perfect and Ramazan will never be imperfect”.
On the imperfectness of Shab’an “Lailat al Nisf” -15th night is enough evidence, other than Rajab and Ramazan. The Night of 15th Shab’an has a different position, because it has 14 nights in the beginning, and 14 nights after it is counted. This law is not applicable to the month of Ramazan, because if the 15th night of Ramazan is declared as half of the month, then it is not correct, because 16 days remain in the month. If the 16th night of Ramazan is declared half of the month then also it is not correct because 16 is not the half of 30.
Kafarat of the Ramazan is also evidence. The one who does not observe Siy’am, without legal excuse, than he/she must observed Siy’am of 2 months. This is the Kafarat of that sin. It is also the double of the days of Ramazan, which are 60 in numbers.
If one is also not eligible to perform this then he/she must arrange food for 60 poor persons. If their was any slightest doubt in the counting of the days of Ramazan, ie: 29 days, then their must be provision available, that one must arrange food as Kafarat for 60 or 58 poor”.
19th Al Dai al Fatemi, Syedna Idris Imaduddin has discussed in “Mudhezat al Buht’aan” as follow:
“It is clear that Ahadith and sayings of the Ahl al Bait are not for ‘unbound people’, but it was for those who are not aware with the calculations. This was the practice of Imam Jafar Assadiq. The one who followed him followed Rasulullah (S). Qur’an has clarified that “So, Siy’am is Faraz upon you similarly as it was Faraz before you on others”.
Years and months can be calculated through the Kabisah calculation chart. According to the teaching of Imam Jafar Assadiq, ‘ABJAD ‘chart is used in Kabisah calculation. Account of “Man La Yahzaruhul Faqih” confirms a Tradition of Imam Jafar Assadiq explaining Kabisah formation.
This chart was prepared according to the guidance of Qur’an and instructions of Ahl al Bait. Every student of Islam knows this Hadith:
“I am leaving two everlasting precious things among you, one is Qur’an another is the Ahl al Bait”
The learned scholar of Ahl al Bait explains that we can not separate both from each other nor can we follow Qiyas and Rai, which creates clouds of doubts. The discussion is very long but irrefutable. In this book a Hadith is quoted with the reference of one of the wives of Rasulullah(S), who said: “I never saw Rasulullah(S) that he ever observed an in-completed month of Siy’aam of Ramazan and neither found him to observe Siy’aam in any month perfectly”.
Method of Kabisah Calculation: The calendar contains 12 months that are based on the Qur’an. Hijrahcalendar is a purely lunar calendar. It depends on the Moon’s cycle around the earth. That is how the HijrahCalendars have been calculated and prepared. It has twelve lunar months. The average length of a lunar month is 29.53058 (solar) days. As per certain Hikmat, the Hijrah year will contain 29 or 30 days long months. Muharram starts with 30 days. The next month Safar has 29 days, so on so forth. That means the last month of the year Zilhajjah will have 29 days in a month. The total length of the Hijrah year is usually 354 days. There is a small fractional difference between the Moon’s cycle around the earth in a year and the Hijrahcalendar. To compensate for this difference, there are 11 Kabisah years in a cycle of 30 years. A Kabisah year is a year in which the month of Zilhajjah has 30 days instead of the usual 29 days.
According to the learned writer of “Risalah al Bay’aan”, the following Nabavi instruction was issued at the time when Rasulullah (S) was leaving for an expedition:
“Observe Sawm and celebrate Eid by watching him”.
It contains a particular meaning (not related towards the sighting of moon) which has a significant importance. The above Nabavi commandment was issued at a particular time, when Rasulullah(S) was leaving the Muslim community. A person who was ignorant with the orders of Ramazan asked Rasulullah (S) that “we observed Siyam with you and celebrated Eid with you. Now that you are leaving so how should we observe Siyam? He answered:
“Observe by watching him and celebrate by watching him”.
The persons who asked this question were those who were considered to be simple men with true intentions. So, Rasulullah (S) instructed them emphatically to follow his Ahl al Bait”. This matter has been clarified in detail in “Daem al Islam” of Syedna Qazi al Nauman (d.363/974 C.E. Qahera, Egypt). It is only for those, who are able to understand and solve the problem. Allah has fixed the Siyam of Ramazan obligatory. Qur’an says:
“Ramazan is the month in which Qur’an was descended, with Hidayat for people, and which differentiates and clarifies between truth and obscurity. Whoever achieves this month, it is obligatory upon him to observe Siyam, if he is sick or in travel, so must complete it in other days. Allah likes an ease for you, not hardship”.
Concluding Remarks: The period is of 30 days, neither more nor less. The Moon is entirely different in different places and periods. It is difficult to understand for those who have little information in this matter. The reason of difference in periods is early and late, the first period will be different from the second, and second from third, and in this way this matter is continuous till the end of the year. In this manner the differences in the Moon’s width and height differ, from cities to cities. This dispute was created due to the distance of the Moon when it ascends towards the sky and also when it descends in to the skies. “The ‘Uml Al Qura Calendar’ used by Saudi Arabia who claim it to be for civil purposes only, yet plays a major role in influencing the determination of the 29th day of the month in which the crescent is normally observed”.
Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany has PhD (USA), NDI, Shahadat al A’alamiyyah (Najaf, Iraq), M.A., LLM (Shariah) Member, Ulama Council of Pakistan. He is Attorney at Law & Religious Scholar. He can be reached at [email protected]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YEMEN TIMES published this article in episodes
Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany
*********************************************************
The purpose of the following dialogue is to promote tolerance and intellectual understanding among the Muslim community of the global village. The Modern World humiliates the Muslims with the fact that while astronauts have landed the Moon, and other scientists are busy in discoveries of the universe, majority of the Muslims are still following the directions of the clergy, regarding the sighting of the Moon, instead of following the scientific course, upon which religion of Islam is based.
The Qur’an points out towards the Christians, among whom Siy’am, is based not on sighting of Moon but on the basis of calculation. Afterwards, Qur’an has indicated a fixed period. It emphasizes that: “It is the counted days.”
(The readers are requested to please study the above Ayat carefully)
Thus the counted days are those which were surely calculated. Thus there is no need to search for the Moon while the days are calculated. If there is the slightest doubt left, that once the month of Ramazan would be of 29 days and once of 30 days, than Qur’an would never have mentioned the specific words: “Calculated Period”, with great emphasis. Thus the meaning of the “Counted Period” is the perfect counted time. It means it is an equivalent of the statement of the one who has mentioned that this one is counted, and this one is weighed in gold. Another argument is that if the base of a year is on six complete and six incomplete months, so it is compulsory that the base of year should be perfect without any lacuna. The first month Muharram should be perfect and Safar should be imperfect, Rabi al Awwal should be perfect while Rabi al Aakhar should be incomplete, Jamadil Awwal should be perfect while Jamadil Aakhar should be imperfect, Rajab and Ramazan should be perfect. Therefore, the famous Hadith:
“Shab’an will never be perfect and Ramazan will never be imperfect”.
On the imperfectness of Shab’an “Lailat al Nisf” -15th night is enough evidence, other than Rajab and Ramazan. The Night of 15th Shab’an has a different position, because it has 14 nights in the beginning, and 14 nights after it is counted. This law is not applicable to the month of Ramazan, because if the 15th night of Ramazan is declared as half of the month, then it is not correct, because 16 days remain in the month. If the 16th night of Ramazan is declared half of the month then also it is not correct because 16 is not the half of 30.
Kafarat of the Ramazan is also evidence. The one who does not observe Siy’am, without legal excuse, than he/she must observed Siy’am of 2 months. This is the Kafarat of that sin. It is also the double of the days of Ramazan, which are 60 in numbers.
If one is also not eligible to perform this then he/she must arrange food for 60 poor persons. If their was any slightest doubt in the counting of the days of Ramazan, ie: 29 days, then their must be provision available, that one must arrange food as Kafarat for 60 or 58 poor”.
19th Al Dai al Fatemi, Syedna Idris Imaduddin has discussed in “Mudhezat al Buht’aan” as follow:
“It is clear that Ahadith and sayings of the Ahl al Bait are not for ‘unbound people’, but it was for those who are not aware with the calculations. This was the practice of Imam Jafar Assadiq. The one who followed him followed Rasulullah (S). Qur’an has clarified that “So, Siy’am is Faraz upon you similarly as it was Faraz before you on others”.
Years and months can be calculated through the Kabisah calculation chart. According to the teaching of Imam Jafar Assadiq, ‘ABJAD ‘chart is used in Kabisah calculation. Account of “Man La Yahzaruhul Faqih” confirms a Tradition of Imam Jafar Assadiq explaining Kabisah formation.
This chart was prepared according to the guidance of Qur’an and instructions of Ahl al Bait. Every student of Islam knows this Hadith:
“I am leaving two everlasting precious things among you, one is Qur’an another is the Ahl al Bait”
The learned scholar of Ahl al Bait explains that we can not separate both from each other nor can we follow Qiyas and Rai, which creates clouds of doubts. The discussion is very long but irrefutable. In this book a Hadith is quoted with the reference of one of the wives of Rasulullah(S), who said: “I never saw Rasulullah(S) that he ever observed an in-completed month of Siy’aam of Ramazan and neither found him to observe Siy’aam in any month perfectly”.
Method of Kabisah Calculation: The calendar contains 12 months that are based on the Qur’an. Hijrahcalendar is a purely lunar calendar. It depends on the Moon’s cycle around the earth. That is how the HijrahCalendars have been calculated and prepared. It has twelve lunar months. The average length of a lunar month is 29.53058 (solar) days. As per certain Hikmat, the Hijrah year will contain 29 or 30 days long months. Muharram starts with 30 days. The next month Safar has 29 days, so on so forth. That means the last month of the year Zilhajjah will have 29 days in a month. The total length of the Hijrah year is usually 354 days. There is a small fractional difference between the Moon’s cycle around the earth in a year and the Hijrahcalendar. To compensate for this difference, there are 11 Kabisah years in a cycle of 30 years. A Kabisah year is a year in which the month of Zilhajjah has 30 days instead of the usual 29 days.
According to the learned writer of “Risalah al Bay’aan”, the following Nabavi instruction was issued at the time when Rasulullah (S) was leaving for an expedition:
“Observe Sawm and celebrate Eid by watching him”.
It contains a particular meaning (not related towards the sighting of moon) which has a significant importance. The above Nabavi commandment was issued at a particular time, when Rasulullah(S) was leaving the Muslim community. A person who was ignorant with the orders of Ramazan asked Rasulullah (S) that “we observed Siyam with you and celebrated Eid with you. Now that you are leaving so how should we observe Siyam? He answered:
“Observe by watching him and celebrate by watching him”.
The persons who asked this question were those who were considered to be simple men with true intentions. So, Rasulullah (S) instructed them emphatically to follow his Ahl al Bait”. This matter has been clarified in detail in “Daem al Islam” of Syedna Qazi al Nauman (d.363/974 C.E. Qahera, Egypt). It is only for those, who are able to understand and solve the problem. Allah has fixed the Siyam of Ramazan obligatory. Qur’an says:
“Ramazan is the month in which Qur’an was descended, with Hidayat for people, and which differentiates and clarifies between truth and obscurity. Whoever achieves this month, it is obligatory upon him to observe Siyam, if he is sick or in travel, so must complete it in other days. Allah likes an ease for you, not hardship”.
Concluding Remarks: The period is of 30 days, neither more nor less. The Moon is entirely different in different places and periods. It is difficult to understand for those who have little information in this matter. The reason of difference in periods is early and late, the first period will be different from the second, and second from third, and in this way this matter is continuous till the end of the year. In this manner the differences in the Moon’s width and height differ, from cities to cities. This dispute was created due to the distance of the Moon when it ascends towards the sky and also when it descends in to the skies. “The ‘Uml Al Qura Calendar’ used by Saudi Arabia who claim it to be for civil purposes only, yet plays a major role in influencing the determination of the 29th day of the month in which the crescent is normally observed”.
Qazi Dr. Shaikh Abbas Borhany has PhD (USA), NDI, Shahadat al A’alamiyyah (Najaf, Iraq), M.A., LLM (Shariah) Member, Ulama Council of Pakistan. He is Attorney at Law & Religious Scholar. He can be reached at [email protected]
Re: Ismaili Lunar Calendar’: An ideal base to unite the ‘Umm
At present Ismailis do not follow the calender. We are different from the Bohoras in that respect.hunzai99 wrote:
The same calendar is in practice officially by the Ismaili Nizaries & Musta'alavis (Dawoodi, Sulaiymani, & Alavi).
A Brief Introduction to the Muslim Calendar and Major Muslim Festivals and Religious Observances
http://simerg.com/literary-readings/a-b ... servences/
The Muslim Calendar
Muslim festivals and special religious observances are held generally according to the dates determined by reference to the Muslim Calendar. This calendar is a lunar one, having twelve months which are calculated from the day on which the new moon is sighted to the next sighting. The names of the months are as follows:
1. Muharram
2. Safar
3. Rabi’ al-Awwal
4. Rabi’ al-Thani
5. Jumada al-Awwal
6. Jumada al-Thani
7. Rajab
8. Sha‘ban
9. Ramadan
10. Shawwal
11. Dhul-Qa’da
12. Dhul-Hijjah
The average interval between the similar phases of the moon is twenty nine days, twelve hours and forty four minutes. The extra forty four minutes each month amount to 11 days over a period of 33 years and as a result the calendar is arranged in such a manner that there are 11 leap years during each thirty year period. There being twelve months in the calendar, the number of days in a Muslim year is 354 or 355 in a leap year. As the Muslim year is 10 or 11 days shorter than the solar year, it means that the months rotate around the seasons. Therefore, the timings of a festival and observances also varies from year to year in relation to a solar year.
Muslim festivals and observances mark many events which occurred during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and members of his immediate household (ahl al-bayt) during the course of the history of Islam. The Faith of Islam embraces many countries and races and throughout its history special rites and customs have developed which vary from country to country. Thus, whilst there is conformity on the importance and spiritual significance of the events they commemorate, the festivals and other religious observances are celebrated according to the countries’ customs and traditions. The festivals are called ‘Id which is an Arabic word from the root ‘aud explained as ‘periodic returning’. Thus ‘Id indicates a periodic festivity or something that gives pleasure and inner contentment through a ceremony.
Yaum al-jum’a (the Day of Assembly) – Friday
This is the sixth day of the week, i.e. Friday. The name al-jum’a comes from the root jama’a meaning ‘bring together’, ‘congregation’ or ‘collect’. Thus amongst the Muslims, the principal congregational prayer of the week is offered on Friday when there is a large assembly in the mosque. In the Holy Qur’an, Allah says:
“O you who have attained to faith. When the call to prayer is sounded on the day of congregation (Friday), hasten to the remembrance of God, and leave all worldly commerce: this is for your own good, if you but knew it.” — Holy Qur’an, 62:9
Friday congregational prayer is a weekly demonstration of brotherhood, unity and sharing of the spiritual state of a combined communion with Allah. It is important to note that in Islam, communion with Allah in the form of a ritual prayer (salat) is obligatory throughout the day at the appointed time during the lifetime of the individual. Thus throughout the week, the day is punctuated with devotional prayer in addition to the mundane tasks that are performed to earn physical and material comforts of daily existence. Through this dual activity, the individual brings about a balance by which personal duties and responsibilities in both spheres of life are fulfilled. This is alluded in the following verse (ayah) of the Qur’an:
“And when the prayer (i.e. Friday congregational prayer) is ended, disperse freely on earth and seek to obtain (something) of God’s bounty; but remember God often, so that you might attain to a happy state.” — Holy Qur’an, 62:10
Unlike the Jewish Sabbath, which is a day of rest, a Muslim is allowed to peruse his daily business activities on Friday. As a result, apart from the special congregational prayer offered on this day, the rest of the day is spent in the pursuit of daily activities.
Contemplative meditation and worship (‘ibadah) are also encouraged in order to seek spiritual enhancement through such activities other than the ritualistic prayer.
The twelve month of the Muslim Calendar and major Muslim festivals. Image by Simerg.
Muharram - The Muslim New Year
The Muslim New Year begins with the month of Muharram. In most of the countries, the celebrations are not marked by a public holiday. However, the coming of the New Year is observed by offering of special prayers at night and reflection on the life and times of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). His emigration (Hijrah) from Mecca to Medina in the year 622 AC was a significant event and later adopted to mark the beginning of the Muslim Era.
Amongst the Shi’a Muslims, the first part of the month of Muharram is also an occasion which is marked with a sense of sorrow and solemnity. The 10th of Muharram was the day when Hazrat Imam Husayn (AS) together with most of the members of his family and close companions were martyred on the fields of Karbala.
Miladun-Nabi - The Birth Anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)
The birthday anniversary (miladun-nabi) of the Prophet is traditionally celebrated on 12th Rabi ‘ul-Awwal. The festivities on this auspicious occasion differ greatly from one country to another. The occasion is marked by readings from the Holy Qur’an, devotional songs and praises in favour of the Prophetand many other festivities. In some countries, the birthday anniversary is marked by a public holiday, as in Pakistan.
Yaum e-Ali - The Birth Anniversary of Hazrat Imam Ali (AS)
The birthday anniversary of Hazrat Imam Ali (AS) is commemorated on the 13th Rajab. This festival is celebrated by the Shi’te communities and is observed as an occasion to reflect upon the life and teachings of their first Imam. According to the Shi’a doctrine and tradition, Hazrat Ali was the foundation (asas) of the institution of Imamah. His designation (nass) by the Prophet upon the Command of Allah (al-amr), to guide the believers after the termination of the institution of Nabuwah is central to the Shi’a theology. The Imam’s function is to continue the teaching (ta’lim) and interpretation (ta’wil) of Allah’s Final Message after the demise of the Prophet.
Today, the Shi’a Ismaili Muslims, in addition to the celebration of Yaum e-Ali, commemorate the birthday anniversary (Salgirah) of their present living Imam (Mawlana Hazar Imam) who is the direct lineal descendent of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) through Hazart Ali (AS) and Bibi Fatima (AS).
Mi’raj-e-Rasul - The Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)
The night journey (al-isra) and the ascension (al-mi’raj) of the Prophet is observed on the 27th Rajab. This is an event of great spiritual significance because the exalted spiritual experience of Prophet Muhammad is viewed by all Muslims as an example of his elevated status. Significant events of this nature in the life of the Prophet are a source of inspiration for the believers to excel in their quest for spiritual enlightenment and also serve as a model for the believers to emulate. The attainment of this exalted status is possible for every believer who through the correct practice of his Faith and tulfilment of his duties, both in physical and spiritual matters, does so in view of proper guidance of Allah through His Prophet and designated successors (i.e. Imams).
Ramadan - The Month of Fasting
The entire ninth month of the Muslim Calendar is associated with the observance of fast (saum). Fasting involves total abstinence from food, drink and conjugal relations from dawn to sunset. A believer is expected to stay away from unethical activities during the observance of the fast. Moreover, he is required to glorify Allah by indulging in prayers, contemplation and meditation. The main purpose for abstention from the activities referred to above, is to bring about internal purificationof his soul so that the individual is in a position to receive blessings (barakah) of this holy month. The fast begins at dawn with a meal (sahiri) and is terminated at sunset by partaking a sweet meal or drink before offering the evening prayer (maghrib salat). Those who are sick, travellers, expectant mothers and very young children are exempt from fasting. However, adults are required to compensate the lost days by fasting at other times in the year, as indicated in the following:
“The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was sent down the Qur’an, a Guidance for mankind and Clear Evidence of guidance and discrimination (for the Right and Wrong); so whosoever of you witness the month, he shall fast therein; and whosoever is ill or on a journey (he shall fast) the same number of other days; God desires ease for you and He desires not for you hardship that you shall complete the (prescribed) number (of days) and that you may glorify God for His guiding you and that you may be thankful (to Him).” — Holy Qur’an, 2:185
As it is clear from the above ayah of the Holy Qur’an, Ramadan is associated with very significant events in the history of Islam, i.e. the start of the revelation of the Holy Qur’an and the appointment of Muhammad as the prophet of Allah. Both these events took place during the month of Ramadan and are observed by Muslims with a sense of great humility and thankfulness to Allah for having bestowed upon mankind a source of guidance by which man could achieve salvation. The night on which the first revelation of the Holy Qur’an was conveyed to the Prophet is commemorated as the Night of Power or Majesty or Destiny (Lailat al-Qadr). This night is observed as an occasion for seeking forgiveness and offering of special prayers.
The observance of Ramadan varies from one place to another but the objective is the same throughout i.e. the fulfilment of Allah’s Commands of discipline, piety and collective worship leading to the purification of the body and soul through these sanctimonious acts.
‘Id ul-Fitr - Festival of Fast Breaking
The fast of Ramadan ends with the Festival of Breaking Fast, ‘Id ul-Fir, on the first day of the following month of Shawwal. The festival is also known as Bairam or ‘Id Ramadan. It is an occasion for celebration and rejoicing for Allah’s Bounty upon mankind for His revelation of the Qur’an. It is also a time for individuals to express their gratitude to Allah for having given them the strength, courage and resilience to complete the fast, and thus fulfilling the duty enjoined upon them by Allah.
The Festival begins with a festive prayer (Salatul-Fitr) with all the believers congregating at their respective mosques. It is also an occasion for socialising and meeting with other Muslims and for fostering a sense of brotherhood and unity amongst the community (ummah). After the communal prayer, families gather together at home with relatives and friends and participate in exchanging gifts and partaking a meal.
Hajj - The Annual Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca is undertaken once in a lifetime by those Muslims who can physically and financially perform this act. Hajj is normally undertaken in the month of Dhul-Hijjah; other pilgrimages (known as ‘umrah) can be made at any other times in the year.
The annual pilgrimage to the city of Mecca consists of a series of rites and ceremonies in and around the city; the central point of activities is the holy shrine of Ka’ba. All the rites and ceremonies are performed in the physical and spiritual state of ihram which involves consecrating oneself to Allah. As with all religious activities, the purity of intention (niyyah) is paramount. The whole purpose of performing the pilgrimage is to sacrifice and leave behind the worldly activities and make an ardent effort to seek spiritual enlightenment. In the physical sense, the pilgrims make their way to Ka’ba to be in the presence of the House of Allah. Spiritually, this journey is made internally to seek inner peace and satisfaction. This is done by the pilgrim in solemn practice of dhikr (remembrance) of Allah and through acts such as sincere supplications and seeking of forgiveness (tawba) from the Almighty. In this manner, the essence of the pilgrimage is achieved and the pilgrim through these devotional acts aspires to rise to a station of spiritual perfection.
The pilgrimage rites and ceremonies end with the celebration of the Festival of Sacrifice (Id al-Adha).
‘Id al-Adha - Festival of Sacrifice
This is the Festival of sacrifice and is observed at the time of the culmination of the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca. The festival, also known as ‘Id al-Adha or ‘Id al-Kabir (the Great Festival), is held on the 10th day of the twelfth month of ‘DhuI-Hijjah.
Although all Muslims do not make the pilgrimage to Mecca every year, the festival is traditionally celebrated at the same time by all wherever they are residing. The festival is marked in Muslim countries by offering and sacrifice of animals (such as cattle, sheep or camels) in an act of remembrance of the willingness of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) to sacrifice his son, Hazrat Ismail (AS) in the way of Allah. This sacrifice is symbolic of total obedience and submission to the Will of Allah (Islam) and readiness to give up one’s desires, attachments and worldly possessions for Allah’s sake, if required to do so.
‘Id al-Adha is the occasion when a believer is reminded of the commitment to offer sacrifice in the way of Allah. The offer of sacrifice in whatever manner possible, is a duty bound upon every Muslim. The concept ot sacrifice permeates throughout all the aspects of individual’s life. Every act of sacrifice whether it be tangible (includes such things as giving up time, resources and worldly possessions) or intangible (such as giving up ties of love and affection, likes and dislikes, views and opinions, and personal ego) is a demonstration of strengthening of one’s ties with Allah and consolidation of one’s belief (Iman) in the Almighty to which the individual surrenders everything. The act ot sacrifice, whether it is carried out in a physical manner with mental conviction, is a way of transforming into reality the principle of sacrifice. This is the essence of Islam.
Although the acquisition of wealth (money and worldly possessions) is not despised , the way in which it is used is indicative of the individual’s understanding of the requirements of the practice of the Faith. Spending of resources for the welfare of the less fortunate in the community is viewed upon as an activity which demonstrates visibly the ethical practice of the Faith with a social conscience.
Time is the most precious commodity because nothing one seeks or desires in life can be obtained except by spending time. To spend one’s time in the pursuit of religious duties, spending time to help the needy and carrying out welfare activities in the community as well spending time towards imparting both religious and worldly knowledge are amongst other ways to demonstrate the reality of the concept of sacrifice.
Intangible sacrifices, because they are rooted in the heart and mind, are not as such visible. For example, one’s views and opinions may often be thought of one and the only way of being right. However, the humility to accept another point of view and act accordingly is such as a sacrifice of one’s pride or ego. Self-esteem sometimes lies at the root of many personal situations.
To give up a point of view, unless it is not a matter which may violate Allah’s injunction, is an act of high sacrifice.
‘Id-e-Ghadir - The Designation of Hazrat Ali (AS) as Commander of the Faithful
‘Id-e-Ghadir is celebrated by the Shi ‘ite communities to mark the event that took place at Ghadir Khumm (Valley of the Pond) on the 18th Dhul-Hijjah. This event commemorates the designation (appointment by way of nass) of Hazrat All as the ‘Amir-ul-Mu’minin (commander of the faithful) and Imamul-Muslimin’ (the Imam of the community of believers) at Ghadir-i Khumm when the Prophet (SAWS) was returning from his Last Pilgrimage (hajjatul-wida) in the year 632 AC. On this occasion, the Prophet publicly proclaimed Ali to be his successor [1] in guiding the community after the end of the institution of Nubuwwah. According to the Shi’a doctrine, tradition and interpretation of history, the designation of Hazrat Ali marked the beginning of the institution of Imamah. The designated Imam was to continue the ta’wil (interpretation) and talim (teaching) of Allah’s Final Message, i.e. the Holy Qur’an.
Accordingly, throughout the course of the history, the Shi’a have commemorated this occasion as a mark of recognition and acceptance of Allah’s mercy to mankind by bestowing continued guidance. Each Imam, since the time of Hazrat Ali has designated his successor. The Imam in his time has continued to guide his followers according to the prevailing conditions. His function has always been to look after the welfare of the community both in spiritual and worldly (material) matters. His guidance to his followers is that they should lead their lives in such a way so as to practice their Faith with a sense of balance and harmony, ensuring that there is no conflict between the two aspects of an individual’s life. The practice of the Faith thus becomes the way of life.
Presently, the Shi’a Imami Ismaili Muslims celebrate the day of accession of their present Imam to the office of Imamah as Yaum-e Imamat or Imamat Day. This occasion is celebrated as a mark of gratitude to Allah in having bestowed His mercy and bounty in guiding them through the office of the Imam on Sirat al-Mustaqim (the Straight Path).
Date article posted: Saturday, August 27, 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note(s):
[1] Vagglieri, Ghadir Khumm, The Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol II, E.J. Brill, 1965, pp. 993-994
Article adapted from Ilm, Volume 12, Number 2, December 1989
http://simerg.com/literary-readings/a-b ... servences/
The Muslim Calendar
Muslim festivals and special religious observances are held generally according to the dates determined by reference to the Muslim Calendar. This calendar is a lunar one, having twelve months which are calculated from the day on which the new moon is sighted to the next sighting. The names of the months are as follows:
1. Muharram
2. Safar
3. Rabi’ al-Awwal
4. Rabi’ al-Thani
5. Jumada al-Awwal
6. Jumada al-Thani
7. Rajab
8. Sha‘ban
9. Ramadan
10. Shawwal
11. Dhul-Qa’da
12. Dhul-Hijjah
The average interval between the similar phases of the moon is twenty nine days, twelve hours and forty four minutes. The extra forty four minutes each month amount to 11 days over a period of 33 years and as a result the calendar is arranged in such a manner that there are 11 leap years during each thirty year period. There being twelve months in the calendar, the number of days in a Muslim year is 354 or 355 in a leap year. As the Muslim year is 10 or 11 days shorter than the solar year, it means that the months rotate around the seasons. Therefore, the timings of a festival and observances also varies from year to year in relation to a solar year.
Muslim festivals and observances mark many events which occurred during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and members of his immediate household (ahl al-bayt) during the course of the history of Islam. The Faith of Islam embraces many countries and races and throughout its history special rites and customs have developed which vary from country to country. Thus, whilst there is conformity on the importance and spiritual significance of the events they commemorate, the festivals and other religious observances are celebrated according to the countries’ customs and traditions. The festivals are called ‘Id which is an Arabic word from the root ‘aud explained as ‘periodic returning’. Thus ‘Id indicates a periodic festivity or something that gives pleasure and inner contentment through a ceremony.
Yaum al-jum’a (the Day of Assembly) – Friday
This is the sixth day of the week, i.e. Friday. The name al-jum’a comes from the root jama’a meaning ‘bring together’, ‘congregation’ or ‘collect’. Thus amongst the Muslims, the principal congregational prayer of the week is offered on Friday when there is a large assembly in the mosque. In the Holy Qur’an, Allah says:
“O you who have attained to faith. When the call to prayer is sounded on the day of congregation (Friday), hasten to the remembrance of God, and leave all worldly commerce: this is for your own good, if you but knew it.” — Holy Qur’an, 62:9
Friday congregational prayer is a weekly demonstration of brotherhood, unity and sharing of the spiritual state of a combined communion with Allah. It is important to note that in Islam, communion with Allah in the form of a ritual prayer (salat) is obligatory throughout the day at the appointed time during the lifetime of the individual. Thus throughout the week, the day is punctuated with devotional prayer in addition to the mundane tasks that are performed to earn physical and material comforts of daily existence. Through this dual activity, the individual brings about a balance by which personal duties and responsibilities in both spheres of life are fulfilled. This is alluded in the following verse (ayah) of the Qur’an:
“And when the prayer (i.e. Friday congregational prayer) is ended, disperse freely on earth and seek to obtain (something) of God’s bounty; but remember God often, so that you might attain to a happy state.” — Holy Qur’an, 62:10
Unlike the Jewish Sabbath, which is a day of rest, a Muslim is allowed to peruse his daily business activities on Friday. As a result, apart from the special congregational prayer offered on this day, the rest of the day is spent in the pursuit of daily activities.
Contemplative meditation and worship (‘ibadah) are also encouraged in order to seek spiritual enhancement through such activities other than the ritualistic prayer.
The twelve month of the Muslim Calendar and major Muslim festivals. Image by Simerg.
Muharram - The Muslim New Year
The Muslim New Year begins with the month of Muharram. In most of the countries, the celebrations are not marked by a public holiday. However, the coming of the New Year is observed by offering of special prayers at night and reflection on the life and times of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). His emigration (Hijrah) from Mecca to Medina in the year 622 AC was a significant event and later adopted to mark the beginning of the Muslim Era.
Amongst the Shi’a Muslims, the first part of the month of Muharram is also an occasion which is marked with a sense of sorrow and solemnity. The 10th of Muharram was the day when Hazrat Imam Husayn (AS) together with most of the members of his family and close companions were martyred on the fields of Karbala.
Miladun-Nabi - The Birth Anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)
The birthday anniversary (miladun-nabi) of the Prophet is traditionally celebrated on 12th Rabi ‘ul-Awwal. The festivities on this auspicious occasion differ greatly from one country to another. The occasion is marked by readings from the Holy Qur’an, devotional songs and praises in favour of the Prophetand many other festivities. In some countries, the birthday anniversary is marked by a public holiday, as in Pakistan.
Yaum e-Ali - The Birth Anniversary of Hazrat Imam Ali (AS)
The birthday anniversary of Hazrat Imam Ali (AS) is commemorated on the 13th Rajab. This festival is celebrated by the Shi’te communities and is observed as an occasion to reflect upon the life and teachings of their first Imam. According to the Shi’a doctrine and tradition, Hazrat Ali was the foundation (asas) of the institution of Imamah. His designation (nass) by the Prophet upon the Command of Allah (al-amr), to guide the believers after the termination of the institution of Nabuwah is central to the Shi’a theology. The Imam’s function is to continue the teaching (ta’lim) and interpretation (ta’wil) of Allah’s Final Message after the demise of the Prophet.
Today, the Shi’a Ismaili Muslims, in addition to the celebration of Yaum e-Ali, commemorate the birthday anniversary (Salgirah) of their present living Imam (Mawlana Hazar Imam) who is the direct lineal descendent of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) through Hazart Ali (AS) and Bibi Fatima (AS).
Mi’raj-e-Rasul - The Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)
The night journey (al-isra) and the ascension (al-mi’raj) of the Prophet is observed on the 27th Rajab. This is an event of great spiritual significance because the exalted spiritual experience of Prophet Muhammad is viewed by all Muslims as an example of his elevated status. Significant events of this nature in the life of the Prophet are a source of inspiration for the believers to excel in their quest for spiritual enlightenment and also serve as a model for the believers to emulate. The attainment of this exalted status is possible for every believer who through the correct practice of his Faith and tulfilment of his duties, both in physical and spiritual matters, does so in view of proper guidance of Allah through His Prophet and designated successors (i.e. Imams).
Ramadan - The Month of Fasting
The entire ninth month of the Muslim Calendar is associated with the observance of fast (saum). Fasting involves total abstinence from food, drink and conjugal relations from dawn to sunset. A believer is expected to stay away from unethical activities during the observance of the fast. Moreover, he is required to glorify Allah by indulging in prayers, contemplation and meditation. The main purpose for abstention from the activities referred to above, is to bring about internal purificationof his soul so that the individual is in a position to receive blessings (barakah) of this holy month. The fast begins at dawn with a meal (sahiri) and is terminated at sunset by partaking a sweet meal or drink before offering the evening prayer (maghrib salat). Those who are sick, travellers, expectant mothers and very young children are exempt from fasting. However, adults are required to compensate the lost days by fasting at other times in the year, as indicated in the following:
“The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was sent down the Qur’an, a Guidance for mankind and Clear Evidence of guidance and discrimination (for the Right and Wrong); so whosoever of you witness the month, he shall fast therein; and whosoever is ill or on a journey (he shall fast) the same number of other days; God desires ease for you and He desires not for you hardship that you shall complete the (prescribed) number (of days) and that you may glorify God for His guiding you and that you may be thankful (to Him).” — Holy Qur’an, 2:185
As it is clear from the above ayah of the Holy Qur’an, Ramadan is associated with very significant events in the history of Islam, i.e. the start of the revelation of the Holy Qur’an and the appointment of Muhammad as the prophet of Allah. Both these events took place during the month of Ramadan and are observed by Muslims with a sense of great humility and thankfulness to Allah for having bestowed upon mankind a source of guidance by which man could achieve salvation. The night on which the first revelation of the Holy Qur’an was conveyed to the Prophet is commemorated as the Night of Power or Majesty or Destiny (Lailat al-Qadr). This night is observed as an occasion for seeking forgiveness and offering of special prayers.
The observance of Ramadan varies from one place to another but the objective is the same throughout i.e. the fulfilment of Allah’s Commands of discipline, piety and collective worship leading to the purification of the body and soul through these sanctimonious acts.
‘Id ul-Fitr - Festival of Fast Breaking
The fast of Ramadan ends with the Festival of Breaking Fast, ‘Id ul-Fir, on the first day of the following month of Shawwal. The festival is also known as Bairam or ‘Id Ramadan. It is an occasion for celebration and rejoicing for Allah’s Bounty upon mankind for His revelation of the Qur’an. It is also a time for individuals to express their gratitude to Allah for having given them the strength, courage and resilience to complete the fast, and thus fulfilling the duty enjoined upon them by Allah.
The Festival begins with a festive prayer (Salatul-Fitr) with all the believers congregating at their respective mosques. It is also an occasion for socialising and meeting with other Muslims and for fostering a sense of brotherhood and unity amongst the community (ummah). After the communal prayer, families gather together at home with relatives and friends and participate in exchanging gifts and partaking a meal.
Hajj - The Annual Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca is undertaken once in a lifetime by those Muslims who can physically and financially perform this act. Hajj is normally undertaken in the month of Dhul-Hijjah; other pilgrimages (known as ‘umrah) can be made at any other times in the year.
The annual pilgrimage to the city of Mecca consists of a series of rites and ceremonies in and around the city; the central point of activities is the holy shrine of Ka’ba. All the rites and ceremonies are performed in the physical and spiritual state of ihram which involves consecrating oneself to Allah. As with all religious activities, the purity of intention (niyyah) is paramount. The whole purpose of performing the pilgrimage is to sacrifice and leave behind the worldly activities and make an ardent effort to seek spiritual enlightenment. In the physical sense, the pilgrims make their way to Ka’ba to be in the presence of the House of Allah. Spiritually, this journey is made internally to seek inner peace and satisfaction. This is done by the pilgrim in solemn practice of dhikr (remembrance) of Allah and through acts such as sincere supplications and seeking of forgiveness (tawba) from the Almighty. In this manner, the essence of the pilgrimage is achieved and the pilgrim through these devotional acts aspires to rise to a station of spiritual perfection.
The pilgrimage rites and ceremonies end with the celebration of the Festival of Sacrifice (Id al-Adha).
‘Id al-Adha - Festival of Sacrifice
This is the Festival of sacrifice and is observed at the time of the culmination of the annual pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca. The festival, also known as ‘Id al-Adha or ‘Id al-Kabir (the Great Festival), is held on the 10th day of the twelfth month of ‘DhuI-Hijjah.
Although all Muslims do not make the pilgrimage to Mecca every year, the festival is traditionally celebrated at the same time by all wherever they are residing. The festival is marked in Muslim countries by offering and sacrifice of animals (such as cattle, sheep or camels) in an act of remembrance of the willingness of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) to sacrifice his son, Hazrat Ismail (AS) in the way of Allah. This sacrifice is symbolic of total obedience and submission to the Will of Allah (Islam) and readiness to give up one’s desires, attachments and worldly possessions for Allah’s sake, if required to do so.
‘Id al-Adha is the occasion when a believer is reminded of the commitment to offer sacrifice in the way of Allah. The offer of sacrifice in whatever manner possible, is a duty bound upon every Muslim. The concept ot sacrifice permeates throughout all the aspects of individual’s life. Every act of sacrifice whether it be tangible (includes such things as giving up time, resources and worldly possessions) or intangible (such as giving up ties of love and affection, likes and dislikes, views and opinions, and personal ego) is a demonstration of strengthening of one’s ties with Allah and consolidation of one’s belief (Iman) in the Almighty to which the individual surrenders everything. The act ot sacrifice, whether it is carried out in a physical manner with mental conviction, is a way of transforming into reality the principle of sacrifice. This is the essence of Islam.
Although the acquisition of wealth (money and worldly possessions) is not despised , the way in which it is used is indicative of the individual’s understanding of the requirements of the practice of the Faith. Spending of resources for the welfare of the less fortunate in the community is viewed upon as an activity which demonstrates visibly the ethical practice of the Faith with a social conscience.
Time is the most precious commodity because nothing one seeks or desires in life can be obtained except by spending time. To spend one’s time in the pursuit of religious duties, spending time to help the needy and carrying out welfare activities in the community as well spending time towards imparting both religious and worldly knowledge are amongst other ways to demonstrate the reality of the concept of sacrifice.
Intangible sacrifices, because they are rooted in the heart and mind, are not as such visible. For example, one’s views and opinions may often be thought of one and the only way of being right. However, the humility to accept another point of view and act accordingly is such as a sacrifice of one’s pride or ego. Self-esteem sometimes lies at the root of many personal situations.
To give up a point of view, unless it is not a matter which may violate Allah’s injunction, is an act of high sacrifice.
‘Id-e-Ghadir - The Designation of Hazrat Ali (AS) as Commander of the Faithful
‘Id-e-Ghadir is celebrated by the Shi ‘ite communities to mark the event that took place at Ghadir Khumm (Valley of the Pond) on the 18th Dhul-Hijjah. This event commemorates the designation (appointment by way of nass) of Hazrat All as the ‘Amir-ul-Mu’minin (commander of the faithful) and Imamul-Muslimin’ (the Imam of the community of believers) at Ghadir-i Khumm when the Prophet (SAWS) was returning from his Last Pilgrimage (hajjatul-wida) in the year 632 AC. On this occasion, the Prophet publicly proclaimed Ali to be his successor [1] in guiding the community after the end of the institution of Nubuwwah. According to the Shi’a doctrine, tradition and interpretation of history, the designation of Hazrat Ali marked the beginning of the institution of Imamah. The designated Imam was to continue the ta’wil (interpretation) and talim (teaching) of Allah’s Final Message, i.e. the Holy Qur’an.
Accordingly, throughout the course of the history, the Shi’a have commemorated this occasion as a mark of recognition and acceptance of Allah’s mercy to mankind by bestowing continued guidance. Each Imam, since the time of Hazrat Ali has designated his successor. The Imam in his time has continued to guide his followers according to the prevailing conditions. His function has always been to look after the welfare of the community both in spiritual and worldly (material) matters. His guidance to his followers is that they should lead their lives in such a way so as to practice their Faith with a sense of balance and harmony, ensuring that there is no conflict between the two aspects of an individual’s life. The practice of the Faith thus becomes the way of life.
Presently, the Shi’a Imami Ismaili Muslims celebrate the day of accession of their present Imam to the office of Imamah as Yaum-e Imamat or Imamat Day. This occasion is celebrated as a mark of gratitude to Allah in having bestowed His mercy and bounty in guiding them through the office of the Imam on Sirat al-Mustaqim (the Straight Path).
Date article posted: Saturday, August 27, 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note(s):
[1] Vagglieri, Ghadir Khumm, The Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol II, E.J. Brill, 1965, pp. 993-994
Article adapted from Ilm, Volume 12, Number 2, December 1989
As our tradition is very much connected to the lunar rotation, the following article is worthy of reflection and knowledge about the moon.
Rare Full Moon on Christmas Day
Not since 1977 has a full moon dawned in the skies on Christmas. But this year, a bright full moon will be an added gift for the holidays
This rare event won’t happen again until 2034. That’s a long time to wait, so make sure to look up to the skies on Christmas Day.
As you gaze up at the Christmas moon, take note that NASA has a spacecraft currently orbiting Earth’s moon. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission has been investigating the lunar surface since 2009.
“As we look at the moon on such an occasion, it's worth remembering that the moon is more than just a celestial neighbor,” said John Keller, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The geologic history of the moon and Earth are intimately tied together such that the Earth would be a dramatically different planet without the moon.”
LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the moon.
LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
For more information on LRO, visit:
www.nasa.gov/lro
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/ra ... stmas-day/
Rare Full Moon on Christmas Day
Not since 1977 has a full moon dawned in the skies on Christmas. But this year, a bright full moon will be an added gift for the holidays
This rare event won’t happen again until 2034. That’s a long time to wait, so make sure to look up to the skies on Christmas Day.
As you gaze up at the Christmas moon, take note that NASA has a spacecraft currently orbiting Earth’s moon. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission has been investigating the lunar surface since 2009.
“As we look at the moon on such an occasion, it's worth remembering that the moon is more than just a celestial neighbor,” said John Keller, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The geologic history of the moon and Earth are intimately tied together such that the Earth would be a dramatically different planet without the moon.”
LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the moon.
LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
For more information on LRO, visit:
www.nasa.gov/lro
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/ra ... stmas-day/
One Of The Last Dead Sea Scroll Mysteries Has Been Deciphered
Researchers solved the mystery of one of the Dead Sea Scrolls that had been broken into dozens of tiny pieces, putting them together to reveal a coded message about an ancient Jewish sect’s calendar.
The document is one of the last two of the roughly 900 Dead Sea Scrolls — also known as the Qumran Scrolls for the area in the West Bank where they were discovered — that had yet to be deciphered and published.
According to the University of Haifa, the new findings offer insight into the fanatical Qumran sect’s 364-day calendar. The scroll that was pieced together uses the name the sect gave to the “special days marking the transitions between the four seasons,” a name that experts had never before seen.
That name is “Tekufah,” which translates to “period.”
“The researchers are now turning their attention to the last remaining scroll that has yet to be deciphered,” the university said.
An ancient calendar may not sound important but it was a controversial subject at the time, the Second Temple period in Israel. Judaism follows the lunar calendar but, as the university explains, that requires a more hands-on approach than the static 364-day calendar to determine when days, months and years fall — observing the stars and the moon.
The desert Qumran sect, which referred to itself by the word for “together,” Yahad, thought their calendar was more perfect and holy, with special occasions always falling on the same day.
The deciphered scroll also reveals that the leader who wrote the coded information left out some other special days and another writer went back and corrected the work on the calendar, adding in dates in the margins.
Writing a calendar in code was not meant to hide the dates: “The custom was intended to show that the author was familiar with the code, while others were not,” the university said.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in several Qumran caves in the 1940s and 1950s. They include books from the Hebrew Bible and other religious documents. The scrolls were written between the third century BCE and the first century CE in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
Additional scrolls from before and after that period have also been found in the area.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/techands ... ailsignout
Researchers solved the mystery of one of the Dead Sea Scrolls that had been broken into dozens of tiny pieces, putting them together to reveal a coded message about an ancient Jewish sect’s calendar.
The document is one of the last two of the roughly 900 Dead Sea Scrolls — also known as the Qumran Scrolls for the area in the West Bank where they were discovered — that had yet to be deciphered and published.
According to the University of Haifa, the new findings offer insight into the fanatical Qumran sect’s 364-day calendar. The scroll that was pieced together uses the name the sect gave to the “special days marking the transitions between the four seasons,” a name that experts had never before seen.
That name is “Tekufah,” which translates to “period.”
“The researchers are now turning their attention to the last remaining scroll that has yet to be deciphered,” the university said.
An ancient calendar may not sound important but it was a controversial subject at the time, the Second Temple period in Israel. Judaism follows the lunar calendar but, as the university explains, that requires a more hands-on approach than the static 364-day calendar to determine when days, months and years fall — observing the stars and the moon.
The desert Qumran sect, which referred to itself by the word for “together,” Yahad, thought their calendar was more perfect and holy, with special occasions always falling on the same day.
The deciphered scroll also reveals that the leader who wrote the coded information left out some other special days and another writer went back and corrected the work on the calendar, adding in dates in the margins.
Writing a calendar in code was not meant to hide the dates: “The custom was intended to show that the author was familiar with the code, while others were not,” the university said.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in several Qumran caves in the 1940s and 1950s. They include books from the Hebrew Bible and other religious documents. The scrolls were written between the third century BCE and the first century CE in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
Additional scrolls from before and after that period have also been found in the area.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/techands ... ailsignout
The Moon’s earliest meaning for humans was spiritual
The Moon has played a prominent role as a timekeeper, an emblem of the divine, a god of abundance, and an inspiration for poets, as well as in the arts and science. As early as 5,000 years ago, scientists tracked the path of the Moon to determine the months of the year and important religious events.
The moon is viewed in terms of the rhythmic life of the cosmos and is believed to govern all vital change. The cyclical process of disappearance and appearance of the moon is the basis of the widespread association of the moon with the land of the dead, the place to which souls ascend after death, and the power of rebirth. In contrast to the harsh Sun, the cool reflective Moon is a comforting, enchanting presence “with a pull so strong it creates bulges in the ocean’s waters” (Hall, Moon’s Lore). Ancient sky-watchers speculated about its source of light, what it was made of, and whether it was inhabited.
In some cultures the Moon was female and in other cultures it was male. For the Greeks the Moon was the goddess Selene (or Artemis, or Phoebe); for the Romans, Luna or Diana; for the Chinese, Chang’e. The ancient Egyptian queen, mother of the famous pharaoh-queen Hatshepsut, was named Ahmose, meaning ‘born of the moon.’ In ancient Iraq, the Moon god was called Nanna, protector of humanity, keeper of time, and guardian of the future. For the Inuit peoples of the Arctic, and others, the Moon was a male deity.
As a divine being, Moon halos are depicted in paintings around political or religious leaders to suggest their divinely ordained power.
Jahangir Mughal
Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings, by Bichitr (active between ca. 1615 – 1640) Margins by Muhammad Sadiq, Mughal dynasty, Reign of Jahangir, ca. 1615-1618, margins 1747-48, Freer Slack Gallery, Smithsonian.
Emperor Jahangir’s halo combines a Sun disk and crescent Moon, alluding to his divinely sanctioned aura. Mughal emperors considered the harmonious interaction between the Sun and Moon essential for their fortunes.
In the Qur’an, Surat al-Qamar (Chapter of the Moon) describes the Prophet’s splitting of the Moon as a sign of a miraculous confirmation of his prophethood. The verse notes punishments for those who disregard the splitting of the Moon as a sign of the approaching Day of Judgement.
Prophet Muhammed (veiled) Splits the Moon. Illustration from the “Falnameh,” a sixteenth century Persian book of prophesies. Artist unknown; The Saxon State Library, Dresden, Germany,.
Observations of the Moon and its cycles have been essential to Islamic life and practice. The Islamic year is based on the lunar calendar, each month beginning with a new crescent Moon. With the expansion of Islamic rule, the diverse pre-Islamic science and learning traditions came into contact with the ruling Muslim courts. Motivated by the Qur’anic injunction and Prophetic Tradition to seek knowledge to understand Creation, early astronomers in Islamic regions translated the scientific material of ancient civilisations into Arabic in the eighth century, subsequently developing and advancing that knowledge.
A close relation evolved between religious institutions of learning facilitating the development of astronomical sciences and the increase in precision instruments such as the astrolabe, from the Greek astron and lambanien meaning “the one who catches the heavenly bodies” and the sextant, from Latin sextans, ‘sixth part’ denoting the sixth part of the circle. The sextant has a graduated arc equal to a sixth part of a circle (Etymology Dictionary).
astrolabe aga khan museum
Planispheric astrolabe, Spain (Historic al-Andalus) dated 1300s. Aga Khan Museum
Although the primary function of scientific instruments was to determine the direction and times of prayer, continuous discoveries in astronomy, medicine, geography, geometry, and art were made, influencing global knowledge.
Whether a heavenly body, a resting place for the dead, or a divine being itself, the Moon’s earliest meaning for humans was spiritual, mainly because it was unattainable and at an insurmountable distance. With the invention of scientific instruments and their successive improvements, the Moon was stripped of its mythic distance as it could be studied and mapped; it was no longer a revered deity.
Sources:
Molly Hall, The Moon’s Lore and Meaning in Astrology
Nadia Drake, Why Do People See Faces in the Moon?, National Geographic
Omur Harmansah, Visualizing the Moon in the Ancient Near East, ResearchGate
Moon Worship, Encyclopedia Britannica
https://nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2019/ ... rce=Direct
The Moon has played a prominent role as a timekeeper, an emblem of the divine, a god of abundance, and an inspiration for poets, as well as in the arts and science. As early as 5,000 years ago, scientists tracked the path of the Moon to determine the months of the year and important religious events.
The moon is viewed in terms of the rhythmic life of the cosmos and is believed to govern all vital change. The cyclical process of disappearance and appearance of the moon is the basis of the widespread association of the moon with the land of the dead, the place to which souls ascend after death, and the power of rebirth. In contrast to the harsh Sun, the cool reflective Moon is a comforting, enchanting presence “with a pull so strong it creates bulges in the ocean’s waters” (Hall, Moon’s Lore). Ancient sky-watchers speculated about its source of light, what it was made of, and whether it was inhabited.
In some cultures the Moon was female and in other cultures it was male. For the Greeks the Moon was the goddess Selene (or Artemis, or Phoebe); for the Romans, Luna or Diana; for the Chinese, Chang’e. The ancient Egyptian queen, mother of the famous pharaoh-queen Hatshepsut, was named Ahmose, meaning ‘born of the moon.’ In ancient Iraq, the Moon god was called Nanna, protector of humanity, keeper of time, and guardian of the future. For the Inuit peoples of the Arctic, and others, the Moon was a male deity.
As a divine being, Moon halos are depicted in paintings around political or religious leaders to suggest their divinely ordained power.
Jahangir Mughal
Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings, by Bichitr (active between ca. 1615 – 1640) Margins by Muhammad Sadiq, Mughal dynasty, Reign of Jahangir, ca. 1615-1618, margins 1747-48, Freer Slack Gallery, Smithsonian.
Emperor Jahangir’s halo combines a Sun disk and crescent Moon, alluding to his divinely sanctioned aura. Mughal emperors considered the harmonious interaction between the Sun and Moon essential for their fortunes.
In the Qur’an, Surat al-Qamar (Chapter of the Moon) describes the Prophet’s splitting of the Moon as a sign of a miraculous confirmation of his prophethood. The verse notes punishments for those who disregard the splitting of the Moon as a sign of the approaching Day of Judgement.
Prophet Muhammed (veiled) Splits the Moon. Illustration from the “Falnameh,” a sixteenth century Persian book of prophesies. Artist unknown; The Saxon State Library, Dresden, Germany,.
Observations of the Moon and its cycles have been essential to Islamic life and practice. The Islamic year is based on the lunar calendar, each month beginning with a new crescent Moon. With the expansion of Islamic rule, the diverse pre-Islamic science and learning traditions came into contact with the ruling Muslim courts. Motivated by the Qur’anic injunction and Prophetic Tradition to seek knowledge to understand Creation, early astronomers in Islamic regions translated the scientific material of ancient civilisations into Arabic in the eighth century, subsequently developing and advancing that knowledge.
A close relation evolved between religious institutions of learning facilitating the development of astronomical sciences and the increase in precision instruments such as the astrolabe, from the Greek astron and lambanien meaning “the one who catches the heavenly bodies” and the sextant, from Latin sextans, ‘sixth part’ denoting the sixth part of the circle. The sextant has a graduated arc equal to a sixth part of a circle (Etymology Dictionary).
astrolabe aga khan museum
Planispheric astrolabe, Spain (Historic al-Andalus) dated 1300s. Aga Khan Museum
Although the primary function of scientific instruments was to determine the direction and times of prayer, continuous discoveries in astronomy, medicine, geography, geometry, and art were made, influencing global knowledge.
Whether a heavenly body, a resting place for the dead, or a divine being itself, the Moon’s earliest meaning for humans was spiritual, mainly because it was unattainable and at an insurmountable distance. With the invention of scientific instruments and their successive improvements, the Moon was stripped of its mythic distance as it could be studied and mapped; it was no longer a revered deity.
Sources:
Molly Hall, The Moon’s Lore and Meaning in Astrology
Nadia Drake, Why Do People See Faces in the Moon?, National Geographic
Omur Harmansah, Visualizing the Moon in the Ancient Near East, ResearchGate
Moon Worship, Encyclopedia Britannica
https://nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2019/ ... rce=Direct
The Moon has been a timekeeper, an emblem of the divine, and an inspiration for poets
Posted by Nimira Dewji
“And of his signs are the night and day,
the sun and the moon…” (41:37)
Source: Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Hamilton Centre
From the Greek root me meaning to measure, the word ‘moon’ can be traced to the Old English word mona which shares its origin with the Latin word mensis, meaning month; hence, it was named Moon. The Earth’s Moon, a natural satellite that moderates the planet’s wobble on its axis, was scientifically named “Moon” because people did not know that other moons existed until Galileo discovered the four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610 (NASA).
The movements of Earth’s Moon were used to keep track of the passing year and set schedules for hunting, planting, and harvesting. Indigenous cultures tracked the passage of time through full moon cycles and are credited with coining the term “many moons ago” to indicate a long time between events (Farmer’s Almanac).
moon full-moon
Source: NASA
The Moon has played a prominent role as a timekeeper, an emblem of the divine, and an inspiration for poets. For thousands of years, people have gazed up at the mystical celestial body and tried to make sense of its rhythm and aura, giving rise to numerous myths about its effect on humans – from werewolves to lunacy and seizures. Ancient sky-watchers speculated about its source of light, what it was made of, and whether it was inhabited.
In pre-historic times, the sacredness of the Moon was viewed in terms of the rhythmic life of the cosmos and its dominion over the ocean tides. The cyclical process of disappearance and appearance of the Moon is the basis of its widespread association with the land of the dead, the place to which souls ascend after death, and the power of re-birth.
In contrast to the harsh Sun, the cool reflective Moon is a comforting, enchanting presence “with a pull so strong it creates bulges in the ocean’s waters” (Hall, Moon’s Lore). The Sun is the realm of the waking hours while the Moon inhabits the landscape of the soul and dream life. In ancient Egypt the Moon-god Thoth took over when the Sun-god journeyed into the underworld at night.
In some cultures the Moon was female, in other cultures it was male. For the Greeks the Moon was the goddess Selene (or Artemis, or Phoebe); for the Romans, Luna (hence ‘lunar’) or Diana; and Chang’e for the Chinese. The ancient Egyptian queen and mother of the famous pharaoh-queen Hatshepsut was named Ahmose, meaning ‘born of the moon.’ In ancient Iraq, the Moon god was called Nanna, protector of humanity, keeper of time, and guardian of the future. For the Inuit peoples of the Arctic, and others, the Moon was a male deity, while in some Indigenous cultures the Moon is ‘grandmother.’
As a divine being, Moon halos are depicted in paintings around political or religious leaders to suggest their divinely ordained power.
Jahangir Mughal
Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings, by Bichitr (active between ca. 1615 – 1640) Margins by Muhammad Sadiq, Mughal dynasty, Reign of Jahangir, ca. 1615-1618, margins 1747-48, Freer Slack Gallery, Smithsonian
The Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s halo combines a Sun disk and crescent Moon, alluding to his divinely sanctioned aura. Mughal emperors considered the harmonious interaction between the Sun and Moon essential for their fortunes.
In the Qur’an, Surat al-Qamar (Chapter of the Moon) describes the Prophet’s splitting of the Moon as a sign of a miraculous confirmation of his prophethood. The verse notes punishments for those who disregard the splitting of the Moon as a sign of the approaching Day of Judgement.
moon splitting Muhammad
Prophet Muhammed (veiled) Splits the Moon. Illustration from the Falnameh, a sixteenth century Persian book of prophesies; artist unknown. Source: The Saxon State Library, Dresden, Germany
Observations of the Moon and its cycles have been essential to Islamic life and practice as the Islamic year is based on the lunar calendar, each month beginning with a new crescent Moon. The Qur’an “speaks of the Moon’s creation as part of God’s universe and eternal order, and names it as one of God’s many signs to be observed. In the field of astronomy, along with mathematics, medicine, and other fields, Muslim scholars were distinguished contributors to global knowledge, playing a significant role in the European renaissance.
Reflecting the light of the Sun rather than emanating light itself, the Moon’s eternal path and stations move in harmony with those of the Sun and the heaves.” In Islamic astrology, the Moon is often personified and considered feminine in nature, regularly shown with a woman’s face (Aga Khan Museum).
moon aga khan museum
The moon, painting from a Falnama (Book of Omens), India, 16th century. Source: Wereldmuseum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
In Persian culture, the Moon is also used in the spiritual, poetic, and visual symbolism focused on Imam Ali. The luminous quality of Imam Ali’s face is often likened to the Moon, while Imams are described as silhouette of light. Like the Moon reflects the light of the Sun, Imam Ali’s face is seen as reflecting the rays of divine light (Aga Khan Museum).
Imam Ali moon
Imam Ali b . Abi with his sons Hasan and Husayn, Iran, 1894-1895. Source: Harvard University Art Museum
In the Ismaili tradition, the Moon was compared to the position of the hujja, the representative da’i of the Imam, “illuminating the world by virtue of the light it received from the Sun i.e. the Imam” (Nanji, The Nizari Isma’ili Tradition in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent p 109). Just as the Moon’s light is in essence the light of the Sun, similarly, the guidance of the Imam of the time is that of God and the Prophet (Allamah Nasir al-Din Hunzai, Recognition of Imam). Just as the physical world cannot exist without the Sun, the spiritual world needs the spiritual Sun for its progress towards recognition of the Divine.
moon universe ali abi talib
Source: Universe Today
Whether a heavenly body, a resting place for the dead, or a divine being itself, the Moon’s earliest meaning for humans was a sacred one, mainly because it was mysterious, unattainable, and at an insurmountable distance.
With the invention of scientific instruments and their successive improvements, the Moon was stripped of its mythic distance as it could be studied and mapped; it was no longer a revered deity. However, the Lady of the Night remains a source of fascination, continuing to be glorified in poetry and literature as she tugs our romantic nature and inspires the soul.
“Tell me the story about how the Sun loved the Moon so much
he died every night to let her breathe.”
Unknown
Sources:
Azim Nanji, The Nizari Isma’ili Tradition in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent, Caravan Books, New York, 1978
Molly Hall, The Moon’s Lore and Meaning in Astrology
Moon Worship, Encyclopedia Britannica
The Moon: A Voyage Through Time, Aga Khan Museum
Nadia Drake, Why Do People See Faces in the Moon?, National Geographic
Omur Harmansah, Visualizing the Moon in the Ancient Near East, ResearchGate
https://nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2020/ ... for-poets/
Posted by Nimira Dewji
“And of his signs are the night and day,
the sun and the moon…” (41:37)
Source: Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Hamilton Centre
From the Greek root me meaning to measure, the word ‘moon’ can be traced to the Old English word mona which shares its origin with the Latin word mensis, meaning month; hence, it was named Moon. The Earth’s Moon, a natural satellite that moderates the planet’s wobble on its axis, was scientifically named “Moon” because people did not know that other moons existed until Galileo discovered the four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610 (NASA).
The movements of Earth’s Moon were used to keep track of the passing year and set schedules for hunting, planting, and harvesting. Indigenous cultures tracked the passage of time through full moon cycles and are credited with coining the term “many moons ago” to indicate a long time between events (Farmer’s Almanac).
moon full-moon
Source: NASA
The Moon has played a prominent role as a timekeeper, an emblem of the divine, and an inspiration for poets. For thousands of years, people have gazed up at the mystical celestial body and tried to make sense of its rhythm and aura, giving rise to numerous myths about its effect on humans – from werewolves to lunacy and seizures. Ancient sky-watchers speculated about its source of light, what it was made of, and whether it was inhabited.
In pre-historic times, the sacredness of the Moon was viewed in terms of the rhythmic life of the cosmos and its dominion over the ocean tides. The cyclical process of disappearance and appearance of the Moon is the basis of its widespread association with the land of the dead, the place to which souls ascend after death, and the power of re-birth.
In contrast to the harsh Sun, the cool reflective Moon is a comforting, enchanting presence “with a pull so strong it creates bulges in the ocean’s waters” (Hall, Moon’s Lore). The Sun is the realm of the waking hours while the Moon inhabits the landscape of the soul and dream life. In ancient Egypt the Moon-god Thoth took over when the Sun-god journeyed into the underworld at night.
In some cultures the Moon was female, in other cultures it was male. For the Greeks the Moon was the goddess Selene (or Artemis, or Phoebe); for the Romans, Luna (hence ‘lunar’) or Diana; and Chang’e for the Chinese. The ancient Egyptian queen and mother of the famous pharaoh-queen Hatshepsut was named Ahmose, meaning ‘born of the moon.’ In ancient Iraq, the Moon god was called Nanna, protector of humanity, keeper of time, and guardian of the future. For the Inuit peoples of the Arctic, and others, the Moon was a male deity, while in some Indigenous cultures the Moon is ‘grandmother.’
As a divine being, Moon halos are depicted in paintings around political or religious leaders to suggest their divinely ordained power.
Jahangir Mughal
Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings, by Bichitr (active between ca. 1615 – 1640) Margins by Muhammad Sadiq, Mughal dynasty, Reign of Jahangir, ca. 1615-1618, margins 1747-48, Freer Slack Gallery, Smithsonian
The Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s halo combines a Sun disk and crescent Moon, alluding to his divinely sanctioned aura. Mughal emperors considered the harmonious interaction between the Sun and Moon essential for their fortunes.
In the Qur’an, Surat al-Qamar (Chapter of the Moon) describes the Prophet’s splitting of the Moon as a sign of a miraculous confirmation of his prophethood. The verse notes punishments for those who disregard the splitting of the Moon as a sign of the approaching Day of Judgement.
moon splitting Muhammad
Prophet Muhammed (veiled) Splits the Moon. Illustration from the Falnameh, a sixteenth century Persian book of prophesies; artist unknown. Source: The Saxon State Library, Dresden, Germany
Observations of the Moon and its cycles have been essential to Islamic life and practice as the Islamic year is based on the lunar calendar, each month beginning with a new crescent Moon. The Qur’an “speaks of the Moon’s creation as part of God’s universe and eternal order, and names it as one of God’s many signs to be observed. In the field of astronomy, along with mathematics, medicine, and other fields, Muslim scholars were distinguished contributors to global knowledge, playing a significant role in the European renaissance.
Reflecting the light of the Sun rather than emanating light itself, the Moon’s eternal path and stations move in harmony with those of the Sun and the heaves.” In Islamic astrology, the Moon is often personified and considered feminine in nature, regularly shown with a woman’s face (Aga Khan Museum).
moon aga khan museum
The moon, painting from a Falnama (Book of Omens), India, 16th century. Source: Wereldmuseum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
In Persian culture, the Moon is also used in the spiritual, poetic, and visual symbolism focused on Imam Ali. The luminous quality of Imam Ali’s face is often likened to the Moon, while Imams are described as silhouette of light. Like the Moon reflects the light of the Sun, Imam Ali’s face is seen as reflecting the rays of divine light (Aga Khan Museum).
Imam Ali moon
Imam Ali b . Abi with his sons Hasan and Husayn, Iran, 1894-1895. Source: Harvard University Art Museum
In the Ismaili tradition, the Moon was compared to the position of the hujja, the representative da’i of the Imam, “illuminating the world by virtue of the light it received from the Sun i.e. the Imam” (Nanji, The Nizari Isma’ili Tradition in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent p 109). Just as the Moon’s light is in essence the light of the Sun, similarly, the guidance of the Imam of the time is that of God and the Prophet (Allamah Nasir al-Din Hunzai, Recognition of Imam). Just as the physical world cannot exist without the Sun, the spiritual world needs the spiritual Sun for its progress towards recognition of the Divine.
moon universe ali abi talib
Source: Universe Today
Whether a heavenly body, a resting place for the dead, or a divine being itself, the Moon’s earliest meaning for humans was a sacred one, mainly because it was mysterious, unattainable, and at an insurmountable distance.
With the invention of scientific instruments and their successive improvements, the Moon was stripped of its mythic distance as it could be studied and mapped; it was no longer a revered deity. However, the Lady of the Night remains a source of fascination, continuing to be glorified in poetry and literature as she tugs our romantic nature and inspires the soul.
“Tell me the story about how the Sun loved the Moon so much
he died every night to let her breathe.”
Unknown
Sources:
Azim Nanji, The Nizari Isma’ili Tradition in the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent, Caravan Books, New York, 1978
Molly Hall, The Moon’s Lore and Meaning in Astrology
Moon Worship, Encyclopedia Britannica
The Moon: A Voyage Through Time, Aga Khan Museum
Nadia Drake, Why Do People See Faces in the Moon?, National Geographic
Omur Harmansah, Visualizing the Moon in the Ancient Near East, ResearchGate
https://nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2020/ ... for-poets/
Do you want to manifest with the Moon?
Starting November 16… Save Your Spot Now https://experience.hayhouseu.com/moonol ... g2MzUzMwS2 !
Dear Karim,
The Moon has always been mysterious. She may seem far away when you gaze at night, but you may be surprised to learn that the Moon can have an incredibly powerful impact on your day-to-day life. Did you know that the Moon is associated with emotions, feelings, intuitiveness—and a lot more too?
Being in tune with the Moon, understanding her phases and the flow of lunar energy, is the key to unlocking a fantastically simple cosmic timer to create the life of your dreams.
But do you know how to go from gazing dreamily at the Moon to tuning in to her extraordinary power?
Yasmin Boland
That’s what you’ll learn in Three Ways to Work with the Magic of the Moon—a brand-new totally FREE three-part virtual event from international Moonology™ expert Yasmin Boland.
Over three webinars, Yasmin will show you how to enhance your connection with the Moon and align to her rhythms—so you can work with magical lunar energy and start to manifest the life of your dreams.
Join Now https://experience.hayhouseu.com/moonol ... g2MzUzMwS2
Connecting with the Moon truly is pure magic. And there’s no better person to teach you how to tap into that magic. Yasmin created the iconic practice of Moonology™ over 20 years ago, and since then she’s helped thousands worldwide realize their own power and capacity to transform their lives by working with the Moon.
Now it’s your turn, so join Yasmin to learn:
- How to work with the phases of the Moon to consciously create the life you want
- Practices and exercises to supercharge your manifesting potential
- The secret power behind making wishes at the time of the New Moon
- How the Moon can influence—and enhance—your day-to-day life
Join Yasmin Now! https://experience.hayhouseu.com/moonol ... g2MzUzMwS2
We all have the potential to work with the Moon and manifest the life we dream of—you don’t need to have any expensive equipment or spiritual abilities. The Moon is free and forever; you can simply sit quietly in a garden or park under the Moon, close your eyes, and connect with her.
The Moon is your guide and she’s waiting to talk to you—and you never know where she's going to lead you…
…Are you ready to find out? Save your spot to join Yasmin for this free live event!
Best wishes,
Your friends at Hay House
Starting November 16… Save Your Spot Now https://experience.hayhouseu.com/moonol ... g2MzUzMwS2 !
Dear Karim,
The Moon has always been mysterious. She may seem far away when you gaze at night, but you may be surprised to learn that the Moon can have an incredibly powerful impact on your day-to-day life. Did you know that the Moon is associated with emotions, feelings, intuitiveness—and a lot more too?
Being in tune with the Moon, understanding her phases and the flow of lunar energy, is the key to unlocking a fantastically simple cosmic timer to create the life of your dreams.
But do you know how to go from gazing dreamily at the Moon to tuning in to her extraordinary power?
Yasmin Boland
That’s what you’ll learn in Three Ways to Work with the Magic of the Moon—a brand-new totally FREE three-part virtual event from international Moonology™ expert Yasmin Boland.
Over three webinars, Yasmin will show you how to enhance your connection with the Moon and align to her rhythms—so you can work with magical lunar energy and start to manifest the life of your dreams.
Join Now https://experience.hayhouseu.com/moonol ... g2MzUzMwS2
Connecting with the Moon truly is pure magic. And there’s no better person to teach you how to tap into that magic. Yasmin created the iconic practice of Moonology™ over 20 years ago, and since then she’s helped thousands worldwide realize their own power and capacity to transform their lives by working with the Moon.
Now it’s your turn, so join Yasmin to learn:
- How to work with the phases of the Moon to consciously create the life you want
- Practices and exercises to supercharge your manifesting potential
- The secret power behind making wishes at the time of the New Moon
- How the Moon can influence—and enhance—your day-to-day life
Join Yasmin Now! https://experience.hayhouseu.com/moonol ... g2MzUzMwS2
We all have the potential to work with the Moon and manifest the life we dream of—you don’t need to have any expensive equipment or spiritual abilities. The Moon is free and forever; you can simply sit quietly in a garden or park under the Moon, close your eyes, and connect with her.
The Moon is your guide and she’s waiting to talk to you—and you never know where she's going to lead you…
…Are you ready to find out? Save your spot to join Yasmin for this free live event!
Best wishes,
Your friends at Hay House
Re: Ismaili Lunar Calendar’: An ideal base to unite the ‘Ummah’
The Moon Is Underrated
New research hints at what makes Earth’s moon special.
Earth without its moon is like macaroni without cheese, Bert without Ernie, Batman without Robin. The moon has been at the center of timekeeping for millennia—it’s at the origin of our months (formerly “moonths”), and some calendars are still lunar-based. Plus, the moon has a strong gravitational effect on Earth. The ocean’s tides are mostly due to the moon. And the tilt of our planet’s spin axis—which is responsible for the seasons—is stabilized by the moon. So it’s kind of a big deal: Without a moon as big as ours, it’s possible Earth wouldn’t have the sort of environment that’s ideal for life to develop and evolve.
MOON PHASES: Repeating once a “moonth.” Illustration by Owen Raymond / Black Holes, Stars, Earth, and Mars
From down here on Earth, we often take the moon for granted. Our moon is the most massive moon of any planet in the solar system relative to its parent planet (the mass ratio between the Earth and moon is about 80:1). Mars has two moons but each is puny. Some of the gas giants have more massive moons (like Jupiter’s moon Ganymede and Saturn’s moon Titan), but those are hundreds of times less massive when compared with their host planet. Yes, Pluto has a moon (Charon) that is 1/8th of its mass, but is it a planet?
The origin of the moon is a heavily-studied subject in planetary science. In 1879, George Darwin, son of Charles, proposed the fission theory—that the moon represents a chunk of the Earth that was barfed out early in Earth’s history due to its very fast spin. That theory perished in analyses by the Apollo mission. A competing theory claimed that the moon was its own small planet floating around the sun, but was captured into orbit by the mischievous young Earth. That theory has not completely disappeared, but no one has figured out a way for the capture mechanism to work smoothly. (In contrast, Uranus’ large moon Triton is indeed thought to have been captured, but Uranus’ much slower orbital speed around the sun makes capture more efficient).
SMASHED INTO BEING: Artist’s view of the moon-forming impact. Illustration by Hagai Perets
Currently, the dominant theory is that the moon formed as a byproduct of a colossal impact. The late stages of the formation of the terrestrial planets were characterized by collisions between a roving band of one or two dozen roughly Mars-sized rocky planetary embryos. The final giant impact on Earth is thought to have created a disk of debris and vaporized rock, inside of which the moon coalesced. There is still debate about exactly how it all went down—how energetic that final impact was and how massive the proto-Earth and impactor, what they were made of, and what the moon-forming disk looked like. Nonetheless, the giant impact hypothesis has become the paradigm for moon formation (although an alternate model proposes a series of smaller impacts1).
What are the odds of a planet having a nice big moon like ours? Addressing this question is the subject of a new study published in Nature Communications led by Miki Nakajima, a planetary scientist at the University of Rochester.2 The researchers used a suite of computer simulations of giant impacts to evaluate the probability of forming large moons. They tested planets of different sizes and with two different compositions, contrasting rocky planets with ice-rich ones.
The researchers simulated the high-energy impact of two massive proto-planets, focusing on scenarios that created a disk around the surviving planet. The disk consisted of vapor and liquid: rock vapor and magma droplets for the case of rocky (Earth-like) planets, or steam and magma or liquid water droplets for the case of ice-rich planets. A key piece of the analysis was to figure out the relative amount of vapor relative to liquid in different impacts, because it is central to the size of moons that can form. In vapor-dominated disks the liquid feels a strong headwind from the vapor that causes it to spiral in and fall onto the planet before it gets a chance to solidify and grow. This ends up forming small moons, because the liquid droplets are essentially the seeds of moons. In disks with little vapor, the headwind effect is much weaker such that a much larger fraction of the liquid in the disk can survive, solidify, and grow into large moons.
The study’s main result is that large moons are less likely to form around large planets. When impacts are too energetic, the disk always ends up vapor-rich. Massive moons did not form in the researchers’ simulations around rocky planets more massive than 6 times Earth’s mass, or around ice-rich planets more massive than Earth. The difference between rocky and ice-rich planets comes mainly from the simple fact that it takes less heat (and therefore lower impact energy) to vaporize water than rock.
The search for moons around exoplanets, or “exomoons,” is in full swing. Two exomoon candidates, Kepler-1625b I3 and Kepler-1708b I,4 have been identified to date from analysis of the detailed shapes and timing of brightness variations as giant planets pass in front of their host stars (see here for more). Each candidate represents a potential ice-giant-sized moon orbiting a gas giant, a fundamentally different scenario from the one studied in Nakajima and colleagues’ impact simulations.
BLUE MOON: Artist’s impression of the exomoon candidate Kepler-1625b-I. Illustration by NASA, ESA, and L. Hustak (STScI)
Researchers have searched for moons around 100 planets closer to Earth’s in size (but much closer to their stars than Earth is to the sun). No good exomoon candidates have been found. The reason for this apparent lack of exomoons is unclear. One possibility is that the strong tides felt by planets close to their stars act to destabilize the orbits of large moons. It’s also possible that large moons simply don’t form as readily as we might expect, and extrapolating the conditions of Earth’s moon-forming impact does not capture the typical outcome of exoplanet formation.
On a philosophical note, it’s interesting that the two candidate exomoons are so different than any found in our solar system. When searching for a faint signal it is often the easy-to-spot outliers that jump out first. The first exoplanets discovered were “hot Jupiters”—gas giants orbiting very close to their stars—but we now know that those are rare among exoplanets. Likewise, Neptune-like moons around exo-Jupiters may be a freak outcome of planet formation but the one that we can see.
In the coming decade we should have piles of new data to sift for exomoons that are more similar to our own. According to Najakima and colleagues we should only expect to find the large moons around smaller planets. Anyone living on the larger planets will have to find a different way to keep track of their moonths.
Sean Raymond is an American astrophysicist working at the Bordeaux Astrophysical Laboratory in France. He also writes a blog at the interface of science and fiction (planetplanet.net) and recently published a book of astronomy poems.
Lead image: Patrick Foto / Shutterstock
References
1. Rufu, R., Aharonson, O., & Perets, H.B. A multiple-impact origin for the moon. Nature Geoscience 10, 89-94 (2017).
2. Nakajima, M., Genda, H., Asphaug, E., & Ida, S. Large planets may not form fractionally large moons. Nature Communications 13, 568 (2022).
3. Teachey, A. & Kipping, D.M. Evidence for a large exomoon orbiting Kepler-1625b. Science Advances 4 (2018).
4. Kipping, D., et al. An exomoon survey of 70 cool giant exoplanets and the new candidate Kepler-1708b-1. Nature Astronomy (2022).
https://nautil.us/the-moon-is-underrated-14018/
New research hints at what makes Earth’s moon special.
Earth without its moon is like macaroni without cheese, Bert without Ernie, Batman without Robin. The moon has been at the center of timekeeping for millennia—it’s at the origin of our months (formerly “moonths”), and some calendars are still lunar-based. Plus, the moon has a strong gravitational effect on Earth. The ocean’s tides are mostly due to the moon. And the tilt of our planet’s spin axis—which is responsible for the seasons—is stabilized by the moon. So it’s kind of a big deal: Without a moon as big as ours, it’s possible Earth wouldn’t have the sort of environment that’s ideal for life to develop and evolve.
MOON PHASES: Repeating once a “moonth.” Illustration by Owen Raymond / Black Holes, Stars, Earth, and Mars
From down here on Earth, we often take the moon for granted. Our moon is the most massive moon of any planet in the solar system relative to its parent planet (the mass ratio between the Earth and moon is about 80:1). Mars has two moons but each is puny. Some of the gas giants have more massive moons (like Jupiter’s moon Ganymede and Saturn’s moon Titan), but those are hundreds of times less massive when compared with their host planet. Yes, Pluto has a moon (Charon) that is 1/8th of its mass, but is it a planet?
The origin of the moon is a heavily-studied subject in planetary science. In 1879, George Darwin, son of Charles, proposed the fission theory—that the moon represents a chunk of the Earth that was barfed out early in Earth’s history due to its very fast spin. That theory perished in analyses by the Apollo mission. A competing theory claimed that the moon was its own small planet floating around the sun, but was captured into orbit by the mischievous young Earth. That theory has not completely disappeared, but no one has figured out a way for the capture mechanism to work smoothly. (In contrast, Uranus’ large moon Triton is indeed thought to have been captured, but Uranus’ much slower orbital speed around the sun makes capture more efficient).
SMASHED INTO BEING: Artist’s view of the moon-forming impact. Illustration by Hagai Perets
Currently, the dominant theory is that the moon formed as a byproduct of a colossal impact. The late stages of the formation of the terrestrial planets were characterized by collisions between a roving band of one or two dozen roughly Mars-sized rocky planetary embryos. The final giant impact on Earth is thought to have created a disk of debris and vaporized rock, inside of which the moon coalesced. There is still debate about exactly how it all went down—how energetic that final impact was and how massive the proto-Earth and impactor, what they were made of, and what the moon-forming disk looked like. Nonetheless, the giant impact hypothesis has become the paradigm for moon formation (although an alternate model proposes a series of smaller impacts1).
What are the odds of a planet having a nice big moon like ours? Addressing this question is the subject of a new study published in Nature Communications led by Miki Nakajima, a planetary scientist at the University of Rochester.2 The researchers used a suite of computer simulations of giant impacts to evaluate the probability of forming large moons. They tested planets of different sizes and with two different compositions, contrasting rocky planets with ice-rich ones.
The researchers simulated the high-energy impact of two massive proto-planets, focusing on scenarios that created a disk around the surviving planet. The disk consisted of vapor and liquid: rock vapor and magma droplets for the case of rocky (Earth-like) planets, or steam and magma or liquid water droplets for the case of ice-rich planets. A key piece of the analysis was to figure out the relative amount of vapor relative to liquid in different impacts, because it is central to the size of moons that can form. In vapor-dominated disks the liquid feels a strong headwind from the vapor that causes it to spiral in and fall onto the planet before it gets a chance to solidify and grow. This ends up forming small moons, because the liquid droplets are essentially the seeds of moons. In disks with little vapor, the headwind effect is much weaker such that a much larger fraction of the liquid in the disk can survive, solidify, and grow into large moons.
The study’s main result is that large moons are less likely to form around large planets. When impacts are too energetic, the disk always ends up vapor-rich. Massive moons did not form in the researchers’ simulations around rocky planets more massive than 6 times Earth’s mass, or around ice-rich planets more massive than Earth. The difference between rocky and ice-rich planets comes mainly from the simple fact that it takes less heat (and therefore lower impact energy) to vaporize water than rock.
The search for moons around exoplanets, or “exomoons,” is in full swing. Two exomoon candidates, Kepler-1625b I3 and Kepler-1708b I,4 have been identified to date from analysis of the detailed shapes and timing of brightness variations as giant planets pass in front of their host stars (see here for more). Each candidate represents a potential ice-giant-sized moon orbiting a gas giant, a fundamentally different scenario from the one studied in Nakajima and colleagues’ impact simulations.
BLUE MOON: Artist’s impression of the exomoon candidate Kepler-1625b-I. Illustration by NASA, ESA, and L. Hustak (STScI)
Researchers have searched for moons around 100 planets closer to Earth’s in size (but much closer to their stars than Earth is to the sun). No good exomoon candidates have been found. The reason for this apparent lack of exomoons is unclear. One possibility is that the strong tides felt by planets close to their stars act to destabilize the orbits of large moons. It’s also possible that large moons simply don’t form as readily as we might expect, and extrapolating the conditions of Earth’s moon-forming impact does not capture the typical outcome of exoplanet formation.
On a philosophical note, it’s interesting that the two candidate exomoons are so different than any found in our solar system. When searching for a faint signal it is often the easy-to-spot outliers that jump out first. The first exoplanets discovered were “hot Jupiters”—gas giants orbiting very close to their stars—but we now know that those are rare among exoplanets. Likewise, Neptune-like moons around exo-Jupiters may be a freak outcome of planet formation but the one that we can see.
In the coming decade we should have piles of new data to sift for exomoons that are more similar to our own. According to Najakima and colleagues we should only expect to find the large moons around smaller planets. Anyone living on the larger planets will have to find a different way to keep track of their moonths.
Sean Raymond is an American astrophysicist working at the Bordeaux Astrophysical Laboratory in France. He also writes a blog at the interface of science and fiction (planetplanet.net) and recently published a book of astronomy poems.
Lead image: Patrick Foto / Shutterstock
References
1. Rufu, R., Aharonson, O., & Perets, H.B. A multiple-impact origin for the moon. Nature Geoscience 10, 89-94 (2017).
2. Nakajima, M., Genda, H., Asphaug, E., & Ida, S. Large planets may not form fractionally large moons. Nature Communications 13, 568 (2022).
3. Teachey, A. & Kipping, D.M. Evidence for a large exomoon orbiting Kepler-1625b. Science Advances 4 (2018).
4. Kipping, D., et al. An exomoon survey of 70 cool giant exoplanets and the new candidate Kepler-1708b-1. Nature Astronomy (2022).
https://nautil.us/the-moon-is-underrated-14018/