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Updated January 9, 2008
THE HIJRA CALENDAR
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
[January 9th 2008 begins the new Hijra year 1429. This research article traces the history of the Hijra calendar as well as tackles the controversial issue of fixing the beginning of a new Hijra month.]
The Islamic calendar is reckoned from the time of migration (Hijra) of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) from Mecca to Madina. The Prophet's decision to migrate from Mecca came after several years of inhuman treatment of the faithful by the powerful tribes who were united despite all their feuds to stop the spread of Islam.
Prophet Mohammad's decision to leave Mecca coincided with the infidel's plan to assassinate him. In 622 AD, the Quresh tribesmen held a meeting and decided that a band of young men, one from each tribe, should assassinate Prophet Mohammad collectively so that their responsibility for the murder could not be placed on any particular tribe.
On the eventful night, the Prophet asked his cousin Ali Ben Abutalib to take his place in bed to make the Meccans think that he was asleep. The Prophet himself slipped out unobserved alongwith his loyal follower Abu Bakr (who was chosen as the first Caliph after the death of the prophet). They secretly made their way to a cave named Thawr, not far from Mecca and lay in hiding there for a day or two until Abu Bakr's son reported that the search for him had been given up. Then the two set out from Madina on camel back. They reached Quba, on the edge of the Madina oasis, on 12th Rabiul Awwal. With Mohammad's arrival in Quba a new phase of his career and glory of Islam started.
This migration has a special significance in the history of Islam. It ended the Meccan period of humiliation and torture and began the era of success. His own people to whom he preached Islam for 13 years neglected the Prophet of Islam. But he was cordially received in Madina as an honored chief.
In Madina his power enhanced day by day. Here he was not only the religious leader but took the role of a politician and statesman too. Prophet Mohammad expired ten years after his migration to Madina but only in one decade he changed the course of human history.
In view of this special significance of the Prophet's migration the consultative body advised the Second Islamic Caliph, Omar ben Khattab, to start the Islamic year from the date of migration of the Prophet from Mecca to Madina.
According to early Moslem scholars, Abu Musa Al Shari drew attention of Omar to an improperly dated debenture or IOU which was payable in the month of Shaban but it was not clear which Shaban was actually meant, the present one or the coming one. Omar called the dignitaries for consultation who made several suggestions to begin the Islamic calendar.
Ali (who later became the fourth caliph) suggested the Hijra as the beginning of the Islamic year with Moharram as its first month. Consequently, Caliph Omar in 21 A.H. or 641 A.D. introduced the Islamic calendar in its present form.
QURANIC GUIDANCE
The guidance about the Islamic calendar is taken from the following verses from the Holy Quran:
"Lo the number of the months with God is twelve months." IX:36.
"They ask thee, of new moons. Say: They are fixed seasons for mankind and for the pilgrimage." II:189.
"He it is who appointed the sun a splendor and the moon a light, and measured for her stages, that ye might know the number of the years, and the reckoning." X:5
The Islamic Calendar of 12 Lunar Months is determined by observation of the new moon with no effort by intercalation (addition) or other means to synchronize the Lunar year with the Solar year.
LUNAR V. SOLAR CALENDAR
A Lunar month may vary from 29.26 to 29.80 days. The average Lunar month is 29.530588 days or slightly more than 29.5 days. Twelve average Lunar months are equal to 354.3670 days while the solar year is 365.2422 days. Therefore, the Islamic Calendar gains ground in relation to the Solar Calendar at the rate of about 11 days a year or about one-year in every 33 years.
Since no effort is made to link the Islamic Calendar with solar year the Islamic months do not correspond with particular season.
A Lunar month is not less than 29 days or more than 30 days. But in solar calendar the days of months vary from 28 to 31.
A Lunar year is not less than 354 days or more than 355 days. In fact, a Lunar year is equal to 354 days 8 hours and 34 seconds but for general calculation 34 seconds are omitted. Therefore the Islamic Calendar will gain one day in 2541 years.
30 YEARS CYCLE
In Islamic Calendar a cycle of 30 years, which is called, a "small cycle" is equal to 10631 days.
In these 30 years 19 years are of 354 days while 11 years are of 355 days. In this 30 years cycle the 29/30 days duration of the month will be repeated in the same order, as they were 30 years ago.
Seven "small cycles" or 210 years are called a "big cycle" in which not only the duration of the months is repeated in the same order but the days of week also fall in the same order.
The small and big cycles of the Islamic Calendar are devised to compute the Islamic dates into Solar Calendar and vice versa.
JULIAN CALENDAR
It was in 46 B.C. that Julius Caesar ordered adoption of the Egyptian Solar Calendar of 365 days and taking cognizance of the additional fraction.
Assuming that this fraction is 0.25 day, the Julian Calendar provided for the regular intercalation of one day after every 4th year.
But, there was a source of error in the estimate of the odd fraction as 0.25 day rather than .2422 day per year. By the year 16th Century the accumulated error had amounted 10 days.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered the so-called Georgian reform omitting 10 days of that year (the day following October 4 was declared October 15) to put the calendar and sun into correspondence again.
The Georgian reform also prescribed that in future the additional day may be omitted from all years divisible by 100 expect those by 400. Thus 1700, 1800 and 1900 were 365-day years while 1600 was a leap year and 2000 will also be a leap year.
This adjustment also is not free from error. It covers intercalary or accumulation of days up to 3rd decimal while the error in the 4th decimal will amount to a full day in about 3,300 years.
In short the Solar Calendar needs adjustment after every four years and still it will accumulate one-day difference in 3,300 years. On the other hand the Islamic calendar will require adjustment after 2541 years when it will gain one day because of the omission of 34 seconds in calculation every year.
UNIVERSAL HIJRA CALENDAR
The questions asked by some people regarding the lunar months are: Why is it necessary to sight the moon for the commencement of a lunar month? In this modern age, why cannot the Muslims all over the world take advantage of the astronomical calculations and decide upon the dates of commencement of lunar months in advance, especially for months like Ramadan, Shawwal and Zil Hij? How is it that there is a difference of two days between the start of lunar months in the sub-continent and some Arab countries, notably Saudi Arabia?
Traditional Islamic clerics insist on sighting of the moon by naked eye. That is why in most of the Muslim countries, a moon sighting committee receives witnesses for the crescent of Ramadan and Shawwal to announce the beginning of the month of Ramadan and end of the Ramadan. Sighting of the new moon to determine the start of a lunar month is mentioned in the following Hadith: The prophet said: Start fasting on seeing crescent (of Shawwal), and if the sky is overcast (and you cannot see it) complete 30 days of Shaban." [Bukhari/Kitabus Siyam] This Hadith enjoins a different method determining the lunar dates instead of the (hisab) computation. The reason for this variance is clearly mentioned in another hadith: The Prophet said: "We are an illiterate people, we neither write nor know accounts. The month is like this i.e. some times 29 days and sometimes 30 days. [Bukhari]
A Conference of ulemas on International Islamic Calendar, held at Pulau Pinang, Malaysia in October 1991, decided that astronomical calculations on the expected visibility of a new moon should be used as an aid to sighting of crescent. The conference also agreed that any report of sighting of the crescent should be rejected if it was not consistent with astronomical calculations. Majority of Muslims residing in Europe and North America now base their celebrations of Eid ul Fitr or commencement of Ramadan and Eid ul Adha on the sighting of the moon in Saudi Arabia.
It is an established scientific fact that, as a result of the earth's annual motion around the sun, the direction of solar illumination of the moon (earth's natural satellite) changes about one degree per day. Consequently, the lunar phases do not repeat in the sidereal period (true period of rotation and revolution) but in the synodic period (new moon to new moon), which averages 29 days 12 hours and 44 minutes and 3 seconds and varies some 13 hours because of the eccentricity of moon's orbit.
The crescent moon is normally not visible to the naked eye when the lunar phase is less than 1/100. Furthermore, the visual sighting depends upon conditions of observation (location of observer, atmospheric pollution, clouds, etc.). Today, however, such drawbacks can be avoided altogether by scientifically predicting the appearance of new moon with precision.
Today, we know that the moon, earth etc. follow a predetermined course in space and that their precise celestial positions can be predicted for any given time in future. It is also a known fact that the lunar phases are a function of only the relative spatial positions of the moon, earth and the sun. In astronomical parlance, the new moon phase occurs when the apparent longitudes of the moon and the sun differ by zero degree. Consequently, the appearance of the new moon can be predicted to the precise day, hour and the minute.
Some people have reservations about the above argument. However, they should draw an analogy with today's universal acceptance of the prayer and fasting time schedules. In this context, Holy Quran states: "...Eat and drink until the white threat of dawn appears clear from the dark line, then fast..." (2:187)
However, we do not actually scan the night sky every morning to detect the "white threat". Instead, we follow the scientifically predicted prayer and fasting time-schedule for the entire year without ever having to look at the sky, the sun, the hues and the shadows.
By the same token, when Holy Quran states: "... So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (Should be made up) by days later. (2:185)
We should recognize that the Quran presents the same issue in a different context, and as such, there should be no hesitation whatsoever to follow the scientifically predicted lunations to establish, for instance, exactly when the month of Ramadan would commence.
Moreover, the original purpose of sighting of the new moon was, in any case to facilitate time-keeping and event-marking. In this context, Holy Quran states: "They ask you of the new moons. Say: these are periods set for me (to reckon) time, and for pilgrimage." (2:189)
FIXING THE DATE IN ADVANCE
It is also argued that when it is said that a date be fixed in advance, it is implied that a solar calendar date be fixed. The following questions must be answered before this plea is accepted:
1. What calculation should form the basis of the commencement of a lunar month? Before responding to this question, we have to take into consideration astronomy of the news moon.
The moon, at an average distance of 240,000 miles from earth, orbits the earth once in 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes, 12 seconds. The time between the appearance of 2 successive moons, called the Synodic Period, is 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes, 3 seconds.
The difference between Synodic and the time during which the moon completes one orbit (two days, 5 hours, 51 seconds) is because of the fact that the earth is orbiting the sun. Thus while the moon should cover 13 degrees in 24 hours, West to East, the earth's movement around the sun, nullifies 1 degree of moon's movement. At the rate of 12 degrees per day, the moon takes 29.530588 days on an average to reappear as the new noon. As a result, the lunar month is 29 days or 30 days. It cannot be less than 29 days and more than 30 days.
The moon is dependent upon the sun for its illumination. We sight the moon only when the portion lit up by the light of the sun is facing the earth. The illuminated portion facing the earth is called the phase of the moon. Astronomically, the moon can be sighted only when a minimum of 1/100 of the side facing the earth is illuminated.
During its monthly orbit, the moon passes the sun such that in terms of viewing from the earth, the sun and the moon are on the same plane. If the moon is exactly aligned between the earth and the sun, we see a sun eclipse. This means that the elongation of the moon (i.e. its angle from the sun, as seen from the earth) is Zero.
The exact time when the moon and the sun are on the same plane is called the time of conjunction and is known as the time when the astronomical new moon is born. After the birth of the new moon, the elongation increases and when it reaches 11.5 degrees approximately, the phase become 1/100 or more. This means that the elongation should be a minimum of 11.5 degrees or thereabouts for the new moon to be sighted. The time for elongation to reach 11.5 degrees ranges between 18 hour and 28 hours. As such, it can be said that unless the age of the new moon is 18 hours, it cannot be sighted.
Now the question is that should the calculation for the commencement of a new lunar month be the time of conjunction, 18 hours after the conjunction, 24 hours after conjunction or 28 hours after the conjunction? Should it be the time when the elongation reaches 11.5 degrees?
2. It may be pointed out that the beginning of a lunar month on the same solar date, in the entire Muslim world (from Indonesia to Morocco) is possible only when whatever basis is accepted occurs in the eastern most parts of Indonesia or Malaysia. Then it is possible that in all Muslim countries, which are to the west of these places, the basis will have occurred on the same solar date.
3. Another important thing to understand is that whatever be the basis, the lunar calendar will always have a shifting dateline. The solar calendar has an arbitrarily fixed dateline. The fact, however, is that 2 solar dates always simultaneously exist and at arbitrarily fixed points called the dateline, the difference is 24 hours, i.e., one day.
PRE-CALCULATED ISLAMIC CALENDAR
Mr. Khalid Shaukat, a consultant to the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Shura Council of North America, and Fiqh Council of North America, has the following suggestion to achieve a pre-calculated Global Islamic Calendar: if the moon is born before 12:00 UT (i.e., 3:00pm Makkah time), then the month begins at sunset of that day everywhere in the world (starting from International Date Line going westward). People will not require any calculations for this. Only the time and date of new moon birth is needed, and that is easily obtained from Almanacs, Newspapers, or Internet. This convention has a strong basis of the visibility that somewhere on the globe the moon would be definitely visible given clear horizon, because the age of the moon would be 18 hours at sunset on a point just to the east of the International Date Line. All astronomers agree that an 18 hour moon is visible (in some instances it may not be seen by the naked eye but with telescope it can be seen). This known scientific fact can be made the basis which has sighting requirement according to Qur'an and Sunnah, and then all the disagreements about when and where the month starts would go away. We will know ahead of time, when any month begins.
Saudi Arabia doesn't rely on a visual sighting of the crescent moon to fix the start of a new month. Instead they base their calendar on a calculated astronomical moon. Since 1999 (1420 AH) the rule has been as follows: On the 29th day of an Islamic month, the times when the sun and the moon set are compared. If the sun sets before the moon, the next day will be the first of a new month; but if the moon sets before the sun, the next day will be the last (30th) of the current month. The times for the setting of the sun and the moon are calculated for the coordinates of Mecca.
Read also:
ISNA’s bid to introduce universal Islamic calendar fails
Happy new Hijra year 1429
ISNA’s five year Hijra calender
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