Dear Khalil
Sura 10:5 He is the One who made the sun an illuminator, and the moon a light, and He measured its phases so that you would know the number of the years and the calculation. God has not created this except for truth. He details the signs for a people who know
All
red highlights within quotations are from me.
Salaam Dear Kevin,
Verse
10:5هُوَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ ٱلشَّمۡسَ ضِيَآءً۬ وَٱلۡقَمَرَ نُورً۬ا وَقَدَّرَهُ ۥ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعۡلَمُواْ عَدَدَ ٱلسِّنِينَ وَٱلۡحِسَابَۚ مَا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ ذَٲلِكَ إِلَّا بِٱلۡحَقِّۚ يُفَصِّلُ ٱلۡأَيَـٰتِ لِقَوۡمٍ۬ يَعۡلَمُونَThe word “
its” in your translation above goes back to the MOON, not the SUN. In Arabic Moon is masculine and Sun is feminine. The pronoun that has been used is masculine and I’ve highlighted it
red in the Arabic verse above. So even if you interpret the verse
10:5 to conclude the rejection of lunar calendar, you’ve done yourself wrong.
According to the verse number of years and calculations MUST be based on movement of the Moon, NOT the Sun. The Sun is stationary relative to the Earth, but the Moon revolves around the Earth. That is why in the verse above, the mentioned movement/phases, is about the Moon, not the Sun. The mere mention of the Sun in
10:5 is about its shining light.
Sura 17:12 We made the night and the day as two signs, so We erased the sign of night and We made the sign of day manifest, that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the number of the years and the count. Everything We have detailed meticulously. (Solar)
How can you interpret the above verses as meaning that we should use a Lunar calendar?
Verse
17:12وَجَعَلۡنَا ٱلَّيۡلَ وَٱلنَّہَارَ ءَايَتَيۡنِۖ فَمَحَوۡنَآ ءَايَةَ ٱلَّيۡلِ وَجَعَلۡنَآ ءَايَةَ ٱلنَّہَارِ مُبۡصِرَةً۬ لِّتَبۡتَغُواْ فَضۡلاً۬ مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡ وَلِتَعۡلَمُواْ عَدَدَ ٱلسِّنِينَ وَٱلۡحِسَابَۚ وَڪُلَّ شَىۡءٍ۬ فَصَّلۡنَـٰهُ تَفۡصِيلاً۬In
17:12, the subject is the revolution of the Earth around itself, i.e.
day and
night sequence and determination of years and calculation due to the Earth movement,
not the Sun.
And like I mentioned in my previous post,
9:37 is
NOT about “
additional month”, its about the
POSTPONEMENT and
NULLIFICATION of the
SACRED months by disbelievers according to their wrongful desires. I don’t know where you got that interpretation regarding
9:37!
Below is an example of a ‘null month’ (the additional month is zero)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 0, 1, 2, 3…….
The days of the additional month should not be included or counted.
Your logic of the “
null month” does not make sense either. If you say to ignore it or take it as
ZERO, then we are right back in square one, treading water! Why bother and not just follow the pure lunar Islamic calendar from the start, as GOD, swt, commands us to do so?
The rest is your emphasis on astronomical numbers and calculations that is not relevant to our desiccation and I'm not rejecting them either. They’re simply irrelevant here.
Now, I draw your attention to verses
2:185 &
2:189 blow.
شَہۡرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانُ هُدً۬ى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـٰتٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡهُدَىٰ وَٱلۡفُرۡقَانِۚ فَمَن شَہِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّہۡرَ فَلۡيَصُمۡهُۖ وَمَن ڪَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوۡ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ۬ فَعِدَّةٌ۬ مِّنۡ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَۗ يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِڪُمُ ٱلۡيُسۡرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِڪُمُ ٱلۡعُسۡرَ وَلِتُڪۡمِلُواْ ٱلۡعِدَّةَ وَلِتُڪَبِّرُواْ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَٮٰكُمۡ وَلَعَلَّڪُمۡ تَشۡكُرُونَThe month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong).
And whosoever witnesses the month from among you, let him fast the month, and whosoever of you is sick or on a journey, (let him fast the same) number of other days. Allah desireth for you ease; He desireth not hardship for you; and (He desireth) that ye should complete the period, and that ye should magnify Allah for having guided you, and that peradventure ye may be thankful. (185)
يَسۡـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلۡأَهِلَّةِۖ قُلۡ هِىَ مَوَٲقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَٱلۡحَجِّۗ وَلَيۡسَ ٱلۡبِرُّ بِأَن تَأۡتُواْ ٱلۡبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلۡبِرَّ مَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰۗ وَأۡتُواْ ٱلۡبُيُوتَ مِنۡ أَبۡوَٲبِهَاۚ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّڪُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَThey ask thee, (O Muhammad), of
new moons, say: They are fixed seasons for mankind and for the pilgrimage. It is not righteousness that ye go to houses by the backs thereof (as do the idolaters at certain seasons), but the righteous man is he who wardeth off (evil). So go to houses by the gates thereof, and observe your duty to Allah, that ye may be successful. (189)
2:185 speaks of the month of Ramadzaan and whoever witnesses the month, i.e. by
observing the new moon, should fast the whole month.
In
2:189 people are asking regarding the
NEW MOON. They are told that the new moon is the
timing sets/calendar for the people like the time of HAJJ pilgrimage and…
My point from all of the above is that
GOD’S SYSTEM is a JUST system and it will never change. It is a JUST system because for example regarding the month of Ramadzaan, if it is going to be within a fixed month falling within a fixed season every year, its going to be very easy and favorable to some people and unfavorable and hard to others. If for example Ramadzaan is in summer all the time, year after year, the fasting is going to be long and hard for the people living in the northern hemisphere and very short and easy for the residence of the southern hemisphere. This does not hold water within
GOD’S system of JUSTICE.
Now if the months of FASTING and HAJJ and… move around the four seasons by 11 or 12 days each year, then everyone gradually goes through all the seasons of the year and no one will be wronged.
And we are not going to need
two separate Ramadzaans or Nights of Destiny as you had mentioned in your post earlier, either. This, I believe must be one of the reasons that GOD Almighty commands us in the Qur’aan to go by the lunar calendar regarding our religious rituals.
Peace,
Khalil
