It's been a long time. Good to see you post 
I would agree and disagree with some of the things you said. Let me list them as points:
- I can agree with the meaning ascribed to Ramadhan as "scorched/parched". I have seen an alternative, but the general use of the word seems to carry the day.
- I can agree that the parched/scorched period for the Middle East ranging between June 20 and September 22 (Summer solstice to Fall equinox when the rains hit the dry/hot earth).
- I can agree that the month begins with the full moon.
- I can agree that fasting is for 10 days (ayam madoodat) and that we must "complete the count".
-----
- I don't agree that the meaning of "shahr" is "full moon" as that creates a distortion in a number of verses which speak of the period required as a full cycles and not just the 10 days of the full moon cycle.
- I don't agree that Maryam encountered a miraculous palm tree as dates hang from trees less than 1 meter and shaking such palm tree would allow its ripened dates to fall.
- I don't agree that the full moon of the summer solstice is the correct fast due to"
a) the valid point noshirk mentioned of "qadr/measure" being a description of the night of Ramadhan, and that the Equinox is the only month during the June-September period where the day and night, if they are measured, would be equal;
b) the fast of summer creates hardship (contrary to what Go tells us) as people who would work in the open would suffer;
c) the summer solstice has the longest day of the year (northern hemisphere) which would take the fast to extreme hours in some habitable regions.
Thanks my dear brother Layth, it is good to be posting
. I browse the forum every few weeks but the admin of the FB page with its 2.7 million members has taken away most of the time I have available for posting.
The full-moon is not a 10 day cycle. It is just a marker. So when we hear in the great reading about the fasting of two consecutive full-moons, then this is the period marked by two full-moons, which is 29-30 days. You can never count 12 "29-30 day cycles" in a year. The only way to count 12 is if "shahr" means full-moon, which is confirmed by Classical Arabic dictionary.
Had the palm tree been hanging less than 1 meter, then why would one need to shake it to get the ripened dates? One can just reach and grab them. The size and height of the palm tree is not known. At least the palm trees that I have seen are big and even small ones, which are maybe just 3 meters high their thick trunks cannot be easily shaken even by a strong man, let alone a woman in labor. Normally, when the dates are ripe, you can find a few already fallen next to the palm tree and no need to shake to begin with. I traveled to Sharm El Sheikh in July and the hotel had palm trees and their dark yellow dates were littering the ground. Again, this whole thing about the palm tree is
highly speculative and part of a miraculous context (virgin birth) with too many unknowns to make a determination about the timing.
As you know, the word "qadr" means measure and does not mean equal. There is a big difference between measure and equal. Therefore, there is no evidence for the equinox based on the word "qadr". On the other hand, we clearly hear about qadr/measure in relation to the full-moon, which you agree is the start of the cycle:
And the moon we have measured it in descending stages until it becomes/returns as an old curved sheath (crescent shape)Interestingly, the period from full-moon, when the measure of the "manazil" (descending stages) starts, until the crescent shape is 10 days. So this is in line with what you agreed to be the 10 days of hagg/feast and fasting.
It is a fact that the years cannot be counted using only day/night as described in 17:12 based on the equinox, which would only count half a year. The years can only be counted based on 17:12 using one of the solstices. As you correctly said, the meaning of "ramadan" points to the period after the summer solstice.
As far as hardship is concerned, had the fast been easy then there wouldn't have been the need to state that those who can do it with difficulty can feed a poor person instead. How many other things in the great reading are we told that they are so hard as to need to substitute? Obviously, fasting must be hard. If you do work in the open or live in northern elevations, you should feed the poor instead. The idea that fasting is obligatory comes from the Sunni tradition where we were constantly brainwashed that people who don't fast will go to hell. There is nothing in the great reading that says we must fast. It is better for us to fast if we can do it without difficulty but there is no harm or punishment if we don't fast. In fact, the main objective is not fasting but it is being guided by the great reading. The timing of the fast is tied to the timing of the great reading as a guidance descending and at the end of the passage we are told to magnify the god for what he has guided us. So being guided and knowing the timing based on the guidance from the god is far more important than fasting. If one fasts for 30 days according to the arbitrary Hijri calendar whether it is during the longest day hours or when it had shifted and is during the easiest time of the year in the winter is that person guided? Does their fast really matter or is it worthless? Let's focus on the right thing.
Peace and best regards,
Ayman
Show Posts
