9. MEEQATUL KIBLAH AND ISLAMIC CALENDAR
All of us are familiar with
the word "Meeqat" in connection with the Hajj pilgrimage. As you
know, the Meeqat is a fixed place or a station at which the pilgrims don the
'Ihram', that is the pilgrim's garment.
Now I am trying to explain
about another Meeqat, which is very important for the Muslims, that is
"The Meeqatul Kiblah". The former Meeqat which we already know is
connected with a place and this 'Meeqat' is connected with a place as well as
time, where a traveler going round the Earth has to change his Kiblah (the
direction to turn during prayer) from east to west or vice versa, his day and
his date and the time when the world has to change her day, - for example from
Thursday to Friday.
We must have a universal
date line, for the Islamic world to calculate the dates of the Islamic
calendar, which is based on the movement of the Moon. (Qur'aan 2:189). The date
line of the Islamic calendar should be marked in the light of the Holy Qur'aan
and the Sunnah, and this will be with reference to the Ka'aba, which is
situated in the Ummul Qura, the mother of towns, that is Makkah al Mukarramah.
The Ka'aba is the Kiblah of the Muslim prayer, the direction to which a Muslim
must turn during his prayer.
I like to name this date
line, which would be established, as 'The Meeqatul Kiblah'.
What
is the use of such a date line?
We calculate time in
relation to the rotation of the Earth with reference to the Sun, which is the
largest and brightest object that all of us can see in the sky. The Qur'aan
says that all celestial bodies float in their orbits in space (Q.36: 40) under
certain calculations. So the Sun too is moving according to the Qur'aan. We
know our time only in relation to the Sun.
Perhaps the most important thing
in our life is time. The time lost cannot be regained. So our time must be
spent with utmost care. For this we should plan our affairs in advance and
carry out the programs chalked out using a reliable calendar in which the dates
should never change. Islam gives certain rules to guide us in this venture.
Islam teaches us how to manage time by appointing 5 prayers that must be
performed in a day, punctually at the fixed timings. The prayer timings were
measured in the days of the Prophet (saw) using the shadow of an object cast by
the Sun. The watches of the present day were not available to them.
The Zuhar prayer is
performed when the shadow disappears or when it is shortest and the Sun is on
the meridian, after the first declination of the Sun, - that is when the Sun
has passed 90 degrees, the Asar prayer, after the shadow equals the object, -
that is when the Sun has passed 135 degrees, the Magrib prayer, after sunset, -
that is when the Sun has passed 180 degrees, the Isha prayer when the glare of
the setting Sun has disappeared, - that is when the Sun has passed 202.5
degrees and the Fajre prayer, when the first rays of the rising Sun appear, -
that is when the Sun has passed 337.5 degrees if the Sun is taken to be at 0
degree at the beginning on one's horizon at sea level. (This is the basis of
time. This will be correct on the day of equinox, on the equator. The other
details are not given here.) The Qur'aan explains this in the verse 17:78 (see
the diagram No: 1)
It will be interesting to
note that the period of night 9hours equals the distance from the Kiblah to the
Meeqatul Kiblah. The last time to confirm the onset of Ramadan at Makkah, the
Center of Islam is their Sahar time (last part of the night). At this time the
last sunset of the day takes place at Central America and it is noon at the
Mathla'h, (the date line) where the first Jumu'a prayer is performed. The
distance from the Kiblah to Central America is 9hours. Thus the Kiblah (Ka'aba)
is placed in the middle of the world.
Our time is dependent upon
the Sun's angle in relation to our horizon. We have converted all these angles
to our watches. We can tell the Sun's angle in hours, minutes and seconds
without looking at the Sun or its shadow. There is no difficulty in telling our
time even when the Sun is not visible for days together because its movement is
subject to certain calculations. The Qur'aan says: "The Sun and the Moon
are with calculation" (55:5)
We cannot record the count
of our time in minutes or hours because the figures will grow too long. Pages
will be required to write them down. So we have devised a method and use the
date, which is comprised of days, months and years to make the recording easy.
A date stands in place of a particular day of the week, month and year. A day
has 24 hours and a week 7 days, which have numbers or names having the same
meaning in different languages. They are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, Jumu'a and
7th day in the Islamic calendar and in English Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and all people in the world recognize
this. The most important day for the Muslims is the Jumu'a or Friday on which
all Muslims in a town must perform the Jumu'a prayer at noon in congregation.
There is no Zuhar prayer on Friday.
Where
on the Earth should the first Jumu'a of the week be performed? How can this be
fixed according to the Qur'aan and Sunnah?
The verse of the Holy
Qur'aan "He merges night into day and he merges day into night"
(35:13) indicates that the Earth must be a globe rotating on its axis and that
the rotation would merge night into day and vice versa. The hemisphere on which
the sun light falls experiences day while the opposite hemisphere experiences
night. As the globe rotates, night passes into day and day into night. The
first hemisphere in which the Ka'aba is situated and contains Australia, Asia,
Europe and Africa enjoys daytime while the second hemisphere containing two
Americas enjoys nighttime. As time proceeds from east to west on earth, the
five prayers as mentioned above, must be performed at the stipulated times in
succession according to the angles of the Sun at the particular place without
violating the order. Thus no time in the world passes without a Muslim prayer.
In the second year of the
Hijra the order to turn towards the Ka'aba, during the prayer, was revealed in
the Holy Qur'aan (2: 144). Supposing the Earth to be a vast area with the
Ka'aba at a particular place, imagine what will happen to the people in prayer
on both the sides of Ka'aba at the last ends. A diagram will explain this
better. (Diagram No2)
When all people turn towards
the Ka'aba what will happen to those at the ends, if the ends are joined
together as it is upon the globe? The people at the ends (A and B) will face
towards the opposite directions and their backs will meet! This condition is
not contradictory to the Qur'aan, which says: "Righteousness is not that
you face East or West." (2:177). At a certain place on the Earth the Muslims
must necessarily face towards the opposite directions during their prayers.
Where on the Earth could this happen?
The Kiblah of a town cannot
be different. All Muslims in a town must face to one direction in their prayer.
But as the Earth is a globe, a place where the Muslims must necessarily turn
towards opposite directions while in prayer, where two days of Jumu'a are
experienced and where a man crossing from one place to the other loses or gains
5 prayers of the day, is inevitable. This cannot happen on a land inhabited by
people. Such a place can be only at
sea.
The Imams of the past have
written down the rules for such a place. According to them it should be
separated by a sea or an uninhabitable mountainous barrier, which makes the two
sides approachable only by travel in which the Shariah could allow lessening of
the canonical prayers. Here a traveler must change his Kiblah, his Day and his
Date. This is the Meeqatul Kiblah of which we have mentioned in the beginning.
The Meeqatul Kiblah is one of the Signs of Allah. It must be recognized and
respected by all people. (Q.22: 32). The diagram shows how the Kiblah lines
radiating from the Islamic Center, Makkah towards all directions meet on the
Meeqatul Kiblah, the date line. (See the diagram 4) The Kiblah lines radiate
towards all directions of the compass from Ka'aba and meet on the Meeqatul
Kiblah on the opposite side of the Earth.
Since a traveler is allowed
to lessen his prayers (4:101) the peculiarity of losing or gaining of the
prayers during a travel across the Meeqatul Kiblah is not a problem. The
diagram explains how the west and east Kiblah lines radiating from the Ka'aba
meet and form a line passing from the north pole to the south pole of the Earth
through the Bering Strait which is the only gap separating the two continents
of Asia and America. The Kiblah lines radiating towards north and south of the
Ka'aba do not cross the poles and reach the opposite side. (See diagram No. 5).
It is noteworthy that the Qur'aan does not mention north and south in relation
to Kiblah. It mentions East and West only.
The Meeqatul kiblah or the
date line has to be zigzag to allow one Kiblah, one Day and for those who had
already settled and established their Day and Kiblah when they occupied the
islands near it. They were living there without knowing each other till the
explorers detected them. The inhabitants on the East observe the East Kiblah
and Thursday, while the inhabitants on the West observe the West Kiblah and
Friday. There is one day's difference at this place on the Earth. The Islamic
Shariah forbids the change of Day, Date and Kiblah at any other place in the
world. The diagram 5 shows the Kiblah lines meeting with the counterparts. When
these are connected we get the Meeqatul Kiblah, the International Date Line
running from north to south. This is the boundary for the West and the East on
the Earth.
The Meeqatul Kiblah is
exactly 9 hours ahead of Makkah. The Zuhar prayers of Thursday end and the
Jumu'a prayers of Friday begin immediately from here. This is the Zero hour of
the world. All calendar dates must change at the Zero hour. Days and dates of
the Islamic calendar also begin here at the Zero hour at noon. Corresponding
time at the Ummul Qura, the Center of Islam is "Sahar" (the last part
of the night) and at London, situated on the opposite side of the Meeqatul
Kiblah, it is midnight. Allah (swt) had ordered the Prophet (saw) to observe
the singular Kiblah and change the Day at 'Sahar' time in the second year of
the Hijra about 1400 years ago and the Muslims began to practice it since that
time. The navigators in 1886 A.D. found out the Date Line of Islam defined at
the time of the Prophet (saw). Those who established it did not know the
Islamic rules!
A day dawns first for those
who live near the 'Meeqatul Kiblah' 9 hours before it dawns at Makkah. So they
must observe all religious rites 9 hours before Makkah. In fasting and feasting
also they will be 9 hours ahead. They cannot postpone any ritual saying that
the Center has not yet done it. The order of time sequence in the world must be
strictly adhered to. Violation of time order in performing the rituals is
forbidden in the Shariah. For the same reasons a time bound prayer cannot be
postponed. (2:189, 17:78, 9:37). So a gap of 24 hours (a day) must be observed
between the Islands on either side of the Meeqatul Kiblah, the International
Date Line. This means that those to the west observing the West Kiblah shall
observe Friday while those to the east observing East Kiblah observe Thursday.
Meeqatul Kiblah is the Date
line of the Islamic calendar. A Day begins depending on the Sun. "Have you
not seen how your Lord spread the shadow. If He willed He could have made it
still. But We have made the Sun its indicator" (25:45). The shadow shrinks
as the Sun rises and vanishes at noon and then again appears in the afternoon
with the decline of the Sun. It goes on lengthening till the sunset, indicating
our time. Had there been no sunlight, there would have been no shadow. The Sun
indicates day, night and our time. So date, which stands in place of a Day
should begin with the Day. A date line cannot shift from place to place because
people living on the sides of the Date line must observe different days. This
is not practicable on a land.
Unfortunately some Muslim
astronomers have suggested that lunar date lines should be marked on the world
map for the Muslims to begin their fasting and celebrating their Eid. This
would be according to the first visibility of the crescent. The so-called
curved lunar date lines always keep on changing and they pass through cities,
towns and even houses! They do not abide the rules of the date line. So the
Lunar date lines are impracticable and meaningless. They are neither scientific
nor Islamic. An example of the three lunar date lines plotted on the world map
for a year indicating the appearing of the crescent of Ramadan, Shawwal and Zul
Hajj of the Islamic calendar is given in the diagram 6.
Our knowledge of time is in
relation to the rotation of the Earth with reference to the Sun. To count the
number of rotations of a wheel two marks are necessary; one in the rotating
wheel and one stationary, outside. When these two marks meet, one rotation is
counted. In the same way to count the rotations of the Earth a mark on the
Earth and a mark outside are needed. The mark on the Earth is the Meeqatul
Kiblah and the external mark is the Sun. When both meet, one rotation for the
Earth or one day is counted. To get the correct count we need a stationary mark
outside. But our mark, the Sun is moving and the Earth too is perambulating the
Sun. So we will not be able to count the number of the Earth's rotations
exactly with the help of the celestial objects, which too are in motion. We
need not worry about the correct number of the Earth's rotations because our
time is not connected with that. Our days depend only on sunrise and sunset.
We record the count of days
in dates. So if we calculated with the average length of a day, measured in
relation to the Sun or the other objects, which too are really moving, we will
make errors in calculating our old dates. So the Creator has provided us with a
wonderful system to calculate our time and has asked us to use the Moon for the
purpose so that we may not make mistakes and be confused in calculating our
dates. "He has appointed Manzils for it (the Moon) so that you may know
the count of the ages (of the Moon) and the calculations."(Q.10: 5). We
follow the instructions of the manufacturers in using of our home appliances.
In the same way we must follow the instructions of the Creator in order to be
on the right track.
After having defined the
beginning of a Day under the light of the Holy Qur'aan and the Sunnah let us
try to define the beginning of a month of the Islamic calendar. The Qur'aan has
already explained that our dates and months should depend on the Moon. The Sun
cannot catch the Moon. (36:40). The Earth has already caught it. It rotates
around the Earth. One rotation of the Moon around the Earth with reference to
the Sun is one month. As the Moon travels in its course, the change of its
position in relation to the Sun creates changes in the phases of the Moon seen
from the Earth. This marks the dates for the people. (2:189) The diagram No. 7
explains it.
A solar eclipse (New moon)
can occur only when the Sun is in line with the Moon and the Moon is between
the Sun and the Earth. Since it can happen at any part of the day, it is called
the new moon day. The Islamic month ends with it and the next month begins. A
month can begin only with a Day. So the next day is treated as the first day of
the ensuing month. The dates of the Islamic calendar must tally with the phases
or the Manzils of the Moon. (2:189, 10:5, 36:38-40). Thus a lunar eclipse
should occur only on the full moon day in the middle of the month when the Moon
is behind the Earth and enters into the shadow of the Earth. A solar eclipse
should occur on the new moon day in the end of the month when the shadow of the
Moon falls on the Earth. Since the plain of the Moon's orbit is slanted by 5
degrees the eclipse does not occur every month. It occurs only when the
crossing coincides with the end or the middle of the lunar month. So the
Islamic dates that depend on the angles of the Moon in relation to the Sun can
be checked on such occasions with the naked eye observations. The Days could be
found out exactly by using astronomical calculations.
The Islamic month ends when
the Moon competes her cycle around the Earth and this is calculated taking the
Sun as the reference point to begin the cycle. When the Sun, the Moon and the
Earth come in a line the cycle is complete and the next one begins. (See the
diagram) This moment is known as the conjunction or new moon. The Hilal can be
seen at different times at different places on the Earth, just as the sunset,
many hours before and after the conjunction. Some times a solar eclipse can be
witnessed at the time of the Eid prayer at some places on the Earth. (Imam
Shafi, Fat'hul Barri Vol, 2)). It happens due to the error of parallax. The
month should change just after the conjunction. Conjunction or new moon is
calculated from the center of the Earth. During a solar eclipse the shadow of
the moon falls on the Earth. The shadow crawls on the surface of the Earth with
time. If one travels with it, the eclipse can be seen for a longer time. The
first and the last is not the conjunction. The middle one is the conjunction. A
diagram explains it better. See diagram No. 9
Our time depends upon the
angles of the Sun in relation to the horizon. Our dates depend upon the angles
of the Moon in relation to the Sun. The horizon has nothing to do with this. We
can know our time without seeing the Sun or the shadow. There is no objection
to use other means of finding out our time in the Shariah. Then why should
there be any objection to use other means for finding out our dates that depend
upon the angles of the Moon when the Qur'aan informs us that both the Sun and
the Moon are with calculations? Can we use calculation for both, our time and
our date? The Ulema should give a verdict on this issue.
The Prophet (saw) who taught
the Qur'aan to the illiterate Arabs of his time taught them the easy method of
finding out their time by observing the Sun. He also taught them the easy
method of finding out their dates by observing the Moon. They were not in the
habit of writing, calculating or recording their time. The Prophet (saw) asked
them to learn wisdom, the art of reading, writing, recording and calculating.
He did not forbid them to learn but on the other hand, he enjoined them to
acquire knowledge in every faculty of learning from wherever it was possible.
In the days of the Prophet
(saw) Arabs were using the Jewish lunar calendar, which had a fixed number of
days for every month, 30 or 29 alternating and had leap years to adjust their
artificial months with the natural calendar. He gave instructions to correct
the dates according to the Ahillah (Manzils of the Moon) (2:189). He ordered to
avoid the leap years and make the calendar fully natural. The deviation of
dates from the Manzils of the Moon was not allowed because if a day of Sha'ban
entered into Ramadan, Halal and Haram of Allah (swt) would be violated. Sha'ban
according to the Jewish calendar always had 29 days where as it could have 30
days also and all months of Ramadan had 30 days, but Ramadan too could have 29
days according to the Moon's phase (Ahillah). That is why the Prophet (saw)
ordered to observe the Moon and correct the dates accordingly. The final
amendments regarding the calendar were announced during the Hajjathul Wida.
There are 12 months in a
year (9:36). We know what will happen if a date is skipped over. The Qur'aan
forbids the intercalations (9:37). The observation of the Moon for long periods
gives us the average number of 354.3671days for a year and 29.53059 days for a
month. (29.53059x12=354.3671). Astronomers have proved that the statement of
the Prophet (saw) that the lunar months have 29 or 30 days is correct.
Since the dates of the
months are related to the days of the week, but not to the places, the months
of the Islamic calendar should begin from the Meeqatul Qibla with the day. Now
the Muslims do not practice the Islamic calendar, instead they rely and depend
on the Christian dates for their daily use. So they do not have any idea about
the Islamic calendar! They foolishly believe that the Islamic months will begin
only when they see the Hilal with their naked eyes at the sunset differently at
different places! It is wrong to say that time will wait for man and different
towns could have different dates in the Islamic calendar!
Julius Caesar had instituted
his calendar in 46 B.C. Later the Christians adopted it as their calendar. It
had accumulated an error of about 10 days by 1582 A.D! Pope Gregory removed 10
days and changed the rules of the calendar, and it is known as the Gregorian
calendar since then.
The exact measure of the
solar year was not known when Julius Caesar instituted the calendar. Even today
we do not know the exact measure! It was regarded as 365.25 days. Later it was
estimated that the Earth takes 365 days 5hrs 48 minutes and 49 seconds to make
a rotation around the Sun according to the correction made in 1582 AD. This is
365.2422 days and this too will change whenever the accumulated error of days
is corrected at an interval.
The error of 0.0078 days
added up every year amounts to 15.6 days in 2000 years! This means that 15.6
days would have passed without sunrise! In a solar-based dating system the
error will accumulate without our notice and days will have to be eliminated
from the calendar at intervals in order to adjust with the natural system. This
sort of meddling with the calendar will create confusion in calculating the
passage of our time. Such a dating system cannot be good for recording the
events of history.
Had the people of the past
used the lunar phases for their dates to record their events, we will not have
had problems in finding out the actual days on which the incidents in the past
had occurred. But now we are in utter confusion. We do not arrive at the
recorded date and day by calculation. The Qur'aan says, "The Sun and the Moon are with calculation"
(55:5). So both the Sun and the Moon should be used for calculating the passage
of our time.
Renowned mathematicians and
astronomers have calculated the date of birth of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).
But all of them have gone wrong. They give different dates for the Prophet's
birth! The fact that a person cannot be born on two days indicates that there
is some thing wrong with their calculations. Their dates do not tally with the
historical records too. This is because the calendar had been meddled with and
the omissions are not taken into account correctly.
We have a record of two
events of the past recorded in two calendars. If we calculate the number of
days elapsed between the two incidents according to the two calendar systems we
can see what happens when a defective calendar is used to record time. The
equivalent dates and days of two solar eclipses of the past are given below as
recorded according to two calendars.
Solar eclipses recorded
according to C.E and M.E.
1. C.E. 22-07-1990
Sunday.
M.E. 30-12-1410 Sunday.
2. C.E. 14-07-0622
Wednesday. M.E. 30-12-0000 Wednesday.
08-00-1378 years. 00-00-1410 years=Time
elapsed.
Total N0. Of days according
to C.E. 1368 x 365.25+8 = 499670.00 days
Total No. Of days according
to M.E. 1410 x354.3671 = 499657.16 days
The error accumulated in C.E
for 1378 years is 12.39 days. At the same time there is no error in M.E. From
this we can see that the Lunar dating system is perfect. If we calculated our
time without involving the Moon we would make mistakes and we would not know
that there is a mistake! We will be left in confusion. It is high time that we
adopted the scientific dating system and used it in our day-to-day life so that
we may not create confusion for the future generations.
If we have the consensus to
prepare the scientific lunar calendar based on the phases of the Moon as per
the rules of the Qur'aan for the entire world, we can have the first of Ramadan
on the same day for each and every Muslim on earth. Likewise we can celebrate
the Eid also on the same day in all countries. Let me remind that the Holy
Prophet (saw) has forbidden to fast on the Day of Eid. How is it justifiable to
have fasting and feasting on the same day? If we agree that it can be so we are
admitting that there can be mistakes in the calculations of Allah the Almighty
also.
Observing Ramadan and Eid on
the correct days which will be same for all people in the world as commanded by
Allah, will lead us to the much required unity, harmony and peace of the people
in various parts of the world.
Kindly think over the
problem and the relevance of the Meeqatul Qibla, which is very important to
define the dates of the Islamic calendar. The Lunar Date Lines suggested by
some Muslim astronomers are neither scientific nor Islamic.
May Allah bless us with open
minds and intelligence to find out his orders and systems, which are hidden in
Nature and help us to live accordingly!