Islamic Calendar & Ramadhan.

I am surprised intelligent people can't see what i see - then again may be i am not intelligent. Original Trans 002.189 YUSUFALI They ask thee concerning the New Moons. Say They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time in (the affairs of) men, and for Pilgrimage. It is no virtue if ye enter your houses from the back It is virtue if ye fear Allah. Enter houses through the proper doors And fear Allah That ye may prosper. New Trans 2189 They ask you ,of such people say these the times to guard against evil for people to take the new aim/desire/direction,and it is no virtue that you enter the affairs from their backs but the righteous is he who fears Allah and enters into affairs from the right way and fear Allah so that you may attain success. This follows on from 2188 And do not eat up your property among yourselves for vanities, nor use it as bait for the judges, with intent that ye may eat up wrongfully and knowingly a little of (other) people's property. I thinks. >

This is an authentic article from me, ProGod, or Anwar. It is on my site www.progod.org or www.koranist.org. It is a revised version of what has been seen before. I hope you can appreciate it. The proper Quranic Calendar Since early in Man's history there has been a need to accurately tell time. Time is relative. It is relative to the spinning of the earth around the sun and even the orbit of the sun itself. If you were to stop all this we would not have time. Our universe is full of cylcles and nothing is still even if we think it is. This procession of life is like a strip of film though which are souls are exposed to in sequential order giving us the perception of time as the events around us unfold in order. All that may be the essence of what time really is but when it comes to how we should tell time here on earth and how to be in line with the Quran we find ourselves in a predicament. It's not that serious of a predicament, but it is a predicament that can be hard to work our way out of. We find ourselves in this predicament because of wrong information. The Quran give us some basic information on how to reckon time. The day starts with the appearence of daylight, so that 1 whole day is from dawn to dawn, not dusk to dusk like the Jewish and Islamic calendar. A month is, according to Quranic preference 30 days. 2184 says that 1 day of missed fast can be compensated for feeding 1 person, then later on in the Koran in chpt. 585 it is stated that the compensation for missing 2 months worth of fasting is to feed 60 people. This, through logical consideration means that the Koran obviously equates 2 months with 60 days, and 1 month with 30 days. Some may think that 589 contradicts this equation. It says that the compensation for breaking deliberate oaths is to serve 10 needy individuals from the best of what you would feed a family member of yours, to clothe these 10 individuals, or to free someone from bondage. If none of these is within the capability of the individual then he is to fast for 3 days. There is no compensation for this fasting, this is the last thing that can be accepted of him. But why isn't there a one-to-one relationship here between feeding individuals and fasting? Because the fasting here is "the compensation for your oaths when you swear." which is stated in this passage after the fasting is mentioned. So whereas God does consider a month of daily fasting to be equal to feeding 30 people, this fasting for 3 days is not a compensation, and therefore not equal to the feeding of 10 people mentioned before but only to the breaking of one's oath as the passage clearly states. All other passages keep in line with this 1 to 1 relationship and have no such clauses. Because of this clause it would be wise to say that God put this clause here for a reason. Considering the possiblity that one action may have completely different worth when treated as a remedy to different distinct actions, and that actions can't always be measured as numbers are, makes this clause sit better with me. Afterall, it is through having a better understanding of reality (God's works) that the Quran will make more sense to us. A month, or shahr in Arabic can be 29 or 30 days but the Quran prefers 30 according to the 1/1 relationship implied in its verses where there aren't any clauses to indicate otherwise. There are also only 12 months in a year. Per 936 literally from the Arabic 'The count of months is to be twelve.' 'iddata ash-shuhoori 'indallahi ithna 'ashara shahran. Now when we get here some people start having trouble. They know that an accurate year from solstice to solstice is 365 days and that 12 months consisting of 30 days is only 360 days. Although this seems like a problem this is not really a problem. Now, we need to think out of the box, because nature, and especially God doesn't always fit into a box. The problem is that people love for nature to fit into their already pre-concieved ways of thinking. If the Quran says that there are 12 months in a year and each month is 30 days then there are 12 months in a year even if there are 365 days in a year. Adding a 13 month would go against God's commands mentioned in 937 which forbids adding a month, and allowing any number of months that God has forbidden. When you count the months as 30 days you end up with 5 extra days but those 5 extra days don't equal a month. So there are 12 months in a year . . . and 5 days. Some people don't like that these 5 days are just kind of out there, and not part of a month. That is why the Western Calendars made some months 31 days. To some this even smells of imperfection, and as we know God is far from imperfect. They would say that if God said twelve months, then a year has to exactly equal 12 months. To those who are not satisfied with the un-evenness of this 12, 30-day month year, if there is nothing innately wrong with it then why can't you accept it? God and His creation are always perfect even if they don't fit into our narrow concept of perfection. We have to mold our minds to understand reality in is real workings, only then can we capitilize on it and benefit from it. However to put this in mathematical terms for those who can only understand this in a mathematical way, when counting in units there is no need to count fractions because they are not units. Once you define a month as a unit and 12 of these units fits into a year it doesn't matter if there is room that equals a fraction of that same unit, because you were counting in units only. That is not to say that we need to ignore the 5 days, they are obviously there but we are not looking at them as a month and that is what is important. If you look a little closer there is a perfection in this system, because even though these 5 days aren't apart of a month, each month is divided up into six, 5 day weeks and this extra week offers a perfect transition into the new year. That is, a week of the year's passing, and then the new year starts. You don't have to play around with the calendar or do anything to it. So here is preciseness where none was thought to be. A precise 73 weeks in the year. It has been people's need to try to impose their own concept of precision onto nature which is why scientist even to this day have to add a day and take a day a way every so often to the western Modern Gegorian calendar. All that for nothing. The Quran doesn't say we have to follow 7 day weeks. That was something the ancients did to try to make the earthly world reflect the Grander scheme, in particularly the time God used to make the world, according to the Bible. And it is a tradition that our cultures have followed. But this is irrelevant to us. Mainly because considering Classical Arabic, days can also mean eras and could be thousands or thousands of thousands of thousands (billions) of years. The Quran shows us this by pointing out the duration of certain actions as days that equal thousands of years in our reckoning. It is my opinion that the Universe wasn't created in 7 days or eras and then it was finished. It was set within the span of 7 eras. God is still creating out there, and here. So the Universe has 7 eras and when those seven eras are finished God will assume the thrown (Thy kingdom come). There are no dissenters in a kingship/kingdom, so even though God is king of kings He has not assumed the thrown yet and put everyone in their place as long as he is letting us run a muck on His earth. But we know that that is for a reason as well. In particular, to give us a chance for redemption and to reclaim the glory He gave us in the beginning by doing His bidding while we're here. The day when He puts everyone in their place will be on the day of dues, the day of judgement. It is taken as a fact that there are 53 weeks in a Gregorian/Modern year but if you divide 365 by 7 you get 52.142 . . etc. God gave us something simple and precise here, we need to follow it, instead of trying to force our bogus ideas onto nature and the Quran. Muslims, and especially Arab Muslims, have continued to follow in the traditions of their Jewish forefathers who had a luni-solar calendar and who reckoned the months by the appearence of the moon's waxing crescent. Because of the historical avoidance of Quranic scrutiny they never saw the answer in the Quran on how they could fix the innaccuracy of the calendar when they went ahead and started following the obvious suggestion of the Quran to not count 13 months in a year, which is what the Jews were doing. Furthermore because they prefered to view Ramadan in line with the Arab traditions of time-keeping instead of seeing it for its inherent Arabic meaning which the early Arabs also understood, and because of the ethno-centric tendencies and preferences of these people they decided to keep in line with their tribal traditions of pilgrimage and not even consider, let alone embrace, the grander one promoted in the Quran. They myopically pidgeonholed these words, pilgrimage and Ramadan, in a way that has caused the contradictions and confusions with the Islamic calendar that are just commonly ignored instead of seriously confronted and dealt with. And what about the crescent moons or moon phases mention in 2189. Well this word is ahillat is in Classical Arabic. It is a plural word that can find its singular in haleel or hilaal, early Arabs had they thought on this would have recognized this. Hilaal means crescent moon. However, since we know that the Islamic calendar is not accurate and can in no way offer us a stable time system that existed during the time of the Quran- Which means that it is usesless even in being able to indicate the Pre-Islamic Ramadan that Muhammad was given the Quran in-, and since we know that the Pre-Islamic calendar, based on crescent moons, cannot stay accurate without adding a 13 month, there is no reason for us to see the word ahillat in 2189 and take it as the plural of hilaal, or crescent moon. We should rather take it as the haleel of 53. 53 says not to eat things 'uhilla' in a name other than God's. Uhilla is the passive of ahalla (a 4th form Arabic verb) which equals 'slaughtering in consecration' or 'to consecrate.' Based on the relationships between Arabic forms the passive 4th and 2nd forms can equal the first form and be directly related back to the form fa'eel which equals haleel. That means that maa uhilla = haleel just as maa uslima = saleem (what is made safe = safe) only when the 4th form is causative. So haleel= a consecrated slaughtering, or a consecration, and Ahillat is the plural of haleel. The whole passage of 2189 is speaking about pilgrimage, and al-ahillat is really refering to both the animals that are to be slaughtered to feed the pilgrims and the poor, and the actual slaughterings of these animals. These consecrations being mawaaqeet(usually translated as 'timings' from the singular meeqaat) really refers to them being timed (from the singular mawqoot) and not at random for the people making pilgrimage. All in all, there is no need to follow the Islamic calendar or the pre-Islamic calendar for that matter, as both of them are not calendars based on the time keeping principles that we are taught within the Quran. The daylight is to serve as a sign for us when it comes to reckoning the years, and more specifically the summer solstices. The months are 12, there is an extra 5 days on the tail of these 12 month, and the units of these 12 months upon further examination would logically be six, 5 day weeks. This also implies a local southern hemisphere calendar and a northern hemisphere calendar. 1712 "We have established the night and daylight as two symbols. We erase away from the wonder of night and fill it in with the wonder of the light of day so you can seek to benefit from your Sustainer's grace and know the count of years through calculation, and through everything that we would make clear." 105 "It is God who has made the sun a shining radiance. The moon, as a light, He has measured out into phases. Learn the count of the years, through calculation, consideration and estimation, equally. God has created these things as valid and sound. They make wonders plain and clear for those who are informed."

Peace, Here is the issue as I see it. The Quran is not outdated but we have been looking at this all wrong. The Quran used words like Ramadaan, Kaabah, Mecca and Bakka and Holy months beinig ma'loomat, ahillat knowing that the Arabs at the time or those focus on their practices could either choose the universal application of the Quran. The Quran says that it also lead astray but it only leads astray those who have wrong in their heart. Most of the Arabs of Muhammad's day had wrong in their heart so they opted for the meanings of word like Makkah and Kaabah that confirmed their Arab traditions. But this was wrong. In accordanc with the Old Arabic language that the Quran is written in Ramadaan = Season or lasting time of Heat shah-r = 30 days Ka'bat = true honor/glory Makkat= true destruction Bakkat= High rank, a cut above the rest, distinguished, crowding Ahillat= Things that are selected to be consecrated Ma'loomat= tu'lamu= "is to be (should be) dinstinguished, well known, discerned" So if we put all the pieces together we don't need the old Arabic calendar. Because during the hot seasons in any place that we may be we are to fast for 30 days. "God, with true glory(al-ka'bata) will make sacred houses (sanctuaries Al-baitul-haraamu) an upliftment for mankind" 597 "They will ask you about about the consecrations (ahillatun, from haleel, from maa uhilla. Say They are to be timed (mawaaqeet from mawqoot) for the benefit of the people" 2189 The consecrations are to be timed for the people and not at random during the Hajj, and instead of that whole entering through the back doors thing that verse can be understood as 'By the pilgrimage! Righteousness isn't entering the houses of God just to make your appearences there(bi'an ta'too al-buyoota bidhuhoorihaa). The righteous individual is the one who is worried about his well-being (attaqaa). So go through the doors of these houses (al-buyoota) and worry about God so that you can succeed." 2189 "The season(s) of pilgrimage should be (are to be) months that will (are to) be well-known, distinguished, discernable" 2197 That means we can chose them, and that we should make them clear and widely known. "The count of 30 day periods as far as God is concerned is to be 12. This was his decree the day he made the heavens and the earth. Four of them should be (are to be) sacred, and that will be (is to be) how it stands. (the standing order/rule)." 936 "And when you are fully vulnerable (bi batni makkata), it is God who would hold you back from them and them back from, discounting the possiblity that he may empower you so that you can defeat them." 4824 (There are times when both sides are on edge and damages may be fatal to both sides, but it is God through his book and through his divine will that keeps those tentative times of peace) Taking all this into account the Arabs could have understood Makkah ehre as the city and The Ka'bah as the Holy shrine in Mecca. They could have, with reason, kept the traditional months (which unkoranically they understood as the moon phases) of pilgrimage as they were widely known. And they could have grammatical and through their unkoranic understanding continued to understand ahillat as moon phases. But with linguistic analysis and analyzing the Quran they didn't have to. And here is an alternative understanding. Godlbess, Anwar

The fast of Ramadan= The Summer Fast 30 days to be fasted during a hot season, anywhere. It is up to the individual when he will fast. Hajj baitullaah/al-masjidul-Haraam= Pilgrimage to God's houses/The Sancturies Pilgrimage For 4 consecutive months or 120 days made widely known and to be referred to as the respected months, people of the Quran are to assemble in houses of God and engage in activities such as recognizing each other, bestowing honors on each other, contributing in some way to the assembly, praising God and serving God as God has instructed. This activity has the potential to be highly organized or very weakly organized. Each pilgrim must stay at least 2 days, engaging in these activities. Once the months are established they are not to be moved at all. A productive pilgrimage would be an organized one in an attempt to unite and organize the community of the Quran and create a strong support group, fulfill all of the suggestions that the Quran makes for us to fulfill as a community. Pilgrimage is to emphasize the quality of a center that the houses of God have. Prayer is personal thing and praying together is something that can be done but is not obligated like in the Islamic way. I can pray and my brother can pray separately, we don't have to do it together. The season of pilgrimage is for this purpose. We learn from the story of our beloved Moses (God bless him) that we should also set aside local houses for community (buyootun qawmiyyat) centers 1087 A good plan would be organized pilgrimages based on areas. Pilgrimages should be based on population and should be based on region. So for instance, A house of God should be opened up for believers on the East Coast for those few of us that are on the east coast. A house of God should be opened up for for those quranists in Saudi Arabia, those in Malaysia, etc. etc. If the community gets bigger and the pilgrimages get bigger, other sanctuaries should be built to relieve the one location. Let's say that say that there is a world community, some in Malaysia, some in Saudi, some in Jordan. Then since the pilgrimage season is so big delegations can be send from one area to another to communicate with each other and put each other in communication with each other. Godbless, Anwar

What exactly is the "month" Muharram? I will really appreciate some answers. )

Salaams All, Page 1156-lanes Ta-Daakhalanee Min Hadha Alamri-RAMADZUN Distress and disquietude, or grief, crept into me from, or in consequence of, this thing. A-RAMDZ-ho Alamro The thing or affair pained him. A-RAMDZ-ho Burned him/distressed him/pained him. Page 1612-lanes Shehrun = He made it apparent/manifest/notorious/public. Or (it generally means) He made it apparent as Bad,evil,abominable,foul,or unseemly,he exposed it as such. Manifestation of Bad/evil/abominable/foulness causes pain/Distress/grief (is) that was revealed in it the quran a guidance for mankind and clear proofs of the guidance and the criterion so whosoever testifies/owns up amongst you (to) such parading/manifestation of evil he should fast it and whosoever is sick or on journey (the same) number of days other wants Allah for you ease and not want for you hardship so that you complete the number and that you should magnify Allah on that he guided you so that you may give thanks. SO THE QURAN WAS REVEALED AT/IN PERIODS OF DISTRESS, OR WAS IT? FOR BREAKING YOUR OWTHS-3 days FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO ACCEPT ALLAHS WAY HAJ-10 days FOR KILLING AN INNOCENT PERSON-two months FOR CALLING/MAKING WIFES AS MOTHERS ?two months e.t.c 2184,2196,492,589,595,584 MISSHANDLING THE WILL 2181 Sin on them who change the will after the death. 2182 making up between the parties is better, in case of fear or a wrong doing. 2184 Fast/Abstain a prescribed number of days. And What do you fast /abstain from? http//www.free-minds.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3506 Gods Blessings.

Salaams , Just to make my understanding a little bit clearer - if you know? Thanks. This ayah has the word to Drink ?SAQA? Wa-inna lakum fee al-anAAamilaAAibratan nusqeekum mimma fee butoonihawalakum feeha manafiAAu katheeratun waminhata/kuloona And in cattle (too) ye have an instructive example from within their bodies We produce (milk) for you to drink; there are, in them, (besides), numerous (other) benefits for you; and of their (meat) ye eat; Looking into the ways Kulloo and ushrabu are used in the quran first and then the definition of qd about Ushribue. Waatoo alnnisaa saduqatihinna nihlatan fain tibna lakum AAan shayin minhu nafsan faKULOOhu haneean mareean 44 And give the women (on marriage) their dower as a free gift; but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, Take it and enjoy it with right good cheer. Waatoo alyatama amwalahum wala tatabaddaloo alkhabeetha bialttayyibi wala taKULOO amwalahum ila amwalikum innahu kana hooban kabeeran 42 To orphans restore their property (When they reach their age), nor substitute (your) worthless things for (their) good ones; and devour not their substance (by mixing it up) with your own. For this is indeed a great sin. Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo la taKULOO alrriba adAAafan mudaAAafatan waittaqoo Allaha laAAallakum tuflihoona 3130 O ye who believe! Devour not usury, doubled and multiplied; but fear Allah. that ye may (really) prosper. Waith qulna odkhuloo hathihi alqaryata faKULOO minha haythu shitum raghadan waodkhuloo albaba sujjadan waqooloo hittatun naghfir lakum khatayakum wasanazeedu almuhsineena 258 And remember We said "Enter this town, and eat of the plenty therein as ye wish; but enter the gate with humility, in posture and in words, and We shall forgive you your faults and increase (the portion of) those who do good." Allatheena yaKULOOna alrriba la yaqoomoona illa kama yaqoomu allathee yatakhabbatuhu alshshaytanu mina almassi thalika biannahum qaloo innama albayAAu mithlu alrriba waahalla Allahu albayAAa waharrama alrriba faman jaahu mawAAithatun min rabbihi faintaha falahu ma salafa waamruhu ila Allahi waman AAada faolaika ashabu alnnari hum feeha khalidoona 2275 Those who devour usury will not stand except as stand one whom the Evil one by his touch Hath driven to madness. That is because they say "Trade is like usury," but Allah hath permitted trade and forbidden usury. Those who after receiving direction from their Lord, desist, shall be pardoned for the past; their case is for Allah (to judge); but those who repeat (The offence) are companions of the Fire They will abide therein (for ever). Ya ayyuha alnnasu KULOO mimma fee alardi halalan tayyiban wala tattabiAAoo khutuwati alshshaytani innahu lakum AAaduwwun mubeenun 2168 O ye people! Eat of what is on earth, Lawful and good; and do not follow the footsteps of the evil one, for he is to you an avowed enemy Wala takuloo amwalakum baynakum bialbatili watudloo biha ila alhukkami litaKULOO fareeqan min amwali alnnasi bialithmi waantum taAAlamoona 2188 And do not eat up your property among yourselves for vanities, nor use it as bait for the judges, with intent that ye may eat up wrongfully and knowingly a little of (other) people's property. Inna allatheena yaktumoona ma anzala Allahu mina alkitabi wayashtaroona bihi thamanan qaleelan olaika ma yaKULOOna fee butoonihim illa alnnara wala yukallimuhumu Allahu yawma alqiyamati wala yuzakkeehim walahum AAathabun aleemun 2174 Those who conceal Allah's revelations in the Book, and purchase for them a miserable profit,- they swallow into themselves naught but Fire; Allah will not address them on the Day of Resurrection. Nor purify them Grievous will be their penalty. Waatoo alnnisaa saduqatihinna nihlatan fain tibna lakum AAan shayin minhu nafsan faKULOOhu haneean mareean 44 And give the women (on marriage) their dower as a free gift; but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, Take it and enjoy it with right good cheer. Kuloo waishraboo haneean bima kuntum taAAmaloona 7743 "Eat ye and drink ye to your heart's content for that ye worked (Righteousness). I wonder if this means to nourish yourselves with all that you desire of what we have provided you with,rather then just with food and drink! Page 286 of the Quranic Dictionery. Sharab fi qalbahu =Love of such and such a thing permeated his heart. The word is so used because love is like alcohol that intoxicates one who partakes of it. Ushribue=They were made to drink/were permeated with (love)/were made to imbibe(the love of)/(the love was )made to sink. According to the context of the following three ayats,Allah is speaking about food and drink-so Kulloo is food whilst looking at the qd?s definition Ushribue is the love in the sexual relationship in this case.But Allah is forbidding ,I think,talking this day. 019.024-126 Here food and drink are being allowed in the fast,but talking is being forbidden. Unto her called so he from below her not grieve you indeed has provided your lord under you a water stream.And shake towards you the trunk (of)date palm it will let down upon you fresh dates ripe.So you eat and drink and cool (your) eyes if you see from human being anyone say you I have vowed (for) unto the most Gracious a fast so never I shall speak today (to) any human being. In this ayat sex is being forbidden. In the following ayat Allah is talking about Sex,when you may approach your wives and when you should avoid them-sexually.So Kullo ushribue is sexual relationship in this case. 2187 Permitted to you, on the night of the fasts, is the approach to your wives. They are your garments and ye are their garments. Allah knoweth what ye used to do secretly among yourselves; but He turned to you and forgave you; so now associate with them, and seek what Allah Hath ordained for you, and enjoy and make (love), until the white thread of dawn appear to you distinct from its black thread; then complete your fast Till the night appears; but do not associate with your wives while ye are in submissions. Those are Limits (set by) Allah Approach not nigh thereto. Thus doth Allah make clear His Signs to men that they So to me talking and sex are the forbidden things?Any views/reasoning to elaborate! When are we to abstain http//www.free-minds.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2977 God Bless.

Peace all, This is just a visual presentation of the rising and setting of Sirius in the Southern Hemisphere specifically Brisbane where this star is visible every night of the year. The post is specifically for Anwar who has questioned this fact. Here is the situation on the evening of 22/7/2005 when Sirius and the Sun will set together. http//img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/setting.jpg Now later in the night, in fact in the early morning of the 23/7/2005 Sirius is back on the opposite horizon rising so that it becomes visible during the morning. http//img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/rising.jpg and then several hours later the sun rises. Note that Sirius is well up in the sky having been visible for many hours of the night/morning. http//img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/zuiko/sun.jpg The reason is that the position of Sirius on the celestial sphere ~ 17 degress south. Regards.

Salaams, just a thought. Gore Says June Hottest Month Ever Since Records Kept Gore Announces New Data Showing July 1998 Hottest Month Summer months are June to September when it is hot and humid. Egypts June to August (Summer) Hot with northerly winds Cairo 35?C (95?F), Luxor 40?C (105?F), Aswan 42?C ( 107?F) The average global temperature for January through September 2002 was 58.48 degrees Fahrenheit - 1.04 degrees warmer than the 122-year normal. This year is 0.16 degrees warmer than last year, but still 0.14 degrees off the record set in a sizzling 1998, according to the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Ayman Trans The full moon of scorching heat is when the reading was descended as a guidance for people and clarifications from the guidance and the criterion, so whomever witnesses the full-moon, let him abstain it. And whomever was sick or traveling so a count of other days. The God wants to facilitate and not make it hard on you. And so complete the count and magnify The God for what He guided you and perhaps you would be thankful. So are we supposed to fast the whole of the scorching heat period? Or can one find when is the hottest month,as it can shift. What is the purpose behind fasting ; To remove evil/stingy charater we may have ? not all of us surely and what if we get this character other times of the year,will we just wait out until ramadhan comes? Salaams.

Peace all, How/When did the present Islamic Calendar originate?? What was the calendar in use before the present Islamic Calendar? Was it the same as the Jewish Calendar? Please provide sources. I want to study this topic in depth and would appreciate any source material where I can do so. Any references to Arabic works would be appreciated for the sake of knowledge, however, I am more interested in English works and/or translations of Arabic works (since I don't know Arabic well enough). thanks, peace

Salaams, There is a debate going on in the other section about shahr,but lets see what it can be,is it just a month? Lanes gives example on the possible uses. Shohera bekazaa = He was rendered ,became,for such a thing. Shahara saifahu = He drew his sword from the scabbard or he drew his sword and raised it over the people. Raaito Alshahr = I saw the new moon of the month. Ashahr Alswabee = The child became a month old or a month passed over the child. Ashaharo =more and most apparent , menifest,notorious. Ayman said I looked up the word "shahr" in the dictionary (Lisan Al-3arab) and it doesn't seem to mean "month", "30 consecutive days", or "30 intermittent days". The primary meaning is "something obvious", "something public", and "something wide". It is also reported in the dictionary that the Arabs used to call the moon "shahr". In modern Arabic, someone "mashhur" is a public celebri and now the perfect example which is a case applicable to most of the quranic words - beleive it. In english the word RIGHT as you now can mean a number of things but obviously the words it apears with in a sentance(or the context) gives the real meaning -what it means with respect to the sentance its being used in. Lets see Right now or Turn right or your Right. And this is the example to me for how we should look to words(as shahr)in the context where it is accuring in the ayats. I just hope it helps even just a little.

peace all . this article might help in every bodys search for ramadan Although the full moon occurring Saturday, July 31, 2004, will look like an ordinary full moon, it will actually be a bit extraordinarya blue moon. What is a Blue Moon? There are in fact two definitions for a blue moon. According to the more recent definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. For a blue moon to occur, the first of the full moons must appear at or near the beginning of the month so that the second will fall within the same month (the average span between two moons is 29.5 days). July 2004 will have two full moons the first on July 2, the second on July 31that second full moon is called the blue moon. The Other Kind of Blue Moon An older definition for the blue moon is recorded in early issues of the Maine Farmer's Almanac. According to this definition, the blue moon is the third full moon in a season that has four full moons. Why would one want to identify the third full moon in a season of four full moons? The answer is complex, and has to do with the Christian ecclesiastical calendar. Some years have an extra full moonthirteen instead of twelve. Since the identity of the moons was important in the ecclesiastical calendar (the Paschal Moon, for example, used to be crucial for determining the date of Easter), a year with a thirteenth moon skewed the calendar, since there were names for only twelve moons. By identifying the extra, thirteenth moon as a blue moon, the ecclesiastical calendar was able to stay on track. For a fuller explanation see http//www.inconstantmoon.com/cyc_blue.htm. For more background information on the controversy over the two definitions of blue moon, see the Sky and Telescope article, "What's a Blue Moon?" In it they explain how the two different definitions of a blue moon came aboutincluding their own role in introducing the second, modern definition. A Star Rating for the Modern Blue Moon Although Sky & Telescope calls the modern blue moon definitition "trendy" and a "mistake," the fact that there is an older, preexisting (and more complicated) definition does not necessarily make it the more interesting or meaningful definition. Charting the "third full moon in four full moons" in a season isn't everyone's idea of an fascinating enterprise. The modern, "trendy" definition, however, points to an intriguing astronomical phenomenonevery so often two moons can manage to position themselves in the same month. Given that full moons occur once every 29.5 days, this is quite an accomplishment! How Often Does a Blue Moon Occur? Over the next twenty years there will be a total of 17 blue moons, with an almost equal number of both types of blue moons occurring. No blue moon of any kind will occur in the years 2006, 2011, 2014, and 2017. The more recent phenomenon, where the blue moon is considered to be the second full moon in a calendar month, last occurred on Nov. 30, 2001. Two full moons in one month may occur in any month out of the year except for February, which is shorter than the lunar cycle. The other, older blue moon event, which happens when there are four full moons in a season, last occured on Nov. 20, 2002. Since this type of blue moon is reckoned according to the seasons, it can only occur in February, May, August, or November, about a month before the equinox or the solstice. Twice in a Blue Moon The rare phenomenon of two blue moons (using the more recent definitition) occurring in the same year happens approximately once every 19 years. 1999 was the last time a blue moon appeared twice, in January and March. The months of the double blue moons are almost always January and March. That is because the short month that falls in between them, February, is a key ingredient in this once-every-nineteen-year phenomenon. For January and March to each have two full moons, it's necessary for February to have none at all. Since February is usually 28 days long, and the average span between full moons is 29.5 days, if a full moon occurs at the end of January, it's possible for the next full moon to skip February entirely and fall in the beginning of March. Once in a Blue Moon "Blue moon" appears to have been a colloquial expression long before it developed its calendrical senses. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first reference to a blue moon comes from a proverb recorded in 1528 If they say the moon is blue, We must believe that it is true. Saying the moon was blue was equivalent to saying the moon was made of green (or cream) cheese; it indicated an obvious absurdity. In the 19th century, the phrase until a blue moon developed, meaning "never." The phrase, once in a blue moon today has come to mean "every now and then" or "rarely"whether it gained that meaning through association with the lunar event remains uncertain.

Peace, I may seem ignorant, but can someone give the definition of 'fasting'? Abstinence from all food and drink between dawn and dusk? Please help, i know it is a really basic thing, but I have been doing so many things the wrong way, I would like it written down as to what is the 'right' way. ta d

Ramadan Mubaarak everyone. I began my fast today on June 22. This day coincides with the summer solstice but more importantly it coincides wth the time that the Sirius star FADES from the night sky and RISES with the Sun. THe concept of fading and rising is conveyed in the word 'hawaa' used in Chpt. 53 and the Sirius star is chosen because it is the only star mentioned in Chapt. 53. However I have some questions Why can't someone witness a month if he or she recognizes the month as it begins and as it passes? How do we know that the Pre-Islamic Arabs followed a Jewish Luni-solar calendar? Where did this information come from? Godbless, Anwar

Happy Nowruz! 1383 hijri shamsi ????????? Someone explain?

Peace be upon you, I am trying to bring back up the discussion of abstaining since the other topics probably need a break. I still hold the view that "ramadhan" is describing the hot period. Before, I was basing this time on the rising of sirius, but now I have some more info that I want to share. There is a phenomena that happens every year called summer solstice. The Word solstice comes from the latin word "sol" meaning sun and "sticia" meaning stand still. So solsticia or solstice means sun stand still. Every year when the daylight gets longer every day and the earth tilts TOWARDS the sun and the oxygen we breathe becomes more ionized, there is a point when the sun stops (really the earth stops its tilt) for 4 days then starts to tilt back the other way. The days of the summer (and winter solstice) are VERY WELL KNOWN to all civilizations and most celebrated these times. The Winter Solstice is actually where christmas comes from because it was the day after the winter solstice which marked the RETURN OF THE SUN that saved them from total darkness (which is where it seemed they were heading) That is why we have the light show this time of the year. Study on the yule log. Ok, so the summer solstice is when the earth is at its most direct point towards the sun, this is what makes summer hot, not because the earth is closer to the sun, many times it is further away, but because the earth is fixed towards the sun, insterad of away from it as in winter. So this would obviously be the time of extreme heat. There is never a day in any place where it is "most hot", these days vary, but using this understanding of the earth in relation to the sun, these days are the best for being the hottest. Also, we are told that abstaining(fasting) is for a fixed number of days or counted days. We are told to fast at this time just like people before us had to. Shakespeare writes about this time in his story "A Midsummer nights dream". There was an emporer, I cannot recal who, who used to close the gates of his castle during these four days. In all history people used to celebrating these periods by sleeping and fasting and meditating. I was listening to someone the other day who follows the Ausarian religion of ancient egypt, and he stated this was a time when you are to fast , meditate, and sleep and you can achieve what is called a Lucid Dream, where you wake up IN your dream. You realize you are dreaming but can control what is going on. This is just some info I wanted to share with you all, not sure how it fits or if it fits.

Peace all, I would like to share an 'alternate' understanding of the issue of 'witnessing' the month.... Here are the exisiting translations 002.185 YUSUFALI Ramadhan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (Between right and wrong). 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. Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful. PICKTHAL The 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 of you is present, 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. SHAKIR The month of Ramazan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the distinction; therefore whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast therein, and whoever is sick or upon a journey, then (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days; Allah desires ease for you, and He does not desire for you difficulty, and (He desires) that you should complete the number and that you should exalt the greatness of Allah for His having guided you and that you may give thanks. KHALIFA Ramadan is the month during which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein. Those who are ill or traveling may substitute the same number of other days. GOD wishes for you convenience, not hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify GOD for guiding you, and to express your appreciation. We have been discussing two possibilities thus far That the "witnessing" means "testifying" to Islam and thus you are now a Muslim and obliged to fast. That the "witnessing" is of the actual moon cresent which begins the fast. I now believe that both options are 'incorrect' and that the meaning is quite different as I translate below "A month in early Autumn, in which the Quran was sent down as a guide to the people and a clarification of the guidance and the criterion. Therefore, whoever of you can observe the season, then let him fast therein. And whoever is ill or traveling, then the same number from different days. God wants to bring you ease and not to bring you hardship; and so that you may complete the count, and glorify God for what He Has guided you, that you may be thankful." (2185) Since we are dealing with a "season" (Ramadhan) then the logical undertsanding is that people who are able to "witness" the "season" are the ones who observe it as the time decreed by God is very specific... Therefore, people who are unaware of the measurement of the seasons are exempt, as are people who live in climates where the season cannot exist (extreme norht or south), or people who are not on earth and are traveling in space, etc... Layth

Peace Layth, I am confused about when is the month of Ramadhan. Is it in August or the ninth month after the autumn Equinox.

Ramadan The moon's conjunction is on Saturday October 25, 2003 at 1250 UT i.e., 850 am Eastern Daylight Time - 550 am Pacific Daylight Time. On Oct 25, the moon is going to be less than 13 hours old on West coast of USA, and impossible to see. On Oct 26, the moon can be seen in most of the world, except Japan, Northern Asia, and most of Europe. In England, it may not be seen even on October 26, although it is going to be 28 hours old, because it will be only 3 degrees above horizon at sunset and the glow of sunlight will make it very difficult to see. The first day of Ramadan will be on October 27, 2003 for Australia, Africa and Americas, and on October 28, 2003 for Japan, Northern Asia, and most of Europe. England is in a situation that moon may or may not be seen on October 26. Peace