The Night of Decree (December 21st)
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Peace,
Just to share some interesting reading I came across.
A writer indicated that the Night of Decree in which the Quran was first revealed is December 21st (the longest night of the year) since God has emphasized time and time again how the night is full of blessing (more than the day). If so, then logic dictates that such a night would be the longest out of all nights (to maximize its effect).
The writer goes on to point out how God spoke to Moses in the winter (as evidenced by Moses seeking the fire to warn his family when he saw the burning bush).
The writer also goes on to point out how the reference to Mohammed as being
covered in a blankethas more to do with the cold of the weather and less to do with the fiction of him shivering from the reveleation.Pushing further in this direction, it would indicate that there is not one fast, but two
10 day fast decreed each year since before the Quran
30 days fast decreed when the ramadhan sets inI believe for the time being we should hold off any any talk of fasting during the summer until this information is researched.
Article in Arabic http//bennour2.phpbb3.net/ftopic23.html
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Peace,
Very interresting but to keep in mind, you don't immediatly need winter for the cold, as you know nights in the deserts can be cold enough. So i don't really see any good points in his arguments.
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SO you're saying "laylat al- Qadr " is the night of December 21st?? ( Winter Solstice ).
Well, why not September 21st?? ( Equinox ). Since the Quran was revealed in a hot month, it's safe to assume that if we fix the "hijri" lunar months and make them stable with the seasons ( so they don't shift 11 days every year as they do now ), then ramadan could be the 9th month of the year..
The year would begin with Muharram, and continue as such
1- Muharram = January
2- Safar= February
3- Rabee3 al Awwal = ( first spring ) = March
4- Rabee3 al Thani = ( second spring ) = April
5- Jamadi al- awwal = May
6- Jamadi al thani = June
7- Rajab = July
8- Shaaban = August
9- Ramadan = ( late summer, when earth is very hot during day ) = September
10- Shawwal = October
11- Zhulqa3da = November
12- Zhulhijja = DecemberNow, if we follow this logic, we can see he following
a- The year always begins with the 4 "hurum" months ( winter / spring ). During these 4 months, it is forbidden to fight wars or hunt wild land mamals, because this is the time when they breed. So, the 4 "hurum" months are Muharram , Safar, Rabee 1, and Rabee 2.
b- The month of Ramadan ( 9th month of the year ) comes in late summer , when the earth has accumulated heat from the 3 summer months preceeding it. In it, there is the Night of the Equinox ( which could be "laylat al-Qadr" - ie September 21st ).
c- After the month of Ramadan come the 3 months of Hajj, which are Shawwal, Zhulqi3da, and Zhulhijja. This coinsides with the first 3 verses of Surra no. 9 of the Reading, where God , through the Prophet , made a declaration to the people , on the Day of Hajj al-Akbar* , that the 'mushrikeen" would be allowed to roam freely throughout the land for the next 4 months ( the "hurum" months ).
Just my thoughts..
Your feedback is welcome..g
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Peace Pazuzu
I just picked up on Rabbie' Al Awal and Rabbie' Al Thani, Rabbie' in arabic means spring, so maybe these were meant to coincide exactly with that before they decided (in the Ummayad reign) to let go of the lunar-solar calendar and adopt a pure lunar calendar...
I think you are onto something there... -
Peace,
Very interresting but to keep in mind, you don't immediatly need winter for the cold, as you know nights in the deserts can be cold enough. So i don't really see any good points in his arguments.
Not during the summer they are not (I should know, I live in a desert area).
The crux of the srgument is not about the cold or heat, but his argument is that since God decided to reveal His blessings during the night (not the day) would it make more sence that such a night be as long as possible so that God
s blessings can encompass more time, or does it make sence that the night is short so as to limit the period of Gods blessings.Obviously, the answer is that the night should be longer going in-line with God`s mercy to mankind...
The longest night of the year is the winter solistice (dec 21). Then the writer goes on to link this finding with the evedince of the prophets receiving the revelation while it was cold.
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Peace be upon you,
The winter solstice lasts from 12/21-12/24, so there are a few nights to pick from here which are all the longest nights. They are all the same length of night because the sun has stopped (sol-sun / sticia-stand still) and doesnt start back the other direction untl 12/25. I do agree however that the winter solstice is a powerful time, but not based on this article. Its the best time to go within your Nafs and reprogram.
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Peace brother Layth,
Thank you for sharing this interesting article.
A writer indicated that the Night of Decree in which the Quran was first revealed is December 21st (the longest night of the year) since God has emphasized time and time again how the night is full of blessing (more than the day). If so, then logic dictates that such a night would be the longest out of all nights (to maximize its effect).
The writer seems to acknowledge the fact that the word "ramadan" is not meaningless but has to do with the season/timing. Unfortunately, he then goes on to completely ignore the clear meaning of the word "ramdan". I don't think that his argument about "length" really holds water because wisdom dictates that quality matters more than quantity.
The writer goes on to point out how God spoke to Moses in the winter (as evidenced by Moses seeking the fire to warn his family when he saw the burning bush).
The writer also goes on to point out how the reference to Mohammed as beingcovered in a blankethas more to do with the cold of the weather and less to do with the fiction of him shivering from the reveleation.Those references do not have anything to do with when the great reading was descended. Moreover, people can also shiver when they have fever.
Pushing further in this direction, it would indicate that there is not one fast, but two
10 day fast decreed each year since before the Quran
30 days fast decreed when the ramadhan sets inThe 30 day fictitious month argument (no calendar has 30 days fixed periods for obvious reasons such as the 5 days leftover) is based on false 1 to 1 linking between the number of days to fast and the number of poor to feed. The passage in 589 completely destroys that argument.
Peace,
Ayman
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Peace Ayman,
The writer seems to acknowledge the fact that the word "ramadan" is not meaningless but has to do with the season/timing. Unfortunately, he then goes on to completely ignore the clear meaning of the word "ramdan". I don't think that his argument about "length" really holds water because wisdom dictates that quality matters more than quantity.
If I recall you discarded the common meaning of
shaharas being that which is being revealed, and went on to champion a less used/known meaning offull moon. I would say this writer is not far from what you are doing...He looked at the context and saw thatheatdoes not fit, then he looked around for other meanings to the word (in this case he guessed what the meaning may be).I looked at
ramadhaand its derivates, and one of the meanings given in the Arabic-Arabic dictionary wasto hope/wish/intend(rammadha alsiyaam = nawahu).Therefore, it is plauasible that Ramadhan neither means cold or hot, but is a month of
hopeas used in the context of 2185.As for the time of revealtion being cold (hence the prophet being blanketted), I take the story of Moses as being more detailed where he specifically tells his family he will get a peice from the fire so that
you may be warmed. If God spoke to Moses on laylat alqadr, then it is indeed a night at which time it is cold (at least it rules out the summer months as the nights are never cold). -
As for the time of revealtion being cold (hence the prophet being blanketted), I take the story of Moses as being more detailed where he specifically tells his family he will get a peice from the fire so that
you may be warmed. If God spoke to Moses on laylat alqadr, then it is indeed a night at which time it is cold (at least it rules out the summer months as the nights are never cold).OK, but how do we know that the verses which begin with "Oh, mantled one" or "Oh,cloacked one, arise and warn.."
are the first verses to be revealed?? Just because the receiver of the Quran was wearing a cloack to protect himself from the cold when he received these verses, that does not necessarily prove that "laylat al- Qadr" ( or Ramadan, for that matter ) is a cold winter night.. Remember that the Quran was revealed over many years, so the verses in question are just two of many, and do not necessarily mark the begining of the revelation.. -
Peace brother Layth,
If I recall you discarded the common meaning of
shaharas being that which is being revealed, and went on to champion a less used/known meaning offull moon.The common meaning of "shahr" is not "that which is being revealed". When you say that someone is "mashhur", this doesn't mean that he is being revealed. It means he is famous and obvious. I agree that the meaning of "full-moon" is less known in Modern Arabic but it is very well known in Classical Arabic and hence it is documented as one of the meanings of "shahr" by Lisan Al-3arab.
I would say this writer is not far from what you are doing...He looked at the context and saw that
heatdoes not fit, then he looked around for other meanings to the word (in this case he guessed what the meaning may be).This is very far from what I did. I didn't guess anything. I found the meaning of "full-moon" documented in Lisan Al-3arab. On the other hand, the author is inventing new meanings, not just for "ramadan" but also for "shahr". None of the Classical Arabic dictionaries give the meaning of "shahr" as a 30 day period. This meaning is completely invented by the author. Moreover, the author of the article makes a long thesis about how the period should be a fixed 30 days regardless of lunar cycles and cites as an example the count of the waiting period for the woman whose husband has died and claims that this should always be fixed. However, he ignores the fact that in 2228 the waiting period for divorced women is three menstruations, which is clearly NOT a fixed period. This completely demolishes his argument.
I looked at
ramadhaand its derivates, and one of the meanings given in the Arabic-Arabic dictionary wasto hope/wish/intend(rammadha alsiyaam = nawahu).This is not a pre-quranic meaning.
Therefore, it is plauasible that Ramadhan neither means cold or hot, but is a month of
hopeas used in the context of 2185.I don't see how "hope" fits in there.
As for the time of revealtion being cold (hence the prophet being blanketted), I take the story of Moses as being more detailed where he specifically tells his family he will get a peice from the fire so that
you may be warmed. If God spoke to Moses on laylat alqadr, then it is indeed a night at which time it is cold (at least it rules out the summer months as the nights are never cold).The revelation of the great reading has nothing to do with Moses. If one assumes that all books were revealed during the same time, then the time when Moses received the tablets is more likely to coincide with the timing of the night of measure (because it involves revelation of the book).
Peace,
Ayman
