Wednesday, January 09, 2008
[[ Yes, it's that time of the month.. ]]
Muharram - محرّم
..is the first month of the Islamic calendar. Now I've to admit that at a very young age and being taught in an International school, I was only told to know the 12 months - January all the way till December. And quite honestly, at a young age I never knew that "Ramadhan" is one of the months in the Islamic calendar! Call me ignorant but I simply thought it (Ramadhan) is a 30-day period that Muslims abstain from eating/drinking and other physical needs during the daylight hours.
But as I grew older (and by now wiser, I hope), I question ---- what is the Islamic calendar?
And here's what I've got to share:
"The Islamic calendar is used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic holy days. It is a lunar calendar having 12 lunar months in a year of about 354 days. Because this lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year, Islamic holy days, although celebrated on fixed dates in their own calendar, usually shift 11 days earlier each successive solar year."
Then I question ---- so what are the "names" of the 12 Islamic months?
Answer:
1: Muharram محرّم "Forbidden"
2: Safar صفر "Yellow" or "Empty"
3: Rabi' al-Awwal ربيع الأول "First Spring"
4: Rabi' al-Thani ربيع الآخر أو ربيع الثاني "Second Spring"
5: Jumada al-Awwal جمادى الأول "First Freeze"
6: Jumada al-Thani جمادى الآخر أو جمادى الثاني "Second Freeze"
7: Rajab رجب "To respect"
8: Sya'aban شعبان "To spread and distribute"
9: Ramadhan رمضان "Parched Thirst"
10: Syawwal شوّال "To be light and vigorous"
11: Dhu al-Qa'dah ذو القعدة "The Month of Rest"
12: Dhu al-Hijjah ذو الحجة "The Month of Hajj"
I won't be talking of ALL the 12 months but I'd want to touch on just one - Muharram.
The significance of this particular month is solely because it is TODAY. Yes, as of the Maghrib Prayer (GMT +8), it'll be the Islamic New Year - 1 Muharram 1429. Though 1 January 2008 is New Year based on the Gregorian calendar, today will be the Islamic New Year - the day the Prophet's migration from Mecca to Medina began (approximately 622 A.D.).
Now these months may be based on the Islamic calendar but that doesn't mean there're no "months" based on the Gregorian's. Coming from an International school and taking French as a 2nd language, Arabic as a 3rd, I realised that they (the months) may sound a tad different, but compared to English, they're all pretty much the same.
English / French / Arabic
January / Janvier / Yanayir
February / Février / Fibrair
March / Mars / Mayu
April / Avril / Ibrel
May / Mai / Mayu
June / Juin / Yunio
July / Juillet / Yulio
August / Août / Aghustus
September / Septembre / Sibtimbur
October / Octobre / Uktoober
November / Novembre / Nofimber
December / Décembre / Disumber
I question --- so if there's already the "normal" months, why is there a need for the Islamic months? Why not, we just make do with the Gregorian calendar?
Answer:
"The Islamic calendar is the calendar used to date events used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic holy days."
(or easily said --- the use of the Gregorian calendar is for civil purposes, whereas the Islamic calendar is for religious purposes)
Labels: Muharram 1429 / January 2008
| 3:54 PM |
This is not the end.
This is not even the beginning of the end.
It is, instead, the end of the beginning..
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