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Misri Calendar

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 1:58 pm
by S. Insaf
Friends,
I have come to this reference while studying Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim’s (996-1021) period in “Religion, Learning and Science in the Abbasid period” Cambridge History of Arabic Literature:-

“The great writer, Dai, Hamid al-Din Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Kirmani (Ahmed Kirmani) in 944 AD introduced in his tract (rasala) Risalat al-Mudi’ah a fixed Calendar (known as Fatimid or Misri Calendar) not depending on the sighting of crescent moon for the beginning of a month.”

So the Misri Calendar is a Fatimid introduction. Off course we still do not know who actually worked it out.
This is only for general information.

Re: Misri Calendar

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 5:10 pm
by mhp
Bohras are also muslims and muslims of whole world are followers of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), we, the bohras are also followers of Prophet Mohammad and all agreed that prophet used to depend on the sighting of crescent moon for the begining of a month, so why we have made this misri calander? Except bohras nobody seems to follow this calander, why this contradiction. Saif Bhai ?

Re: Misri Calendar

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 3:13 am
by S. Insaf
During the holy Prophet's time Calendar and watches were not popular. Arabia was a desert where sky used to be crystal clear and sighting of moon and stars was a common practice especially by the travelers.
Also literacy level was not high and hardly few knew three Rs. So it was easy to sight moon and start a month.
But today the science has advanced to such an extent that one can predict happenings for many hundred years in advance. And confusion witnessed year after year in sighting moon by different persons on cloudy sky amidst high rise buildings and starting Ramadan and celebrating Idd on different day.
Arabs and Muslims have contributed a lot in the fields of Mathematics, Chemistry and Medicines.
So according to me it is high time that Muslims in general should adopt the practice of a fixed calendar and stop sighting of moon to know the beginning of a month.

Re: Misri Calendar

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 6:43 am
by SBM
S Insaf Bhai
Ameen to your advice. In USA Fiqh Council has begun that practice and at the current time only Sunni Madhabs are on Board but I was told that by next year Shias will be part of that Council and inshallah Many more Moques (Shia and Sunni) in USA will start following Fixed date based on calculation of Moon sighting and thus start Ramadan and Eid.

Re: Misri Calendar

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 1:16 pm
by S. Insaf
In my childhood my father was impressing upoun me the glory and greatness of Islam so he said : All the Muslims of entire word pray facing in one direction at one time. Then when I grow up I realised that when I was observing morning namaz half of world was sleeping or was going to sleep. Then I realised that world being round in shape facing in just one direction from everywhere is just not feasible. I came out of that mind set with lots of difficulty.
Time of namaz in hours minutes and seconds was not fixed by Quran. Namaz timings were fixed only after invention of calendar and watch.

Re: Misri Calendar

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 1:23 pm
by S. Insaf
Also please read this reply of Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer to Janab Iftikhar Husain of Hydrabad:-
Dear Insaf
Please forward my reply to Iftekhar Husain saheb and write my e-mail address
to him also.
Dear Iftikhar saheb,
You have asked question about sighting the moon. What is the position in Qur'an and hadith. Qur'an no where says that moon should be sighted with ones own eyes. Qur'an says various stages of moon's size is for knowing time and performance of hajj. Thus verse 189 of second chapter (al-Baqaraah) says, "They ask thee of new moons (ahillah). say: They are times appointed for people and (for) pilgrimage." There is no mention here that moon be sighted with naked eye. It only says new moons are meant for calculating time. Now moons position can be ascertained through calculations or if science of astronomy is not known it could be sighted by eye which creates uncertainty. What is thus necessary is fixing time, not its method.
During Holy Prophet's time since astronomy was not known to Arabs, Prophet used to see new moon with his own eyes and this was followed by Muslims of later generations.
But by the time Islam spread to various other countries where knowledge of astronomy and heavenly bodies was known calculations were made and calendar prepared. This calendar was enforced by Fatemi imams and hence it came to be known as Misri Calendar. I feel all Muslims should follow this calendar to avoid confusion every year especially for celebrating Eid. It is no where written in Qur'an that fasting should be 29 or 30 days. Duration mentioned is one month.
If the Prophet sighted moon Prophet also rode camels. Do we ride camels today? Do we not ride cars, buses, trains and aircrafts? These are means, not goals. Goal is time, to fast, to perform Hajj whether we do it by sighting moon or by calculating position of moon.
As for reciting khutba in those days khutba was recited in the name of ruler (Caliph, Sultan or Imam) and since according to Bohras Imam is in seclusion and his identity is not known in whose name khutba should be recited?
But today we all live under secular democracy and there is no question of reciting khutba in the name of any ruler. Rulers are now democratically elected, not religiously appointed. Sunni Muslims also recite khutba these days without mentioning name of any ruler. So Bohras also could do it but since tradition is more important than reason, tradition goes on.
Best wishes,
Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer
Centre for Study of Society and Secularism
602 & 603, Silver Star, Behind BEST Bus Depot,
Santacruz (E), Mumbai:- 400 055.
E-mail: csss@mtnl.net.in
Website: www.csss-isla.com
Tel. 91-22-26149668, 26102089
Fax: 91-22- 26100712

Re: Misri Calendar

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:41 pm
by candela
Regardless of whether or not it is better to define the start of the month by moon-sighting or by astronomical calculation, note that the Fatimid calendar doesn't really go by either. The Fatimid calendar according to Wikipedia is also known as the Tabular Islamic calendar. Looking at the article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabular_Islamic_calendar), one sees that "It has the same year numbers and months [as the Islamic calendar], but the months are determined by arithmetic rules rather than by observation or astronomical calculations" (brackets and emphasis added). It is basically made to match the true lunar calendar in the long run, more-or-less assigning 30 days and 29 days to every other month. One consequence of this is, according to the Wikipedia article on the Islamic calendar, "In the long term, [the Tabular Islamic calendar] is accurate to one day in about 2500 years. It also deviates up to about 1 or 2 days in the short term."

Thus if the rest of the Muslim world says that a month begins on such-and-such day, and the Fatimid calendar disagrees, the Fatimid calendar is likely incorrect (since it is expected to be off by 1-2 days). It is distinct from the Islamic calendar, which goes by either moon-sighting or real astronomical calculations. This isn't to say necessarily that the Fatimid calendar is bad (it has its merits), but one should use it w/ the understanding that it could always be off by a day or two.

Re: Misri Calendar

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 11:55 pm
by Al-Muizz
Listen, the ,Misri calender actually makes sense. Even the Holy Quran eloquently says it in Sura Rahaman, the preciseness of the sun and moon is just that-precise....unlike the rest of the Muslims who are busy looking for the moon.

Infact, I posit that by looking for the moon, you are challenging Alaah Subhanahu who has explicitly stated that the movement of the sun and moon occurs precisely when they should. So, how can a mortal man call when the moon is full or not? This kind of stupidity is rampant among the illiterate and ignorant-who apparently have cell phones and GPS devices but still think since they didn't see the moon it ain't there.

If they choose to remain in the dark ages, so be it. You can take a camel to water.............

Re: Misri Calendar

Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 6:42 am
by Muslim First
Suggested Global Islamic Calendar

http://moonsighting.com/faq_ms.html#global

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON MOON-SIGHTING
http://moonsighting.com/faq_ms.html#top

Re: Misri Calendar

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:08 pm
by ghulam muhammed
Doesnt Misri calendar got something to do with Misr (Egypt) regarding its origin and acceptance ?

Re: Misri Calendar

Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:37 pm
by Safiuddin
gm,
That's probably likely true. The Fatimids settled Egypt and the Misri calendar appearred . . .prob developed during Fatimid ruler's times. (~AD 1200 ?) I'm guesstimating here. . .someone please correct me if I'm off. ..