Calculating the lunar year Friday, 17 June 2011 03:17

In the first of the above verses, Allah has clearly revealed that the Moon will be a means of measurement for people to calculate the year. Furthermore, our attention is also drawn to the fact that these calculations will be performed according to the positions of the Moon as it revolves in its orbit. Since the angles between the Earth and Moon and the Moon and Sun constantly change, we see the Moon in different forms at different times. Furthermore, our ability to see the Moon is made possible by the fact that it is illuminated by the Sun. The amount of the lighted half of the Moon we see from Earth changes. Bearing in mind these changes, a number of calculations can be made, making it possible for human beings to measure the year.

In former times a month was calculated as the time between two full moons, or the time it took the Moon to travel around the Earth. According to this, one month was equal to 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes. This is known as the “lunar month.” Twelve lunar months represent one year, according to the Hijrah calendar. However, there is a difference of eleven days between the Hijrah calendar and the Gregorian calendar, in which a year is the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. Indeed, attention is drawn to this difference in another verse:

“And We have decreed set phases for the moon, until it ends up looking like an old date branch. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon nor for the night to outstrip the day; each one is swimming in a sphere.” (Quran, 36:39-40)The Moon does not follow a regular orbit like the satellites of other planets. As it orbits the Earth, it sometimes moves behind it and sometimes in front. As it also moves with the earth around the sun, it actually follows a constant pattern resembling the letter “S” in space. This route, traced by the Moon in space, is described in the Quran as resembling an old date branch and does indeed resemble the twisted form of the date tree branch. Indeed, the word “urjoon” employed in the Quran refers to a thin and twisted date branch and is used to describe that part left after the fruit has been picked. The way that this branch is described as “old” is also most appropriate since old date branches are thinner and more twisted. Since the Moon revolves around the Sun together with the Earth, it follows a path through space which resembles the letter “S.” The appearance of this orbit resembles the twisted shape of a dry date branch, as is revealed in the Quran. There is no doubt that it was impossible for anyone to have any knowledge about the orbit of the Moon 1,400 years ago. The way that this pattern, identified by modern technology and accumulated knowledge, was revealed in the Holy Book is yet another miracle of the Quran.

www.miraclesofthequran.com