Combining facts of natural science with interpretation of the Holy Qur'an and prophetic hadith, from a perspective of unwavering faith in God the Creator and Sustainer of All, Muslim author Mark Brustman presents a bold but broadly evidenced thesis: the strictly lunar calendar followed by Muslims of every sect around the world is not the calendar that was intended for Islam and revealed to and taught by the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's calendar was lunisolar, with Ramadan tied to the southward equinox. Instead, the Muslim world can credit the second caliph 'Umar ibn al-Khattab for launching the rotation of its seasonally unanchored calendar months. 'Umar allowed a reinterpretation of verse 9:37, in order to deflect its sharp attack on rabbinical leadership, whose cooperation he needed in running his fast-expanding multicultural empire. Each chapter approaches the argument from a different angle, and primary sources of the Islamic classical era are quoted in the original Arabic with English translation, so readers can examine the texts for themselves.
Combining facts of natural science with interpretation of the Holy Qur'an and prophetic hadith, from a perspective of unwavering faith in God the Creator and Sustainer of All, Muslim author Mark Brustman presents a bold but broadly evidenced thesis: the strictly lunar calendar followed by Muslims of every sect around the world is not the calendar that was intended for Islam and revealed to and taught by the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's calendar was lunisolar, with Ramadan tied to the southward equinox. Instead, the Muslim world can credit the second caliph 'Umar ibn al-Khattab for launching the rotation of its seasonally unanchored calendar months. 'Umar allowed a reinterpretation of verse 9:37, in order to deflect its sharp attack on rabbinical leadership, whose cooperation he needed in running his fast-expanding multicultural empire. Each chapter approaches the argument from a different angle, and primary sources of the Islamic classical era are quoted in the original Arabic with English translation, so readers can examine the texts for themselves.
