![]() Muslims were accustomed to the lunar calendar, which they had used prior to Islam, but as they spread rapidly into new regions, they came in contact with other calendars based on the movement of the sun. ![]() The primary concerns of astronomers were the preparation of calendars specifying the times of prayer and the accurate determination of the Qibla direction, since worshippers prayed facing Mecca, the holy shrine of Islam. This message, combined with the natural inclination of Middle East nomads living in vast deserts to use the stars in the dome of sky to guide them on their way, meant that right from the beginning, Islamic culture lent new momentum to the study of astronomy, which acquired a special importance. The Islamic religion, whose rituals were based on the lunar calendar, frequently calls the attention of Muslims to the heavens in the Koran, demonstrating the close relationship with astronomy in Muslim culture. This calendar was important in defining the times of religious observances that were new to the Muslim community. The lunar calendar used by pre-Islamic Arabian tribes continued to be used, with modifications, to regulate social and religious life following the advent of Islam.įigure 3: A detail of an almanac cover page. Time is one of the great puzzles with which human beings have grappled throughout history, and its enigmatic nature is expressed by the famous Turkish poet Necip Fazil Kisakurek in one of his poems:įor desert tribes and caravan travellers, which kept their activity to a minimum in the pitiless heat of day, preferring to travel by night, it was natural that the moon should take precedence over the sun in timekeeping. For this reason, no one can have the last word where explaining time is concerned. The modern philosopher Alfred North Whitehead said in substance that it is impossible to meditate on the concept of time and the mystery of the creative process of nature without an overwhelming emotion at the limitations of human intelligence. Saint Augustine remarked on the difficulty of finding a satisfactory answer to the question: “What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is if I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know”. Pinning down this controversial dimension in concrete terms had preoccupied human beings everywhere for many centuries. From their observations and calculations, and in particular the task of drawing up calendars, they attempted to make deductions about time itself. Thus the astronomers sought to understand the abstract concepts relating to time in the course of their astronomical work. The concept of time was widely debated by Islamic philosophers, many of whom tackled the question of time and space. This calendar for the year of the monkey by Hamdi Mustafa b. This kind of calendar was based on a cycle of 12 months, each corresponding to a different animal. ![]() By doing so, they came to play a leading role in the advance of astronomy.įigure 1: A cover page of an astrological table in MS K 1069, Topkapi Palace Museum Library in Istanbul.įigure 2: Traditional Turkish Calendar (1452). Therefore, from early on, Muslim scholars began to follow the movements of these heavenly bodies in their endeavour to accurately measure time. Daily affairs and work are organised within this framework structured around the of times of prayer, defined according to the positions of the Sun by day, and the moon and its phases by night. Daily, weekly and yearly, worship is laid out in a specific regular system that enables people to lead their life in a productive way. Islam, like other religions and cultures, attaches a great importance to the structuring of each day so as to make the best use of time. Neither astrologers nor timekeepers know the long midwinter nightĪsk he who is sunk in despond how many hours the nights last. We republish it in a new editing and present it as a modest gift to our readers, with our best wishes for a happy and peaceful new Hijri year 1431. 72-85), then republished on Muslim Heritage in February 2007. This article was first published in Art and Culture Magazine (Istanbul, winter 2004, Issue 11, pp. A special concern is devoted to the Ottoman contributions in this field. The following article presents a survey on the Islamic hijri calendar and the varieties of timekeeping devices related to it. ![]() The development of the Islamic calendar and the different tasks related to it played a leading role in the advance of Arabic astronomy as an applied and theoretical science. ![]() From the beginning of the Islamic history, the scholars developed the Islamic hijri calendar as a lunar calendar designed to organize timekeeping for religious and social needs. ![]()
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