Q. Do we look for Lailat Al-Qadr, or the Night of Power, in the correct month and time of year? I am confused on account that God states that the Qur’an was sent down on that night, and we know that its revelation took place 13 years before the Prophet’s emigration to Madinah, i..e. Hijra, which happens to be the start of the Islamic calendar. Did the hijra take place in the month of Muharram? If Muharram was the first month of the year before Islam, was it a coincidence that the hijra took place in that month? Did it actually take place on the first day of that month? On the other hand, if the months have been shifted to start the calendar, then we are not looking for the Night of Power at the right time. Please comment.
Haris Deen, Hofuf
A. No, the Prophet’s journey from Makkah to Madinah did not take place in the month of Muharram, but we look for the Lailat Al-Qadr, or the Night of Power, at the right time. There was no shift in the months of the year. We are required to fast in the month of Ramadan, and we have been doing so since the second year of the hijra.
When Umar consulted the Prophet’s companions about dating Islamic history, the consultation concentrated on which event was the most important so as to date events by it. They agreed that the Prophet’s hijra was this event, because it signaled a new age when people were able to worship God alone in security and peace, fearing no persecution. They proclaimed high and loud that they were Muslims submitting themselves and all their affairs to God.
This meant that the year in which the hijra took place was the start of the Islamic calendar. It does not mean that the event itself took place on the first day of that year. Otherwise we would go into further details so as to ask whether the Islamic calendar starts on the day the Prophet started his journey to Madinah, or on the day he arrived there. As you know the journey took him several days to complete, and he stayed in the Cave of Thawr for three days, and in Qibaa for two weeks.
The choice concentrated on the event, and when it was chosen, the year in which it took place was considered the first year of the Islamic calendar. But the year started on its normal day, 1 Muharram, i.e. more than 2 months before the actual event. We say, then, that the hijra took place in the third month of year 1 of the Islamic calendar. This makes it clear that Muharram was recognized as the first month of the year long before Islam. There was no change of the order of months after Islam. In fact such changes were often made, not in the actual months themselves, but in the rules applicable to them, before the advent of Islam. The Qur’an denounces that and describes it as “an increase in disbelief.” Hence, Islam would not perpetrate any such thing.
It remains to be said that the hijra became possible after the Ansar gave the Prophet their pledge to protect him and defend Islam whatever that might take. That pledge took place during the pilgrimage, on 11 Dhul-Hijjah. The Prophet received his instructions to emigrate two and a half months later. He immediately started and arrived in Madinah on 12th Rabie Al-Awwal. The reader’s confusion arises from thinking that the Islamic calendar begins with the actual event itself. That is not the case.
Satan and stoning at the Jamrahs
Q. During pilgrimage, Muslim do the ritual of stoning at three spots which people call: big, medium and small shaitan, or Satan. Are there 3 different kinds of satans, or do these belong to Satan’s family? Does he have a family?
Pascal, Alkhobar
A. The three adjectives and the word shaitan are simply popular usage. The fact is that there is no devil or Satan at any of these places. The correct name of the whole area is Aqabah, and each of the stoning places is called Jamrah. The name denotes that each one is the place where jimar, i.e. little stones, are thrown. In Arabic they are called the first or nearest, the middle and the grand Jamrahs. These descriptions are easy to understand. The first is the nearest to Mina where the pilgrims stay. The grand Jamrah is called grand because it is the only one to be stoned on the first day. Thus, stoning at this Jamrah is done on 3 or 4 successive days, while at the other two it is done one day less.
The whole ritual of stoning commemorates Prophet Abraham’s action when he wanted to sacrifice his son Ishmael, to carry out God’s order. Satan tried to persuade him not to do so, in order to prevent him from obeying God. Abraham refused to listen to him and tried to drive him away by throwing stones at him. He shifted his place twice and Satan still tried to persuade him not to do the sacrifice, but he stoned him every time. That is the action we commemorate, expressing our resolve that we will obey God in all situations. It is not an action of stoning Satan himself, because Satan is not there at the Jamrahs.
Yes Satan has a family. God says in the Qur’an: “When we told the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ they all prostrated themselves, except Iblis. He was one of the jinn, and he turned away from his Lord’s command. Will you, then, take him and his offspring for your masters instead of Me, although they are your foes? How vile an exchange on the part of the evildoers.” (18: 50)
Arab News Islam 20 December 2002
