Why does Islam have lunar calendar?

[cloudyday2]

I was going through a list of calendars for different cultures, and Islam is almost unique in using a strictly lunar calendar. Most cultures either use a solar calendar or a lunisolar calendar to prevent the months from drifting out-of-sync with the sun. Here is the list ( List of calendars - Wikipedia ). Strictly lunar calendars are almost non-existent. Even relatively primitive societies used more sophisticated calendars, so why did Islam use this seemingly deficient type of calendar? I read somewhere that Muhammad actually insisted on the lunar calendar. Why?

Here are some of my thoughts:
(1) Allah was originally a moon god. Maybe the strictly lunar calendar was viewed as an expression of strict devotion to Allah, the moon god, exclusively?
(2) Maybe one of the prominent factions behind the formation of Islam worshiped the moon and used this strictly lunar calendar for the reasons in (1)?
(3) Maybe Muhammad wanted a very simplistic grass-roots type of calendar system?

 

[Robban]

I was going through a list of calendars for different cultures, and Islam is almost unique in using a strictly lunar calendar. Most cultures either use a solar calendar or a lunisolar calendar to prevent the months from drifting out-of-sync with the sun. Here is the list ( List of calendars - Wikipedia ). Strictly lunar calendars are almost non-existent. Even relatively primitive societies used more sophisticated calendars, so why did Islam use this seemingly deficient type of calendar? I read somewhere that Muhammad actually insisted on the lunar calendar. Why?

Here are some of my thoughts:
(1) Allah was originally a moon god. Maybe the strictly lunar calendar was viewed as an expression of strict devotion to Allah, the moon god, exclusively?
(2) Maybe one of the prominent factions behind the formation of Islam worshiped the moon and used this strictly lunar calendar for the reasons in (1)?
(3) Maybe Muhammad wanted a very simplistic grass-roots type of calendar system?

Islam is by no means unique in this.

The Hebrew calender is decided by the moon.
To this day today,

But doing buisness in the world and other things is more practical use the secular calender.

If you watch the full moon is the 15th day of the month on the Hebrew calender.

 

[DaisyDay]

Allah is derived from Yahweh, not a moon god. The culture used a lunar calendar, so that's what Mohammad did as well.

 

[cloudyday2]

Islam is by no means unique in this.

The Hebrew calender is decided by the moon.
To this day today,

But doing buisness in the world and other things is more practical use the secular calender.

If you watch the full moon is the 15th day of the month on the Hebrew calender.

The Hebrew calendar is actually a lunisolar calendar instead of a strictly lunar calendar like Islam's. This Islamic months actually drift through all seasons. Most calendars have a connection to agriculture through harvest festivals, timing of the Nile flood, etc., so the months aren't allowed to drift much.

The Hebrew lunar year is about eleven days shorter than the solar year and uses the 19-year Metonic cycle to bring it into line with the solar year, with the addition of an intercalary month every two or three years, for a total of seven times per 19 years.

Hebrew calendar - Wikipedia

 

[cloudyday2]

Allah is derived from Yahweh, not a moon god. The culture used a lunar calendar, so that's what Mohammad did as well.

What culture do you think had used this strictly lunar calendar? Lunisolar calendars were common, but strictly lunar calendars were rare. I was looking at this issue, because I thought it might give clues to the true origins of Islam. Apparently the ancient Assyrians used a strictly lunar calendar. Harran was a center for moon worship and there was also a tradition of venerating meteorites similar to Islam.

 

[Robban]

The Hebrew calendar is actually a lunisolar calendar instead of a strictly lunar calendar like Islam's. This Islamic months actually drift through all seasons. Most calendars have a connection to agriculture through harvest festivals, timing of the Nile flood, etc., so the months aren't allowed to drift much.

Hebrew calendar - Wikipedia

The moon is used to calculate times dates festivities etc, also tides

It is in Torah.

Islam have a moon system that as far as I know is not the same.

 

[Robban]

There is a story about the sun and the moon,

The moon became jealous of the sun,

"Why should he shine so brightly" complained the moon,

Said God to the moon,

"Can two kings wear the same crown? "

And the moon got job of deciding times etc.

 

[Robban]

There is a story about the sun and the moon,

The moon became jealous of the sun,

"Why should he shine so brightly" complained the moon,

Said God to the moon,

"Can two kings wear the same crown? "

And the moon got job of deciding times etc.

Also the moon was told,

"You too will be My faithful witness in the sky."

 

[ViaCrucis]

Allah is derived from Yahweh, not a moon god. The culture used a lunar calendar, so that's what Mohammad did as well.

Allah is simply the Arabic word for "god" (illah) with the definite article ("-al"); it is therefore cognate with other Semitic words such as Hebrew Eloah or Syriac Aloha. There's no relationship with the Tetragrammaton.

As for the rest, all correct.

The reason Islam uses a lunar calendar is because the Arabs used a lunar calendar--all of the people of the near east used a lunar calendar. Hebrews, Canaanites, Babylonians, etc. And, in fact lunar calendars are among the most common and oldest calendars throughout the world, the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean calendars are also lunar.

The Romans originally used a lunar calendar as well, which was then reformed into a solar calendar and ultimately the Julian, then much later, Gregorian calendar most of the world uses today.

Lunar calendars are simply far more common, globally and in history among cultures, than solar calendars. The very concept of the "month" is based on the lunar cycle; the word "month" being etymologically related to the word "moon"; a month is defined, theoretically, as the ~29.5 day cycle of the lunar cycle; but in practice has often instead been rounded to 30 days, or alternating 29 and 30 day periods. In our calendar months are rounded to 30 and 31 day periods, with a short 28 day month (29 days on leap years). But the very concept of the month as a unit of time is based on the moon.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[cloudyday2]

The reason Islam uses a lunar calendar is because the Arabs used a lunar calendar--all of the people of the near east used a lunar calendar. Hebrews, Canaanites, Babylonians, etc. And, in fact lunar calendars are among the most common and oldest calendars throughout the world, the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean calendars are also lunar.

No, they used lunisolar calendars. Lunisolar calendars have extra months inserted periodically to keep the months from drifting into different seasons. Most calendars were designed to signal festival or agriculture activities that depended on the season. A strictly lunar calendar was pretty weird.

 

[cloudyday2]

Here is something I read that started me thinking about this issue. It comes from a Catholic forum. The information is hard to verify - at least for me. Maybe others have better sources available to see if this is at all credible. (EDIT: Harran was a center for moon worship. I believe it was established under the Assyrians? One of the few strictly lunar calendars was the ancient Assyrian calendar. ... It's just something I wonder about.)
Was Ramadan a Pagan

 

[curiouskay]

Why not-?

lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phases. This can be contrasted with the Gregorian calendar, which is a solar calendar based on the revolution of the Earth around the sun. Because there are slightly more than twelve lunation's (synodic months) in a solar year, the period of 12 lunar months (354.367 days) is sometimes referred to as a lunar year.

It provides a means of tracking time. One is as good as the other in my view -

 

[cloudyday2]

Why not-?

lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phases. This can be contrasted with the Gregorian calendar, which is a solar calendar based on the revolution of the Earth around the sun. Because there are slightly more than twelve lunation's (synodic months) in a solar year, the period of 12 lunar months (354.367 days) is sometimes referred to as a lunar year.

It provides a means of tracking time. One is as good as the other in my view -

The three major types of calendars that I know about are:

• solar: the months are not synchronized to the moon - just the sun
• lunisolar: the months are synchronized to both the sun and the moon
• lunar: the months are not synchronized to the sun - just the moon

In most cultures the sun is more important than the moon, because it affects the seasons. A strictly lunar calendar like Islam's is useless for celebrating or timing agricultural activities, so strictly lunar calendars were almost never used as far as I can tell.

 

[Robban]

Why not-?

lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phases. This can be contrasted with the Gregorian calendar, which is a solar calendar based on the revolution of the Earth around the sun. Because there are slightly more than twelve lunation's (synodic months) in a solar year, the period of 12 lunar months (354.367 days) is sometimes referred to as a lunar year.

It provides a means of tracking time. One is as good as the other in my view -

Is not Easter determined by the moon, which weekend it will fall on?

And from there the forty days, and ten days and Pentecost.

Here (Sweden) midsummer is a big deal, determined by the sun,

 

[cloudyday2]

Here (Sweden) midsummer is a big deal, determined by the sun,

I was watching a DVD about Hinduism and it mentioned a European custom of celebrating midsummer that I did not know about. The lecturer was comparing this to the Hindu festival of Holi ( Holi - Wikipedia )

What do you guys do to celebrate midsummer? We don't do anything in the US that I know about. (Maybe everybody else is out celebrating and keeps me in the dark about it LOL)

 

[Robban]

I was watching a DVD about Hinduism and it mentioned a European custom of celebrating midsummer that I did not know about. The lecturer was comparing this to the Hindu festival of Holi ( Holi - Wikipedia )

What do you guys do to celebrate midsummer? We don't do anything in the US that I know about. (Maybe everybody else is out celebrating and keeps me in the dark about it LOL)

I don,t celebrate Midsummer, it is a holiday,

 

[cloudyday2]

I don,t celebrate Midsummer, it is a holiday,

The frog dance was really something LOL

 

[cloudyday2]

Here is a table showing how Ramadan drifts through various seasons over the years. The Islamic calendar is strictly lunar. Why?

Ramadan - Wikipedia

 

[Hank77]

A strictly lunar calendar like Islam's is useless for celebrating or timing agricultural activities, so strictly lunar calendars were almost never used as far as I can tell.

You're not a farmer are you?
The Farmer's Almanac is based off the phases of the moon. Many farmers and ranchers do things like planting, pruning, breeding and castrating animals, etc. by the phases of the moon.

Here at the Farmers’ Almanac, though, gardening by the Moon has always been our philosophy, and our editions include a calendar of the best days for sowing, planting, weeding, and other garden chores, as determined by the phase and position of the Moon. Our readers have long sworn by this method of managing their gardens and crops.
Why Do We Garden By The Moon? - Farmers' Almanac
Best Days to Castrate Farm Animals from the Farmers' Almanac

 

[ViaCrucis]

No, they used lunisolar calendars. Lunisolar calendars have extra months inserted periodically to keep the months from drifting into different seasons. Most calendars were designed to signal festival or agriculture activities that depended on the season. A strictly lunar calendar was pretty weird.

I was somewhat treating lunisolar calendars as lunar calendars.

-CryptoLutheran