Latest revision as of 14:40, 12 September 2008

The Jewish pilgrimages of Succot, Pesach and Shavuot were a time of truce. On these occasions all male Jews, or at least community representatives, were required to come to Jerusalem “to appear before the Lord” (Deut. 27:7; Neh. 8:9-12). The promise that God would protect their homes while the males were absent was relied upon (Ex. 34:23, 24). Easton's Bible Dictionary says "We never read of an enemy invading the land at the time of the three festivals [until 66 CE]”^[1] These periods of truce, lacking their focus as a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, became sacred months where war was proscribed, see Table 3.

Note that some of the names of the pre-Islamic months appear to be related to their Jewish counterparts:

• Ṣafar صفر comes from a root that means "to beep, blow, hiss, toot" in addition to its meaning of "naught, void" or "yellow". In this first meaning it appears to be derived from same Semitic root as Ṣofer צופר which means "a horn's beep, blow". So it is probable that the month name Ṣafar صفر is a cognate of Shofar שופר -- the trumpet blown during the holidays in Tishrei

• Shawwaal related etymologically to Sivan;

• Dhu al-Hijjah related to Hag or Holiday Pilgrimage.

The lack of a Sanhedrin or Nasi to decide when to insert extra months into the Calendar (to keep it from drifting) created confusion and perhaps incited defiance against Rome.^[2] The historian M. de Sacy's held that parts of Arabia practiced a purely lunar calculation and other parts practiced a form of intercalation with their own Nasi.^[3] Hakim Muhammad Said relates that the Arabs had two calendars: one was with intercalation, the other without it. The custom of kabisa, intercalation, was current among the Bedouins but not among the townsmen.^[4]

It appears that in practice because the Ka’aba became the central focus for Pilgrimages, one common system or calculation was accepted over the whole Peninsula. The time of the annual pilgrimage was then coordinated by generally accepted practice, sometimes according to the lunar calendar and sometimes according to the lunar-solar calendar.^[5] Originally, the year of the Elephant (570 CE) was used by the Arabs for counting the first year of their era.^[6] Afterwards, the lunar calendar of the Muslims began with the Hijra of the Prophet (622 CE). The previous lunar calendar of the Arabs was totally abrogated in the 10th year of the Hijra on the occasion of the Prophet's address at the Hajjat al-Wada' . The strictly lunar calendar became accepted, and it didn’t allow for any addition or modification.

References

1. ↑ Easton's Bible Dictionary, s.v. Festivals
2. ↑ The regulation of the calendar had always been a sign of national sovereignty and was a point of friction with the Roman government. In earlier centuries, announcements of new months were transmitted from community to community by hill top fires. In 135 CE, during Bar Kochba’s revolt, one of the first acts of defiance against Rome was to light unauthorized bonfires throughout Israel. This custom continues even today in the Lag BeOmer celebration on the 18th of Iyyar.
3. ↑ Mémoire sur divers événemens de l’histoire des Arabes avant Mahomet, M. Silvestre de Sacy's. pp. 123-143
4. ↑ The History of the Islamic Calendar in the Light of the Hijra, Hakim Muhammad Said, Vol X No. 1 , Spring 1984
5. ↑ Mémoire sur divers événemens de l’histoire des Arabes avant Mahomet, M. Silvestre de Sacy's. pp. 123-143
6. ↑ Abraha, after reconciliation with the king of Abyssinia, took rulership over Yemen and, later on, deployed his soldiers to demolish Al-Ka‘bah, and , hence, he and his soldiers came to be known as the “Men of the Elephant”. After the “Elephant” incident, the people of Yemen, under the leadership of Ma‘dikarib bin Saif Dhu Yazin Al-Himyari, and through Persian assistance, revolted against the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) invaders, restored independence and appointed Ma‘dikarib as their king. However, Ma‘dikarib was assassinated by an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) he used to have him around for service and protection. The family of Dhu Yazin was thus deprived of royalty forever. Kisra, the Persian king, appointed a Persian ruler over San‘a and thus made Yemen a Persian colony. Persian rulers maintained rulership of Yemen.