The Solar New Year arose from the cultural and scientific wealth of Muslims.
Author: Dr. Farid Yunus, Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern Cultural Anthropology and Islamic Philosophy, Founder and Initiator of Islamic Democracy (California, USA), Member of the Advisory Board of “Sangar”
During the Seljuk era, one of the largest Muslim empires in the region of Eastern and Western Khorasan, Jalal ad-Din Malikshah Seljuki, the powerful sultan of this empire, transformed the history and culture of the area. The Seljuks were Turks, not Afghans or Iranians. I wrote this because some Iranians, due to our negligence, consider everything as their own, while we have something in common in all matters, that is, neither Afghan nor Iranian.
As an Afghan-American scholar, I will never claim that, for example, Maulana Balkhi, who was born in Balkh, was from Afghanistan. This spirit is neither moral nor scientific and does not meet the rules of Middle Eastern studies. Because there was no Afghanistan at that time. Moreover, there is no nationalism in religion, but it is unfair to the history that we all consider ours.
We said that at that time, neither the present Iran nor the present Afghanistan existed. There was only the region of Khorasan. It was the year 467 Hijri, and the official in charge of agricultural affairs reported to the Sultan that the revenues were not what they should be. One reason for this was the lunar calendar, which changed every year, causing stagnation in agriculture. What is the solution? What should we do?
They consulted Hakim Omar Khayam, a famous mathematician, astronomer, and poet. He said that the solution would be to change the lunar Hijri calendar to the solar Hijri calendar. This scientific endeavor was realized, and the solar Hijri calendar appeared, which we are celebrating its 1404 year.
This calendar is known as the "Jalali Calendar", which comes from the name of the Sultan. In the first calculation, March 15, 1079, was taken as the first day of the year, but after the second accurate calculation, March 21 was recorded as the first day of the month of Hamal. That is, the first day of Hamal/Farvardin corresponds to the first day of the solar year according to the Hijri. This calendar is based on the migration of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), but also on the rotation of the Earth around the Sun.
After the Seljuks, the mullahs who were against science did not allow the official use of the calendar, but at the beginning of the 20th century, the kings of Iran and Afghanistan decided to change the calendar from lunar to solar for the convenience of agricultural and administrative work. The Iranians retained the same names of the months that were common during the Sassanid period, such as Farvardin, which means hamal, or Urdubihisht - sawr, etc., but the Afghan scholars decided to take the names of the months from astrology, such as hamal, sawr, javzo, etc.
Navruz existed before Islam, but the Muslims of Khorasan gave it an Islamic flavor and color by making a solar calendar, but retained the religious months, such as Ramadan, so that religious affairs are done in the lunar month and worldly affairs in the solar month. Another example: the pilgrimage to the Kaaba existed before Islam, and with the advent of Islam, it was given a monotheistic flavor.
The beauty of the first hamal/Farvardin is that it is the first day of spring, the second is the first day of the new year, and the third is the equinox - the equinox. How advanced were Muslims once, but today you see ignorant Taliban burying girls alive.
Happy New Year!
