Thoughts for Nowrouz
By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
"The sun attained its brightness, the wind started to blow, the Ark of Prophet Noah stopped near Mount Joudi and was saved from drowning, Prophet Abraham broke the idols of his community, Archangel Gabriel brought the first revelation to our Prophet (Muhammad - SAWA), the Prophet lifted Imam Ali (AS) on his shoulders so that he could topple the idols from the Ka’ba, and the Prophet announced Imam Ali (AS) as his successor at Ghadir-e Khom.”
The above statement is from Prophet Muhammad’s (SAWA) 6th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS), on the occasion of the Spring Equinox that is celebrated as Nowrouz (literally New Day) in lands influenced by Persian culture, and every year marks the start of the new calendar year in Iran.
This is proof of the fact that the ancient Iranians had adopted and preserved the significance of this day after having it borrowed from the astronomically-advanced Mesopotamians during the days of Cyrus the Great, before passing its observations over a millennium later to the Muslims to revive its historical record that dates to the creation of the world by the One and Only God, Who decreed the orderly cycle of days, nights, months, and years, through the annual revolution around of the Sun of Planet Earth as it rotates on its axis.
This means that the Spring Equinox, when verdure freshness brightens the environment and flowers bloom, is not the work of any human mind, neither has it anything to do with mythology, nor is it a narrow nationalistic phenomenon.
It is all the handiwork of the All-Merciful Lord. This is the reason that Nowrouz, or the start of spring, began to be calculated by early Muslim scientists and astronomers from the 1st of Rabi al-Awwal (first day of spring), the day on whose eve the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), left his hometown Mecca for Medina by instructing his cousin, Imam Ali (AS), to sleep on his bed, so that he could migrate undetected from the prying eyes of the pagan Arabs hovering around the abode of divine revelation.
In other words, after midnight on coming Friday a couple of hours before the dawn of Saturday, March 21, at 02:30 hours Tehran Time (23 GMT), Iranians would be ushering in the calendar year 1394 solar hijri, as a manifestation of the Glory of God with prayers and supplications, especially the following invocation:
"Ya Moqallab al-Qoloub wa’l-Absaar;
"Ya Modabber al-Layl wa’n-Nahaar;
"Ya Mohawwel al-Howl wa’l-Ahwaal;
"Hawwil Halana ila Ahsan il-Haal.”
Rendered into English the above supplication means:
"O’ Transformer of Hearts and Eyes;
"O’ Regulator of Day and Night;
"O’ Rotator of Time and Situation;
"Change our state to the most excellent of Situation.”
This supplication by the Muslim people – many of whom fast on Nowrouz as thanksgiving to God – means that solar hijri calendar is Islamic, like its lunar counterpart, which is indispensible for marking religious events and observing the injunctions of Allah for the fasting month of Ramadhan and for Zilhijja (the month of Hajj pilgrimage), the birthdays and passing away anniversaries of the Prophets and the Infallible Imams, and the mourning months of Muharram and Safar.
In view of these wonderful facts, isn’t it advisable for the Islamic world – in addition to the religiously indispensable lunar hijri calendar – to adopt the precisely calculated solar hijri calendar year in Iran for keeping track of the season and running the bureaucracy, instead of following the alien and a bit imperfect Gregorian calendar that has been imposed by the colonialists and is based on an illusion, which the Holy Qur’an rejects, saying Prophet Jesus (AS) was not crucified?
Hopefully, Muslims will ponder upon these facts, especially since this year, the 4th day of spring coincides with the 3rd of Jamadi al-Akher, the martyrdom anniversary of the Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), who was the first victim of terrorism in the history of Islam, when a roguish gang of her father’s companions smashed upon her the burning door of her house in order to forcibly take pledge of allegiance to their illegal rule from her husband, Imam Ali (AS), the divinely-designated vicegerent of her father.
No doubt, Iranians would be ushering the New Year with earnest supplication to the Lord Most High for hastening the advent of the Prophet’s Last and 12th Infallible Heir, Imam Mahdi (AS), who according to some narrations, will reappear on the Spring Equinox (Nowrouz) to fulfill the prophecy of establishment of the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice. Amen.
"The sun attained its brightness, the wind started to blow, the Ark of Prophet Noah stopped near Mount Joudi and was saved from drowning, Prophet Abraham broke the idols of his community, Archangel Gabriel brought the first revelation to our Prophet (Muhammad - SAWA), the Prophet lifted Imam Ali (AS) on his shoulders so that he could topple the idols from the Ka’ba, and the Prophet announced Imam Ali (AS) as his successor at Ghadir-e Khom.”
The above statement is from Prophet Muhammad’s (SAWA) 6th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja’far Sadeq (AS), on the occasion of the Spring Equinox that is celebrated as Nowrouz (literally New Day) in lands influenced by Persian culture, and every year marks the start of the new calendar year in Iran.
This is proof of the fact that the ancient Iranians had adopted and preserved the significance of this day after having it borrowed from the astronomically-advanced Mesopotamians during the days of Cyrus the Great, before passing its observations over a millennium later to the Muslims to revive its historical record that dates to the creation of the world by the One and Only God, Who decreed the orderly cycle of days, nights, months, and years, through the annual revolution around of the Sun of Planet Earth as it rotates on its axis.
This means that the Spring Equinox, when verdure freshness brightens the environment and flowers bloom, is not the work of any human mind, neither has it anything to do with mythology, nor is it a narrow nationalistic phenomenon.
It is all the handiwork of the All-Merciful Lord. This is the reason that Nowrouz, or the start of spring, began to be calculated by early Muslim scientists and astronomers from the 1st of Rabi al-Awwal (first day of spring), the day on whose eve the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), left his hometown Mecca for Medina by instructing his cousin, Imam Ali (AS), to sleep on his bed, so that he could migrate undetected from the prying eyes of the pagan Arabs hovering around the abode of divine revelation.
In other words, after midnight on coming Friday a couple of hours before the dawn of Saturday, March 21, at 02:30 hours Tehran Time (23 GMT), Iranians would be ushering in the calendar year 1394 solar hijri, as a manifestation of the Glory of God with prayers and supplications, especially the following invocation:
"Ya Moqallab al-Qoloub wa’l-Absaar;
"Ya Modabber al-Layl wa’n-Nahaar;
"Ya Mohawwel al-Howl wa’l-Ahwaal;
"Hawwil Halana ila Ahsan il-Haal.”
Rendered into English the above supplication means:
"O’ Transformer of Hearts and Eyes;
"O’ Regulator of Day and Night;
"O’ Rotator of Time and Situation;
"Change our state to the most excellent of Situation.”
This supplication by the Muslim people – many of whom fast on Nowrouz as thanksgiving to God – means that solar hijri calendar is Islamic, like its lunar counterpart, which is indispensible for marking religious events and observing the injunctions of Allah for the fasting month of Ramadhan and for Zilhijja (the month of Hajj pilgrimage), the birthdays and passing away anniversaries of the Prophets and the Infallible Imams, and the mourning months of Muharram and Safar.
In view of these wonderful facts, isn’t it advisable for the Islamic world – in addition to the religiously indispensable lunar hijri calendar – to adopt the precisely calculated solar hijri calendar year in Iran for keeping track of the season and running the bureaucracy, instead of following the alien and a bit imperfect Gregorian calendar that has been imposed by the colonialists and is based on an illusion, which the Holy Qur’an rejects, saying Prophet Jesus (AS) was not crucified?
Hopefully, Muslims will ponder upon these facts, especially since this year, the 4th day of spring coincides with the 3rd of Jamadi al-Akher, the martyrdom anniversary of the Prophet’s Immaculate Daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), who was the first victim of terrorism in the history of Islam, when a roguish gang of her father’s companions smashed upon her the burning door of her house in order to forcibly take pledge of allegiance to their illegal rule from her husband, Imam Ali (AS), the divinely-designated vicegerent of her father.
No doubt, Iranians would be ushering the New Year with earnest supplication to the Lord Most High for hastening the advent of the Prophet’s Last and 12th Infallible Heir, Imam Mahdi (AS), who according to some narrations, will reappear on the Spring Equinox (Nowrouz) to fulfill the prophecy of establishment of the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice. Amen.