When did the Gregorian calender come into use? Why do we accept this as correct when we know it is not? Is there no person who will stand up and speak out?

CHRISTIAN CALENDAR%0D%0AMany Muslims today use the Christian calendar system in their daily affairs,%0D%0Anot realizing that some of the practices inherent to this calendar are%0D%0Aforbidden in Islam (notably intercalation or nasee).%0D%0A%0D%0AMoreover, many of those who use the Christian calendar, Christians and%0D%0Aotherwise, think that it is an accurate system or that it has had a fixed%0D%0Aand true reference point. Thus, when the calendar tells us today is the%0D%0Afirst Tuesday of the month of May of the year 1999 for example, then this is%0D%0Awhat today actually is. But the truth is, no one knows for sure what the%0D%0Aday, the month or the year actually is. Not only that, but the need for%0D%0Acorrection is continuous and is inescapable. Intercalation, for example, is%0D%0Adone at least every four years through the process called the leap year.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe Christian calendar has years that are 365 or 366 days long. It is%0D%0Adivided into 12 months that have no relationship to the motion of the moon,%0D%0Aand it employs a system of weeks that group the days in sets of 7. It had%0D%0Athree main versions: The Roman, the Julian and the Gregorian calendars, the%0D%0Adifference between which lies in the way they approximate the length of the%0D%0Atropical year and in their rules for approximating the occurrence of%0D%0AEaster.%0D%0A%0D%0ATHE ROMAN CALENDAR%0D%0AOriginally, the year started on March 1, and consisted of only 304 days or%0D%0A10 months (Martius, Aprilis, Maius, Junius, Quintilis, Sextilis, September,%0D%0AOctober, November, and December). These 304 days were followed by an unnamed%0D%0Aand unnumbered winter period. The Roman king Numa Pompilius (c. 715-673 BC,%0D%0Aalthough his historicity is disputed) allegedly introduced February and%0D%0AJanuary (in that order) between December and March, increasing the length of%0D%0Athe year to 354 or 355 days. In 450 BC, February was moved to its current%0D%0Aposition between January and March.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn order to make up for the lack of days in a year, an extra month,%0D%0AIntercalaris or Mercedonius, (allegedly with 22 or 23 days) was introduced%0D%0Ain some years. It was the duty of the priesthood to keep track of the%0D%0Acalendars, but they failed miserably, partly due to ignorance, partly%0D%0Abecause they were bribed to make certain years long and others short.%0D%0AFurthermore, leap years were considered unlucky and were therefore avoided%0D%0Ain times of crisis, such as the Second Punic War. In order to clean up this%0D%0Amess, Julius Caesar made his famous calendar reform in 45 BC. "Julius Caesar%0D%0Amade all odd numbered months 31 days long, and all even numbered months 30%0D%0Adays long (with February having 29 days in non-leap years). In 44 BC%0D%0AQuintilis was renamed 'Julius' (July) in honor of Julius Caesar, and in 8 BC%0D%0ASextilis became 'Augustus' in honor of emperor Augustus. When Augustus had a%0D%0Amonth named after him, he presumably wanted his month to be a full 31 days%0D%0Along, so he removed a day from February and shifted the length of the other%0D%0Amonths so that August would have 31 days. This fact, however, is not%0D%0Aconfirmed, and could be a fabrication dating back to the 14th century.%0D%0A%0D%0ATHE JULIAN CALENDAR%0D%0AIt was introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC. It was in common use until the%0D%0A1500s. However, some countries (Greece and Russia, for example) used it well%0D%0Ainto this century. In the Julian calendar, the tropical year is approximated%0D%0Aas 365.25 days. This gives an error of 1 day in approximately 128 years. The%0D%0Aapproximation 365 1%2F4 is achieved by having 1leap year every 4 years.%0D%0AFurthermore, the way it calculated the Easter occurrence was inaccurate, it%0D%0Ahad to be refined depending on the fact that most felt that 21 March was the%0D%0Aproper day for vernal equinox (because 21 March was the date for vernal%0D%0Aequinox during the Council of Nicaea in AD 325). The Gregorian calendar was%0D%0Atherefore calibrated to make that day vernal equinox. By 1582 vernal equinox%0D%0Ahad moved (1582-325)%2F128 days = approximately 10 days backwards. So 10 days%0D%0Ahad to be dropped. This change in sequence of the calendar is known in Islam%0D%0Aas intercalation, which is prohibited to do for any reason.%0D%0A%0D%0ATHE GREGORIAN CALENDAR%0D%0AThe Gregorian calendar is commonly used today by the non-Muslims. Pope%0D%0AGregory XIII adopted it in accordance with instructions from the Council of%0D%0ATrent (1545-1563). In the Gregorian calendar, the tropical year is%0D%0Aapproximated as 365 97%2F400 days = 365.2425 days. Thus it takes approximately%0D%0A3300 years for the tropical year to shift one day with respect to the%0D%0AGregorian calendar. The approximation 365 97%2F400 is achieved by having 97%0D%0Aleap years every 400 years.%0D%0A%0D%0ALEAP YEARS%0D%0AIn the Gregorian calendar, every year divisible by 4 is a leap year. Also,%0D%0Aevery year divisible by 100 is not a leap year, but every year divisible by%0D%0A400 is a leap year. And so, 1800, 1900 and 2100 are not leap years, while%0D%0A1600 and 2000 are.%0D%0A%0D%0AWHO USES THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR?%0D%0AAs we mentioned above not all countries adopted this calendar, and some of%0D%0Athose who did, had their own changes added to it. Italy, Poland, Portugal,%0D%0Aand Spain adopted it and other Catholic countries followed shortly after,%0D%0Abut Protestant countries were reluctant to change. Later, the Orthodox%0D%0AChurch in Greece decided to switch to the Gregorian calendar in the 1920s,%0D%0Abut they tried to improve on the Gregorian leap year rules, replacing the%0D%0A"divisible by 400" rule.%0D%0A%0D%0AThus the beginning of their calendar is still different from the rest of the%0D%0AChristian world. In an attempt to unify their Christmas and Easter%0D%0Acelebrations, both churches tried to change both Calendars. The meeting%0D%0Ahappened in Aleppo, Syria (5-10 March 1997), organized by the World Council%0D%0Aof Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches, Representatives of%0D%0Aseveral churches and Christian world communions suggested that the%0D%0Adiscrepancies between Easter calculations could be resolved by adopting%0D%0Acalculations of the vernal equinox and the full moon. This new method for%0D%0Acalculating Easter should take effect from the year 2001.%0D%0A%0D%0AWHEN IT HAPPENED ?%0D%0AWas Prophet Eesa (Jesus), alayhis salam, born in the year O? No. The reasons%0D%0Afor this is that there is no year 0 in the Gregorian calendar and that Eesa,%0D%0Aalayhis salam, was born before 4 BC. The concept of a year "zero," which was%0D%0Aintroduced by the Muslims was not known to Romans when they devised their%0D%0Acalendar. Therefore, CE 1 follows immediately after 1 BC with no intervening%0D%0Ayear zero. The exact year Eesa, alayhis salam, was born is not known. Also,%0D%0Ahe, alayhis salam, was not born in December.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnd when did the 1stst century start? In the year CE 1. Therefore, the 2nd%0D%0Acentury should have started in CE 101. Thus, the 21st century must start in%0D%0Athe year CE 2001 (and not 2000). And although the 20th century started in%0D%0A1901, the 1900s started in 1900. The Gregorian system therefore is not%0D%0Astandard by any means. It is neither accurate nor widely used.%0D%0A%0D%0AAl-Jummu'ah Vol.11 Issue1