Islamic Month Beginning - Discussion: What is I D L ?

Date: Thu, 3 Nov 2011 13:51:53 +0530
Subject: I D L - Animation
From: editorhijri@gmail.com
To:

Dear Brothers

Assalaamu Alaikkum Wa Rahmathullaahi wa Barakaathu hu

I am sending an animation on International Date Line (IDL).

Many think that IDL is only a man-made imaginary line which has no significance to Islam. The truth is something different.

The history of IDL is very long, but it would be easier to understand the significance of IDL to Islam if you go through at least the milestones.

As all of us know, the land mass was one and later on gradually it took the present shape due to the global phenomenon termed as "Continental drift". Adam (AS) and Hawa (AS) met again in Arafath and their children and progeny spread far and wide and settled in remote ends stretching from Fiji to Samoa. Wherever they settled, Almighty Allah bestowed the concept of 7-days week in them and they used these for counting their days.

Sailors from the early stages itself used to record on their log-book, every day, their position with the date and the name of the week day. When round-the- world ocean voyages began, it was Antonio Pigafetta (c. 1490 - c. 1535), the Italian chronicler of the first circumnavigation of the world by the Portuguese explorer and navigator Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480 - 1521), who first mentioned a peculiar incident that had occurred during the voyage: somewhere a whole day had apparently been lost. When Pigafetta, one of the eighteen survivors of the original 270-odd crew members who had set out from the Spanish port of San Lúcar de Barrameda in September 1519, nearly three years later sighted the Cape Verde Islands.

The story of the lost day experienced by Magellan's crew was also transmitted in a different version by Pietro Martire d'Anghiera (1457 - 1526) in the 5^th decade of his De Orbe Novo (1530). This passage was translated by Richard Eden inThe Decades of the Newe Worlde or West India (1555)

Nearly sixty years later, the same phenomenon was observed by the crew members of the fleet of the English explorer Francis Drake (c. 1545 - 1596), when in September 1580 they arrived back again in Plymouth after a long westward voyage around the world that had started in late 1577.

You may read in detail about it in : http://www.hijracalendar.com/dateline1.htm

To cut short a long one, when the air-services began, it became a necessity for the International community to recognise IDL officially, in order to avoid the confusion in days and dates.

It is true that lots of adjustments have been made in this IDL, but the people continued and still follow the same 7-day concept which Almighty Allah bestowed on them in the beginning. Many islands for economic & political reasons crossed over IDL. But, those Muslims who were praying Jummah on Fridays still do the same on actual Fridays, even if the official day would have changed to Thursday.

This is were the IDL is significant to Islam. It is at this place that the 4-rakaath Zuhar prayer performed for 6 days changes to 2 rakaath Jummah prayer on Fridays. When the muslims to the east of IDL pray Zuhar, the Muslims on the west of IDL will be praying Jummah almost simultaneously.

Others may find it difficult to understand this day-change. But for Muslims, Alhumdulillah, it is easy.

The Astronomical day changes at 12 noon at IDL and at the same time, the date & day changes at Greenwich, which is exactly opposite to IDL and there the time will be 00:00 hrs. When these changes take place at these places, the time at Makkah will be 03:00 am (around Fajr) and the day and date change there simultaneously. Alhumdulillah

International Date Line

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dateline-animation-3deg-borderonly-180px.gif

A simplified illustration of the relation between dateline (shown in red), date and time of day. The successive colors represent successive calendar days. For any point on earth, a new day starts when the point crosses the "midnight" plane

PLEASE NOTE THAT IN ISLAM THE 24-HOURS PERIOD STARTS AT FAJR, ACCORDING TO QURAN AND HADEETH

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/timeovalview.htm

Immediately to the left of the International Date Line (the date) is always one day ahead of the date (or day) immediately to the right of the International Date Line in the Western Hemisphere. On the time and date codes shown below, note that Tonga and Samoa have the exact same time but they are (1) day apart, as Samoa is in the Western Hemisphere, on the opposite side of the International Dateline from Tonga.

Tonga

Samoa

Please note, above, the difference of week-days in Tonga and Samoa.

We hope that these illustrations/animation are beneficial to all and will help in clearing lots of doubt regarding IDL.

May Almighty Allah bestow the True Knowledge to all of us to understand His Deen and follow it correctly. Aameen

Wa Salaam.

S. N. Mohamed Sultan
Chief Editor
HIJRI COMMITTEE OF INDIA
7/858 B, AWH Building
S. M. STREET
KOZHIKODE - 673001
INDIA

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