throughout history, ppl have used tools to get an indication of TIME.
where in Egypt they used to count the times the Nyl flooded its banks to determine how many yrs passed by, other cultures counted the times a certain star wud appear on the horizon, and yet others wud count the sightings of the moon. Eventually a concept of a calendar evolved:
*(17:12)And We have appointed the night and the day as two Ayât (signs etc.). Then, We have made dark the sign of the night while We have made the sign of day illuminating, that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the number of the years and the reckoning. And We have explained everything (in detail) with full explanation. *
Here, it says that we shud use both the day and night to judge the number of years. As we now know from physics, it’s the Sun which causes the day to be bright and even at night it’s the light from the sun which reflects of the moon to make it bright. So in both instances the sun plays a pivotal role, yet in the lunar calender it has a negligible role.
If again we look at history we see that in time the calendars have evolved to become more and more precise and in accordance with respect to what we find in physics. a year being by definition the period the Earth rotates once around the sun, is in the solar calender 365 days whereas physically it’s 365.24 days. How come then that in the Islamic calendar we end up being off this 365.24 days by a huge margin. The Islamic calender shifts very much from year to year: if we then keep in mind that the function of a calendar is to PREDICT and to get some indication of the time/years/months to come then the Islamic calendar is a very unhandy tool to have. Surplus to say that even the islamic countries use a solar calendar next to the lunar one to fix dates and schedule their lives.
If we have a more thorough look at what makes a month a month, we’ll see that in the lunar calendar (still) a very inaccurate tool is used: the sighting of the new moon.
If a month by definition is the time the moon revolves around the earth once, it will be a fixed timeperiod (physically) which again ought to be predicted: and it is! using scientific formulas one can predict when astronomically the new moon will evolve…yet in the islamic calendar we still use a highly debatable means of starting the new month
(10:5) It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and measured out its (their) stages, that you might know the number of years and the reckoning. Allâh did not create this but in truth. He explains the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) in detail for people who have knowledge.
again, it is said the stages of the moon have been made for us to get a feeling of what time has passed and what time will come…yet nowadays we use the sighting to judge between them, whereas the phases of the moon can be predicted physically (=app. 29.53 days)
Now if we take this ayat into account:
(9:36). Verily, the number of months with Allâh is twelve months, so was it ordained by Allâh on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are Sacred/Restricted. That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein, and fight against the Mushrikûn collectively, as they fight against you collectively. But know that Allâh is with those who are Al-Muttaqûn.
we see that a year has 12 months, we will get 12 * 29.53 = 354.36 days…we will be off from the solar yearsby about 10 days…so after 3 lunar years we will be off by about one exact month!
it wud be very tempting to add a month every now and again,however, some will bring against this the verse
YUSUFALI: (9:37)Verily the transposing (of a prohibited month) is an addition to Unbelief: the Unbelievers are led to wrong thereby: for they make it lawful one year, and forbidden another year, in order to adjust the number of months forbidden by Allah and make such forbidden ones lawful. The evil of their course seems pleasing to them. But Allah guideth not those who reject Faith.
here it is referred to the Jews who - to make their calendar accurate- wud put in a 13th month one year, and not the next…: every other year…this is what is being prohibited.
But -keeping in mind a year =365 days- what we need to do is put in a 13th month every 3rd (!) year,----> this is NOT being prohibited in this verse and it wud also make our calendar more accurate!! if we want to be even more accurate the precise count is to add 7 times a 13th month in 19 years (appx. once in 3 yrs)
in conclusion, All i can say is this is just a speculation on the concept of a calendar…a concept which wud fit in well with scientific proof as well as with daily life: scheduling of work and meetings which is nowadays being done using the solar calendar even in so-called muslim countries wud get easier AND it wud also fit in with the islamic concepts outlined in the Quran. I’m not saying this IS the truth, just want to shed some light on this topic from a different point of view. Just to get those brain cells working