Editing Islamic calendar (section)

===Prohibiting Nasī' <span class="anchor" id="Prohibiting Nasi'"></span><span class="anchor" id="Prohibiting Nasi"></span>===
{{further|Nasi'}}
<!----Please see [[Talk:Muhammad/FAQ]] and discuss on the talk page before removing the following image:---->[[File:Maome.jpg|thumb|Illustration of Muhammad prohibiting Nasī'. Found in an illustrated copy of [[Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī|Al-Biruni]]'s ''[[The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries]]'' (17th-century copy of an early 14th-century [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhanid]] manuscript).<ref>From an illustrated manuscript of Al-Biruni's 11th-century ''[[Vestiges of the Past]]'' (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, Arabe 1489 fol. 5v. (Bibliothèque Nationale on-line catalog). See also: Robert Hillenbrand, "Images of Muhammad in al-Bīrūnī's Chronology of Ancient Nations", in: R. Hillenbrand (ed.), ''Persian Painting from the Mongols to the Qajars: Studies in Honour of Basil W. Robinson'' (London/New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers, 2000), pp. 129–46.</ref>]]

[[Nasi']] is interpreted to signify either the postponement of the pre-Islamic month of Hajj, or the (also pre-Islamic) practice of [[intercalation (timekeeping)|intercalation]]{{snd}} periodic insertion of an additional month to reset the calendar into accordance with the seasons.

In the tenth year of the Hijra, as documented in the [[Qur'an]] ([[At-Tawba|Surah At-Tawbah (9)]]:36–37), Muslims believe [[God in Islam|God]] revealed the "prohibition of the Nasī{{'"}}.

{{Blockquote|Indeed, the number of months ordained by Allah is twelve—in Allah's Record since the day He created the heavens and the earth—of which four are sacred. That is the Right Way. So do not wrong one another during these months. And together fight the polytheists as they fight against you together. And know that Allah is with those mindful ˹of Him˺.<br>
Reallocating the sanctity of ˹these˺ months is an increase in disbelief, by which the disbelievers are led ˹far˺ astray. They adjust the sanctity one year and uphold it in another, only to maintain the number of months sanctified by Allah, violating the very months Allah has made sacred. Their evil deeds have been made appealing to them. And Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.|{{qref|9|36|c=y}}}}

The prohibition of Nasī' would presumably have been announced when the intercalated month had returned to its position just before the month of Nasi' began. If Nasī' meant intercalation, then the number and the position of the intercalary months between AH 1 and AH 10 are uncertain; western calendar dates commonly cited for key events in early Islam such as the [[Hegira|Hijra]], the [[Battle of Badr]], the [[Battle of Uhud]] and the [[Battle of the Trench]] should be viewed with caution as they might be in error by one, two, three or even four lunar months. This prohibition was mentioned by Muhammad during the [[The Farewell Sermon|farewell sermon]] which was delivered on 9 Dhu al-Hijjah AH 10 (Julian date Friday 6 March 632 CE) on [[Mount Arafat]] during the [[The Farewell Pilgrimage|farewell pilgrimage]] to Mecca.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

{{blockquote|Certainly the Nasi' is an impious addition, which has led the infidels into error. One year they authorise the Nasi', another year they forbid it. They observe the divine precept with respect to the number of the sacred months, but in fact they profane that which God has declared to be inviolable, and sanctify that which God has declared to be profane. Assuredly time, in its revolution, has returned to such as it was at the creation of the heavens and the earth. In the eyes of God the number of the months is twelve. Among these twelve months four are sacred, namely, Rajab, which stands alone, and three others which are consecutive.|Translated by Sherrard Beaumont Burnaby<ref>Sherrard Beaumont Burnaby, ''[https://archive.org/details/elementsofjewish00burnuoft Elements of the Jewish and Muhammadan calendars]'' (London: 1901) 370.</ref>}}

The three successive sacred (forbidden) months mentioned by Muhammad (months in which battles are forbidden) are [[Dhu al-Qadah|Dhu al-Qa'dah]], [[Dhu al-Hijjah]], and [[Muharram]], months 11, 12, and 1 respectively. The single forbidden month is [[Rajab]], month 7. These months were considered forbidden both within the new Islamic calendar and within the old pagan Meccan calendar.<ref>{{cite news |title=Islamic New Year: To celebrate, or not to celebrate? |url=https://nation.com.pk/05-Oct-2016/islamic-new-year-to-celebrate-or-not-to-celebrate |work=The Nation |date=5 October 2016 |language=en |access-date=20 August 2020 |archive-date=10 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810091710/https://nation.com.pk/05-Oct-2016/islamic-new-year-to-celebrate-or-not-to-celebrate |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="EI2-Tarikh"/><ref>{{cite news |title=The four sacred months |url=https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/152932 |work=Saudigazette |date=15 April 2016 |language=en |access-date=21 August 2020 |archive-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810220521/https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/152932 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Muharram 2020: Al Hijri date, significance of the Islamic New Year |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/more-lifestyle/muharram-2020-al-hijri-date-and-significance-of-the-islamic-new-year/story-XfqdLHudDcI20RVWKQtOzL.html |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=20 August 2020 |language=en |access-date=21 August 2020 |archive-date=21 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821071634/https://www.hindustantimes.com/more-lifestyle/muharram-2020-al-hijri-date-and-significance-of-the-islamic-new-year/story-XfqdLHudDcI20RVWKQtOzL.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The beginning of a new Islamic year |url=https://gulf-times.com/story/671105/The-beginning-of-a-new-Islamic-year |website=Gulf-Times |language=ar |date=20 August 2020 |access-date=21 August 2020 |archive-date=21 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821072520/https://gulf-times.com/story/671105/The-beginning-of-a-new-Islamic-year |url-status=live }}</ref>