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The Islamic Message of Nowrouz
By: Seyyed Ali Shahbaz
“In Nowruz Allah made a covenant with His servants to worship Him and not to allow any partner for Him. To welcome, His messengers and obey their rulings. This day is the first day that the fertile wind blew and the flowers on the earth appeared. The Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Prophet, and it is the day that Abraham (as) broke the idols. The day Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) held (Imam) Ali (AS) on his shoulders to destroy the idols the Quraish had placed atop the (symbolic) House of God, the Ka’ba.”
The above hadith from Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), the 7th Infallible Heir of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), has been recorded by Allamah Muhammad Baqer Majlisi in his famous encyclopedic work “Bihar al-Anwar”.
The passage is self-explanatory. It is firm proof of the fact that it is Allah Who is the One and Creator, without any partner, assistant or advisor in His designs. It is He the All-Wise Who brought the universe into existence, shaped the Milky Way Galaxy, fashioned the solar system, made the Earth (like the other planets) spin on its axis while revolving around the Sun – in order to determine day and night, the cyclic change of weather conditions, computation of the year – and created winds to interact with the sunlight and the salty seas to set in motion the clouds for raining fresh water on the soil to make it bloom with vegetation of different kinds for the thriving of birds, animals, and insects of various hues and colours – all for the benefit of the Best of Creation, that is Mankind.
“It is Allah Who sends the winds and these (winds) raise a cloud; then We drive it toward a dead land and with it revive the earth after its death. Likewise will be the resurrection [of the dead].” – Holy Qur’an 35:9
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, and it is for this very reason that the New Day of Spring (Nowrouz in Persian and Iranic cultures), is celebrated 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 will echo throughout the length and breadth of the Islamic Republic of Iran and beyond its geographical and political borders at 20:27:07 hours sharp local time (17:57:07 GMT) on Thursday, March 20, as the Muslim people – many of the faithful after a day’s fast as thanksgiving to God – usher in the calendar year 1393 solar hijri.
This means that like the lunar hijri Islamic calendar 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 solar calendar in use in Iran and some other countries like Afghanistan is also Islamic and essential for the accurate calculation of the changing seasons, since it is based on Prophet Muhammad’s (SAWA) auspicious migration from Mecca to Medina that had occurred on the 1st of Rabi al-Awwal – Rabi is Arabic for spring.
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?
This is the message of Nowrouz, which Cyrus the Great had borrowed from the astronomically advanced Babylonians (deviant successors of Abraham and Noah) and completely Persianized it, to the extent that despite deviations during the Sassanid era, with the advent of Islam Iranian Muslim scientists, such as al-Khwarezmi, al-Berouni, and Omar Khayyam Neishabouri, succeeded in perfectly computing the solar hijri calendar.
Excellent points to ponder indeed during the New Year holidays, especially in view of the famous prophecy that when the Lord of the Age, Prophet Muhammad’s (SAWA) 12th and Last Infallible Heir, Imam Mahdi (AS), will reappear – along with Jesus – to establish the global government of peace, prosperity, and justice, the day will be the Spring Equinox.
Happy Nowrouz and Best Wishes for the New Year
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