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Manazil-ul-Qamar: The Islamic Zodiac
Author:
Sajid Mahmood Ansari
Star gazers have been
appreciating the beauty and arrangement of fixed stars in the sky since time immemorial. However, a belt of constellations, extending 8.5o on
the ecliptic, always fascinated the human imagination. Record of these
constellations has been found in the ruins of the oldest civilizations,
including, Egyptian, Syrian, Mesopotamian, and Chinese as well. Homer is the
first Greek author who mentioned the term ‘zodiac’ for this tilted belt of
constellations.
What is a zodiac?
Encyclopedia Britannica
observes:
Zodiac, in astronomy and astrology, is a belt around the heavens
extending 9° on either side of the ecliptic, the plane of Earth’s orbit and of the Sun’s apparent annual path.
The orbits of the Moon and of the
principal planets also lie entirely
within the zodiac.[1]
The Greeks associated each constellation with different animals,
believing them deities who influence all events of their life. They named their
Gods after these constellations or zodiacal signs. Islam abolished all the
superstitious concerns about the stars and constellations. Islam believes in
only God, who created all the celestial bodies and governs them.
Islamic Concept of Zodiac
The Qur’an refers to the belt of constellations with Manazil-ul-Qamar
(Mansions of the Moon) in Chapter 36.
الَّذِي جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاءً
وَالْقَمَرَ نُورًا وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ
وَالْحِسَابَ ۚ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ ذَٰلِكَ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ ۚ يُفَصِّلُ
الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ
He it is who hath made the sun a burning light and the moon a
cool light, and hath determined mansions for her that ye may know the number of
the years and the reckoning. Allah hath not created all this except with a
purpose; He detaileth these signs unto those who know.[2]
So Qur’an describes the purpose of determining mansions for
the moon, i.e keeping the number of years through computation. In other words,
the mansions of the moon are determined for measuring time, not only on a larger
scale but on a smaller scale as well. It also helps to determine the longitude
and latitude of a specific location.
Scope of Astrology in Islam
So what is the scope of astrology in Islam? Definitely zero. The
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) completely rejected astrology and claims
of astrologers about future telling based on astrology.
It
was narrated that ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه)
said:
The
Prophet (ﷺ) said to me: “O ‘Ali, do not sit with
astrologers.”[3]
Narrated
Abdullah ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنه):
The
Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone acquires any knowledge of
astrology, he acquires a branch of the magic of which he gets more as long as he
continues to do so.[4]
It
is reported on the authority of Abu Huraira (رضي الله عنه)
that the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Don't
you know what your Lord said? He observed: I have never endowed My bondsmen
with a favor, but a section amongst them disbelieved it and said: Stars, it was
due to the stars.[5]
So
according to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) believing in astrology is
a kind of kufr (disbelief). May Allah Almighty protect us from all sorts
of kufr. Ameen.
This monotheistic approach to understanding nature changed the
views of the Muslims about the zodiac. The Muslim astronomers not only amended and
corrected the Greek Zodiac, proposed by Egyptian astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy) (100-178 ca) but innovated the purpose of the study of stars. They
used astronomy to measure time, calculate the direction of Qiblah, and geolocations, and glorify their Lord Allah Almighty.
Daira-tul-Burooj
The Muslim observers used the term Daira-tul-Burooj
instead of the zodiac or its Arabic synonym, to avoid the misconceptions associated
with the zodiac. Daira-tul-Burooj means the circle of constellations.
Ptolemy described 48 fixed constellations, located in the zodiac
belt. However, the Muslim astronomers short-listed the constellations up to 28 referring
to the orbiting of the moon in its mansions in 28 nights. Let’s know the facts
about mansions of the moon.
Geocentric versus Heliocentric
Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy) proposed that the Earth was fixed at the center
of the solar system, but the entire universe. This is called the geocentric model
of the solar system. So Egyptian and Greek Zodiac were based on the geocentric
model. This is because all the astrologers and ancient astronomers believed
that it is the sun that travels through the zodiac.
According to the Qur’an, actually, it is the moon that
travels through the belt of constellations, rather than the sun. That is why
the Qur’an mentions the constellations as
Manazil-ul-Qamar. Hence, the Qur’an does not support the geocentric model,
but it points to the heliocentric model. Modern astronomers also support the heliocentric model of the solar system. Natural laws do not allow a larger mass
like the sun to revolve around a smaller mass like earth.
Generally speaking, we don’t observe stars in the daytime due to
sunlight. So it is an assumption that the sun travels on the same path in the
belt of constellations that is followed by the moon. That is why astronomers of the day call that
path sun’s apparent annual path. The Greek, Egyptian, Chinese and Indian zodiac
stands on mere calculations. While Manazil-ul-Qamar (the Islamic Zodiac)
stands on the actual observational data.
So moon completes its circuit around the earth traveling
within the belt of constellations or Daira-tul-Burooj in a lunar month. When
the moon appears as a new crescent, it passes by the mansion of As-Sartan (The
Cancer) which is considered the first constellation of Daira-tul-Burooj,
in Islamic astronomy. In astronomy, As-Sartan (Cancer) is considered the
moon’s homeland or domicile. On the 28th night of the lunar month, the
moon passes by the last constellation Batn al-Hoot (Pisces). This lunar
cycle continues throughout the year.
Manazil-ul-Qamar
The Arabic names of 28 mansions of the moon are given below:
1.
As-Sartan
2.
Al-Botain
3.
Ath-Thuraya
4.
Ad-Debaran
5.
Al-Haq’ah
6.
Al-Han’ah
7.
Adh-Dira’
8.
An-Nathrah
9.
At-Tarf
10.
Al-Jabhah
11.
Adh-Dhubrah
12.
As-Sarfa
13.
Al-Awa
14.
As-Simak
15.
Al-Ghafr
16.
Adh-Dhubanan
17.
Al-Eklil
18.
Al-Qalb
19.
Ash-Shawlah
20.
An-Na’yem
21.
Al-Baldah
22.
Sa’ad
adh-Dhabih
23.
Sa’ad
Bula’
24.
Sa’ad
as-Su’ood
25.
Sa’ad
al-Akhbiyah
26.
Al-Fara
al-Moqaddam
27.
Al-Fara
al-Moakhar
28.
Batn
al-Hoot
Shaykh al-Islam Imam Ibni Qudamah al-Hanbali mentioned these
mansions of the moon in his famous work on Islamic Jurisprudence, Al-Moghni,
in the chapter of Qiblah direction.[6]
Many scholars of Tafsir mentioned these constellations while
interpreting Surah Yasin (Ayah 39). For instance consult Tafsir
Al-Qortubi.
These twenty-eight constellations have been divided into two equal
groups, i.e northern group, and the southern group. These northern and southern
constellations make pairs of opposites. When a northern constellation arises,
its southern opposite sets.
It is interesting to know that, though observational data
shows the movement of the moon in the belt of constellations, however, precise
calculations suggest that the sun traverses the same path over the course of
the year (365 days app.). The sun lodges in each mansion for 13 days
approximately.
Finding Qiblah with the Help of Stars
Finding
Qiblah with the help of shining stars has been a discourse over time, as
fishermen and desert travelers need this technique. Though magnetic compass
has solved the problem, still magnetic compass is not always with fishermen and
desert travelers. Scholars have suggested different ways, however, most of them
suggest locating Binat-un-Na’ash (The Big Dipper) for identifying the
North Star. Look for a large spoon-shaped constellation. Three stars in
the handle, four stars in the head. Imagine a
line that connects the front two stars of the Big Dipper. If you follow that
line, about five times the distance will be the north star. It’s the first
bright star you’ll run into that’s close to this vector. You have found the
north. Now it helps you decide where is your Qiblah.
Calculating time with respect to stars and finding the longitude or
latitude of a place involves technical details, so are beyond the scope of this
article written for laymen. So we limit this article to the description of Manzil-ul-Qamar
or Daira-tul-Burooj. Wait for the next articles with details of
constellations or mansions of the moon. Stay blessed and give blessings.
