علم الزمن والوقت
An approach to understanding the prophet’s time
The Apostle of Allah peace be upon him said: “The hour shall not be established until time is constricted, and the year is like a month, a month is like the week, and the week is like the day, and the day is like the hour, and the hour is like the flare of the fire” (narrated by Al-Tirmidhi).
Reading carefully this Holy Hadith, from the prism of “time science”, prompts us to ask about a number of things that seem obvious, but in-depth it turns out that it needs scrutiny, for instance:
– The concept of hour in the Prophet’s saying (PBUH): “and the day is like the hour”, is it an indefinite amount of time, or is it the well-known connotation today; i.e, which is part of the twenty-four parts of the day?
– What is the concept of “Constriction of time”? Does it have to do with the contemporary physic concepts, like “shrinking of time?”, “acceleration of time” and “travel in time”?
– How can we understand the artistic perception image which likens the “hour” at the end of time to “the flare of fire”? What is the meaning of the flare of fire? What are the similarities? Are our minds able to recognize its truth, or is it from the unseen?
– What is the benefit that we gain from tackling this subject, so that it does not turn into a mere discourse that has no effect, and into cold sermons that do not move us to action?
The Concept of Hour:
There is no doubt that dividing the day into 24 parts, each part is called an hour was one of the oldest sciences produced by humans. Most of the sources refer this achievement to Sumerian-Babylonians in Iraq. that is, before Islam, and before this holy hadith was reported from the Apostle peace be upon him? But did he, peace be upon him, know this division? Even if he knew it, did he mean it in his holy hadith? Did he use it in one of his other hadiths? Did he use it to interpret a verse from the Holy Qur’an, in which the word “hour” was indicated? When did the Arabs use the hour in the mechanical sense we know today?
It is known that Arabs divided the day into hours, and named each hour with names like: forenoon, midday, afternoon ..”. However, these hours are not equal in value and not equal in length; i.e., we cannot be certain that they are like the mechanic clock measured by minutes and seconds.
Reading the sources of astronomy, and the scientific sources in measuring time in the 3rd and 4th Hijry century; Muslim scholars were aware of the division of hour according to the movement of the sun, and wrote books, articles and research on that, they made timekeeping devices and used the astronomical calculations (Zij), for instance Yahya ibn Abi Mansur (died in 217 A.H.) wrote an articles entitled: “Maqala fi Amal Irtifa’ Sudus Sa’a Li’ard Madinat As-Salam”, Muhammad ibn Isa Mahanī (died in 275 A.H.), wrote an articles entitled: “Maqala fi Marifat As-Samt Li Ay Sa’a Aradt, wa fi Ay Mwdu’ Aradt (Determining Azimuth in any Hour you Want and in any Position you like)”.
It is likely that the concept of time in the holy hadith is a short amount of time, that is not much different from the amount we know today; which may increase or decrease, but it is perceived by the listener, who knows that it is the smallest unit used by Arabs in dividing the day in the era of the Messenger peace be upon him; as they weren’t known to have used terminologies like: minute and second for instance.
It is not implied by the Holy Hadith, but it indicates the globalization of the message, and that it is not related to accurate scientific terms, which kept being amended and corrected within the ages. The prophetic guidance is sufficient for its global and legislative dimensions, whereas the units remain a fertile field for research and development.
Written by: Dr. Mohamed Babaami
Translated by: Toufik Achour
Date: 30/07/2023
The Article title in Arabic: الساعة كالضرمة بالنار
