An-Nasi' النسيء

Substitles available in: English, Arabic, Turkish*, and French. *Turkish subtitles provided by Azesra. Article: de Blois, François. “Qurʾān 9:37 and CIH 547.” Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, Vol. 34, Papers from the thirty-seventh meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies held in London, 17-19 July 2003(2004), pp. 101-104. Published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41223809 The Quran's example of Intercalation: (Verse 18:25) • 300 solar years are approximately 109572.66 days (= 300 years x 365.2422 days) • 300 years made of 12 lunar months are approximately 106310.124 days (= 300 years x 12 months x 29.53059 days) • Missing (leap) days: 300 "solar years" - 300 "years made of 12 lunar months" = 109572.66 - 106310.124 = 3262.536 days In other words, after a period of 300 years, the lunar calendar will be missing approximately 3262 days. This means that we need to add 3262 days throughout the 300-year period in order to bring back the months within their respective season. How many months do the 3262 days amount to? • Converting days to months: (3262.536 days)/29.53059 days = 110.48 months How many years does this give? • Converting months to years: (110.4799 months)/12 months = 9.21 years So, during a period of 300 years, 9 leap years must be added. Which is exactly what verse 18:25 stated. In other words, the 9 years that were added are in fact the accumulation of leap months needed to complete the lunisolar calendar. Part of the story of the People of the Cave is thus used as an example to teach us the correct way to keep track of time. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the late 19th century, an interesting Inscription was discovered in Yemen. It was a monumental writing, dating back to the people of Saba’. In it an intriguing word was used – ns’w. The inscription describes how two clans from South Arabia are apologizing to their god for having postponed (ns’w) a certain religious ritual. They explain that they were supposed to perform it during a specific month, but that they had to postpone the ritual to another month because of war. The first researcher to make the connection between this Sabean inscription and verse 9:37 of the Quran was the professor François de Blois. Before this, some people assumed that the word nasi’ found in verse 9:37 is referring to intercalation (which is the process of adding leap days), but historical evidence says otherwise. This video explains the correct meaning of nasi’ and presents additional evidence from the Holy Quran.