Nasi (month)
Encyclopedia
Nasi in Arabic was the original first month of the year in the Islamic calendar
. On the tenth of Nasi they used to take a lamb out of the flocks to slaughter on the 14th (sunset on the 13th). This four day celebration was called Eid Qurbani, but if the spring equinox
had not occurred before the 14th, Nasi was extended by an extra (intercalary) lunar month into Muharram
to ensure the lamb would be slaughtered on the day before the first full moon after the equinox. After 632CE Nasi was never allowed to be spread over two lunar months again as Muharram, and the Muslim year was restricted to only ever 12 lunar months. For some time after this habit the first month was called Nasi by some and Muharram by others until eventually the 2nd Caliph Omar made the 12 lunar month system official and declared Muharram as the official name of the first month. At this point the month of Nasi became confined to the history books as Islam's lost "intercalary" month but the importance of 10th of the month before Muharram continued and developed into Eid ul-Adha
.
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
. On the tenth of Nasi they used to take a lamb out of the flocks to slaughter on the 14th (sunset on the 13th). This four day celebration was called Eid Qurbani, but if the spring equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
had not occurred before the 14th, Nasi was extended by an extra (intercalary) lunar month into Muharram
Muharram
Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year in which fighting is prohibited...
to ensure the lamb would be slaughtered on the day before the first full moon after the equinox. After 632CE Nasi was never allowed to be spread over two lunar months again as Muharram, and the Muslim year was restricted to only ever 12 lunar months. For some time after this habit the first month was called Nasi by some and Muharram by others until eventually the 2nd Caliph Omar made the 12 lunar month system official and declared Muharram as the official name of the first month. At this point the month of Nasi became confined to the history books as Islam's lost "intercalary" month but the importance of 10th of the month before Muharram continued and developed into Eid ul-Adha
Eid ul-Adha
Eid al-Adha or "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep— to sacrifice...
.