Nowrouz is indeed the New Day. It marks the resurgence of spring in the northern hemisphere when trees begin to adorn their fresh green attire, after the cold and snows of the months of winter. The new leaves that sprout indicate the philosophy of Resurrection in Islam, and how God gives refreshes life after death.
The holy Qur’an says in ayah 9 of Surah al-Fatir:
“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].”
Although, Nowrouz is deeply embedded in Iranian culture and traditions as a result of the mythology lore accumulated over the centuries since Cyrus the Great borrowed the festival of spring from the astronomically advanced Babylonians, and is celebrated to this day wherever Persian culture was dominant – from India and China in the east to Egypt and the Balkans in the west – it has its roots in Islamic teachings that enlighten us with facts about the creation of the world and mankind, with emphasis on firm adherence to the message of monotheism entrusted by the Lord Most High to Prophets and Imams.
A famous hadith narrated from Imam Musa al-Kazem (AS), the 7th Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), says in this regard:
“In Nowrouz Allah made a covenant with His servants to worship Him and not to allow any partner for Him; to follow his messengers and obey their rulings. This day is the first day that the wind of fertility blew and flowers appeared on the earth... It is the day when Abraham (AS) broke the idols; the day Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) raised (Imam) Ali (AS) on his shoulders to destroy the idols the Quraish had placed atop the (symbolic) House of God, the Ka’ba.”
Similar hadith abound in Islamic texts, in the works of both the Sunni and Shi’a Muslims. Earlier, when a group of people had asked the Prophet’s 6th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), about the significance of Nowrouz that the Iranians have diligently preserved, he said:
“The sun attained its brightness, the wind started to blow, the Ark of Prophet Noah (AS) stopped at Mount Joudi and was saved from drowning; Prophet Abraham (AS) broke the idols of his community; Archangel Gabriel brought the first revelation to our Prophet (Mohammad - SAWA); the Prophet lifted Imam Ali (AS) on his shoulders to enable him to topple the idols from atop the Ka'ba; and (years later) the Prophet proclaimed Imam Ali (AS) as his (divinely-designated) vicegerent at Ghadir-e-Khom (on 18th Zilhijja 10 AH by the command of Almighty Allah).”
Another famous saying from the 6th Imam reads: “Today is the day on which God made a pact with His servants to pray to Him not to follow polytheism but to follow the Prophets and the Ahl al-Bayt. On this day the last Imam, the Awaited Mahdi (AS) is expected to reappear...”
Thus, in view of these and other hadith, coupled with the significance of the Wilaya (divinely-given authority) of Imam Ali (AS) and his Immaculate Heirs, Islamic prayer books contain valuable information on Nowrouz that recommend fasting, thanksgiving, charity, and ritual prayers on this day.
Iran and Iranian Muslims deserve high praise for having preserved the celebration of Nowrouz as New Year Day, which was precisely fixed by such great astronomers as Abu Rayhan Berouni and Omar Khayyam Naishapuri, who based it (like the lunar hijri calendar) on the auspicious migration of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) from Mecca to Medina and made it more precise than the Roman calendar in use by the West and unfortunately imposed on the rest of the world.
Of course, the lunar hijri Arabic calendar is indispensible for the Muslim Ummah for observance of religious events including the fasting month of Ramadhan, the mourning months of Muharram and Safar, and the month of Zilhijja, in which the annual Hajj is performed.
However, in order to keep a proper track of the seasonal cycles, the harvests, and maintenance of administrative records, shouldn’t the Muslim Ummah adopt the solar hijri calendar in use in Iran, instead of following the Christian Gregorian calendar which is based on the supposed crucifixion of Prophet Jesus (AS), an issued which the holy Qur’an refutes!
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