enables one to know the number of years and the reckoning. He does not mention the sun’s passage through the zodiacal signs.

This is supported by His words:

“Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve months in the Book of Allah”—to the end of the verse.

This explicitly establishes that the year is lunar. His words, “Hajj is during well-known months,” also support this. However, the other interpretation is supported by His words:

“We made the night and the day two signs. We effaced the sign of the night and made the sign of the day illuminating, so that you may seek bounty from your Lord and know the number of years and the reckoning.”

There is a reason for this—and Allah knows best—which reveals the wisdom behind what the Book and the revealed law prescribe concerning reckoning by lunar months and years rather than solar ones: months and years, as defined by various nations, are either determined by counting or by a natural cycle. A lunar month follows a natural cycle, while its year is determined by counting. A solar month, by contrast, is determined by counting, while its year follows a natural cycle.

The wisdom in making our month lunar is therefore clear, since it follows a natural cycle. Its beginning is tied to the crescent rather than the conjunction because the crescent is precisely ascertainable through the senses, without error or any need for calculation. The conjunction, by contrast, is imperceptible and requires calculation, as does a solar month if its limits are to be determined. As for the solar year, although it follows a natural cycle, it is of the same kind as