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The Quran mentions an intriguing detail about calendars in Surah Al-Kahf:
They had remained in their cave for three hundred years, adding nine.18:25
This statement reflects the transition from the solar calendar to the lunar calendar. Three hundred solar years roughly equal 309 lunar years, as the lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. The Quran subtly highlights this difference, showing an awareness of the two systems of timekeeping. At the time of revelation, the Arabs used the lunar calendar, and skeptics have argued that the lunar system was invented first, citing the Sumerians who developed a lunar-based calendar thousands of years ago. However, modern archaeology has overturned this view, showing that the solar calendar actually predates the lunar calendar. Evidence from prehistoric sites, such as Warren Field in Scotland and Wurdi Youang in Australia, indicates that solar tracking systems were in use as early as the Stone Age, thousands of years before the Sumerians developed their lunar calendar. The Quran’s reference aligns with this modern understanding, as it implies the existence of the solar calendar before the lunar calendar. At the time, this knowledge would have been completely unknown, making this verse remarkable. How could an unlettered man living 1400 years ago have known this? The verse reflects precise knowledge that was only uncovered by modern archaeological discoveries, serving as evidence of the Quran’s divine origin.