Dairat-ul-Burooj

In Islamic astronomy, the Lunar Mansions, known as “Manazil al-Qamar” or Dairat-ul-Burooj in Arabic, are a system of lunar divisions used to track the Moon’s position along its monthly journey across the sky. The concept of Lunar Mansions originated from ancient Arab and Islamic traditions and was developed to aid in timekeeping, navigation, and astronomical observations.

The Lunar Mansions divide the path of the Moon into 28 segments, each corresponding to a specific area of the sky. These segments are based on the Moon’s approximate daily motion relative to the stars, resulting in each Mansion spanning approximately 12 to 13 degrees of celestial longitude along the ecliptic.

It is interesting to know that, though observational data shows the movement of the moon in the belt of constellations, however, precise calculations suggest that the sun traverses the same path over the year (365.25 days app.) apparently—the sun lodges in each mansion for approximately 13 days.

In the following simulation the Lunar Mansions are denoted by numbers, while these mansions are as following:

  1. Al-Fara al-Moakhar الْفَرْعُ الْمُؤَخَّرُ
  2. Batnal-Hoot بَطْنُ الْحُوتِ
  3. Al-Sharatan الشَّرَطَانُ
  4. Al-Botain الْبُطَيْنُ
  5. Al-Thuraya الثُّرَيَّا
  6. Ad-Debaran الدَّبَرَانُ
  7. Al-Haq’ah الْهَقْعَةُ
  8. Al-Han’ah الْهَنْعَةُ
  9. Al-Dhira’ الذِّرَاعُ
  10. Al-Nathrah النَّثْرَةُ
  11. Al-Tarf  الطَّرْفُ
  12. Al-Jabhah الْجَبْهَةُ
  13. Adh-Dhubrah الزُّبْرَةُ
  14. Al-Sarfah الصَّرْفَةُ
  15. Al-Awwa  الْعَوَّاءُ
  16. Al-Simak السِّمَاكُ
  17. Al-Ghafr الْغَفْرُ
  18. Al-Dhubanan الزُّبَانَان
  19. Al-Eklil الْإِكْلِيلُ
  20. Al-Qalb الْقَلْبُ
  21. Al-Shaulah الشَّوْلَةُ
  22. An-Na’yem النَّعَائِمُ
  23. Al-Baldah الْبَلْدَةُ
  24. Sa’ad adh-Dhabih سَعْدٌ الذَّابِحُ
  25. Sa’ad Bula’ سَعْدُ بُلَعَ
  26. Sa’ad as-Su’ood سَعْدُ السُّعُودِ
  27. Sa’ad al-Akhbiyah سَعْدُ الْأَخْبِيَةِ
  28. Al-Fara al-Moqaddam الْفَرْعُ الْمُقَدَّمُ
Sun’s Journey Through the Lunar Mansions

Sun’s Journey Through the Lunar Mansions