Shadow calculation song of Malabar to calculate Assr prayer time.
Umar qadi of veliyankode wrote a song in 19 th century used Malayalam and Arabic words to
calculate the prayer time of Assr or afternoon prayer.It is on the basis of approximate assumption that aperson's shadow is
equal to eight feet to his foot. Assr prayer time is when the shadow of a thing becomes the length of his height.Usually
the Sun transit through the zenith of a place in equitorial region is only in two days of a year. For the remaining days of
the year it is to find ways and elders used this song to calculate Assr time till the arrival of modern pendulum clocks and
wrist watches.When I was a child I have seen my grand mother meassuring the shadow to tell Assr time and I collected these
verses from her . She expired in februery of 2006.
The verses can be translated as follows:
Eight feet in Aries and Leo
and nine in Taurus, Gemini and
Cancer
Nine and a half in Pisces and
Virgo.
And in Aquarius and Libra ten
and a half.
Eleven and a quarter inscorpio
and Capricornus,
And eleven and three quarters
in Sagittarius.
This calculation is suitable for
Only a place between Ezhimala
and Chettuwa told Qadi
bin
Ali.
The last two lines are in pure Arabic . Chettuwa and Ezhimala are two places
with 1.5 degree defference.
