Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| [Fatwa-Online] Beginning of Ramadhaan |
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| salaam |
| 11/25/00 at 16:26:25 |
| as-Salaamu 'Alaikum, I just wanted to share an e-mail that I received today. was-Salaamu 'Alaikum. [Quote] al-Hamdu-Lillaahi Rabbil-'Aalameen was-Salaatu was-Salaamu 'alaa Ashrafil-Anbiyaa.e wal-Mursaleen, wa ba'd: as-Salaam 'alaykum wa-Rahmatullaahe wa-Barakaatuhu, Just a short time ago, the official decision and announcement of the High Judiciary Council of Saudi Arabia announced that since the moon of Ramadhaan was not sighted this evening, here in Saudi Arabia, we shall be completing the thirty (30) days of Sha’baan, in line with the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam): "Fast when you see the crescent. If it is obscured to you, then complete thirty days of Sha'baan. And break your fast when you see the crescent. If it is obscured to you then fast thirty days." [Bukhaaree and Muslim]. Subsequently, we shall be starting our taraaweeh prayers tomorrow night (Sunday 26 November 2000) after the ‘Ishaa. prayer, in preparation for the [u]first fast of Ramadhaan on Monday 27 November 2000[/u], inshaa.-Allaah. Baarak-Allaahu Feekum - wa sal-Allaahu wa-sallam 'alaa Nabiyyinaa Muhammad, was-Salaam 'alaykum wa-Rahmatullaahe wa-Barakaatuhu. Abu 'Abdullaah, for and on behalf of Fatwa-Online .......... {then ask the People of Knowledge if you do not know}, [Soorah an-Nahl, Aayah 43 and Soorah al-Anbiyaa., Aayah 7] Visit us at: http://www.fatwa-online.com Mirror site: http://www.efatwa.com Email us at: mail@fatwa-online.com [/quote] |
| The whole "when to fast" issue |
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| jannah |
| 11/27/00 at 01:08:18 |
| Assalaam Alaikum, While I would love that the entire world decide at one time when Ramadan should start, [I don't even mind if they go for calculation, local sighting or global sighting method], I do think that if you are unsure of when to fast, you should call up your local masjid that you attend and ask them. Fasting with them is good because then you will be also celebrating eid with them together and the same days of fasting, taraweeh etc |
| Re: [Fatwa-Online] Beginning of Ramadhaan |
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| bhaloo |
| 11/27/00 at 10:41:49 |
| slm With regards to when to fast ISNA presented this informative piece about a week ago. On Sunday, November 19, 2000, the groundbreaking Symposium on the Islamic Calendar concluded with major steps towards a solution to the moon-sighting problem. For years the Muslim Ummah has been plagued by misunderstanding and confusion regarding this issue. This symposium, hosted by ISNA, brought together the Fiqh Council of North America and the preeminent astronomers and activists in this field, including a representative from Saudi Arabia, to discuss and work together towards a solution. The summary is as follows: Facts and Areas of Agreement: 1- Two fiqh positions exist regarding the sighting of a moon. Ikhtilaf Al Mataale is to say that every city/area/country determines the sighting of the moon on its own for all lunar months. Ikhtilaf Al Mataale is the opinion which was adopted by the Fiqh Council of North America, by Mufti Taqi Usmani of Pakistan, and is published in the Fatawas of the leading scholar Sheikh Al Othaimeen (Fatawa Islamiya - Sheikh Bin Baaz, Sheikh Al Othaimeen, and Sheikh Al Jibreen, - DarulWatan LilNashr) of Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Al Othaimeen has written that Sheikh Ibn Taimiya also supported Ikhtilaf Al Mataale and in a recent Fatwa, Sheikh Al Othaimeen has made it even more clear that Ikhtilaf Al Mataale applies to all twelve months including Dhul-Hijjah & Eid al-Adha. Saudi Arabia itself also follows Ikhtilaf Al Mataale. Further, over 100 outstanding scholars of Shari'ah at the Annual Session of the Islamic Fiqh Academy in Jordan October 11-16, 1986, adopted the resolution recommending that all Muslim countries should determine all the lunar months including Dhul-Hijjah on the same basis for both Eid al-Fitr as well as Eid al-Adha. So it is their legal verdict that the Muslims in America should sight the moon independently of any other country's decision, including Saudi Arabia, for determining all the twelve lunar months. The other opinion is Itihad Al Mataale , which says that if someone sights the moon anywhere on earth, then it is binding on all Muslims. This view is impossible to implement because a moon can be sighted in one place and the next day has already started for people living several time zones to the east. Further, the “Lunar Date Line” typically divides the world into two parts, which see the Hilal on different gregorian dates. A declaration of the beginning of fasting would come after the day had already begun for a large percentage of the world. So Astronomy also supports the Ikhtilaf Al Matale opinion. A view that is completely unfounded in Sharia is for a Muslim living abroad to follow the sightings of their home country. This is neither Itihad Al Mataale nor Ikhtilaf Al Mataale. It is a religious invention that only succeeds in generating division in local communities. 2- There is a big difference between the Crescent Moon (the visible Hilal) and the Astronomical New Moon (which is not visible). The astronomical new moon causes a lot of confusion for Muslims because it is reported by newspapers and national observatories. It occurs when the moon crosses the line between the earth and the sun. As a result, it is completely invisible because the sun is behind it. The Crescent Moon is the first visible moon, the Hilal, and is only visible after sunset. This is important because in Islam the day begins after sunset and the sight of the new Hilal signals the start of the new lunar month. The astronomical new moon cannot be used to start the new Muslim month because it doesn’t coincide with the start of the new Muslim day (it can occur at any time during the 24 hour day), and it occurs about 12 to 25 hours before the Hilal is born. 3- There are many things that can be mistaken for a Hilal (Crescent moon). Consequently visual sighting can be very inaccurate. The U.S Naval Observatory concluded in a study, that if 100 people go out to sight the moon on a night when it is impossible to be seen, about 15 will claim to have seen the new moon. Errors are unacceptable in religious matters and so other methods are used to validate the sightings. Historically, the testimony of large numbers of people 50-500+ was required. Today, everyone uses some form of calculation to determine if a sighting was technically impossible. The discrepancy between countries occurs because some make their minimum cutoff for sightability of the crescent moon the astronomical new moon. Many times this results in the new month being declared a day early. 4- If the moon is not sighted in North America on a clear day, it is impossible for it to have been seen in the Middle East 8 to 12 hours earlier. 5- Authorities in Saudi Arabia are trying to improve their process of determining the new moon. Their simplistically calculated Umm Ul Qura civil calendar was never intended to predict sightability of the Hilal for religious dates. This discrepancy generates a large number of false sightings because people expect to see the moon. They are aware of the historical inaccuracies in their current system of determining the lunar months and they are trying to improve accuracy. To do so, they have established Hilal sighting committees near Makkah, Riyadh, Qassim, Hail, Tabuk and Asir, each of which include an Islamic Scholar, an Astronomer and a Government representative, plus volunteers. But it may take some time for these committees to be allowed a greater say in the final decisions. Currently the Justice department takes the sighting reports from “any Muslim”, and has often declared the start of the month when none of these official committees sighted the Hilal. 6- The direction of prayer is only evident when you look at a globe and measure the shortest distance to Makka. (This can be done with a string.) The angle of the shortest distance (the string) relative to the geographic north pole is the angle you pray relative to North. The result is that people in North America pray approximately North-East. Flat maps severely distort the image of the world and do not give accurate representation for prayer directions. Agreed upon methodology for verifying moonsightings: The Muslims of North America will sight the moon independently for all religious holidays & months including Eid al-Adha. A reported sighting will be disqualified under the following two criteria: 1- The general description of the moon and its location in the sky is inaccurate. 2- The moon is considered impossible to be seen under any conditions from that area. This impossibility is defined as any reported sighting that has a geocentric elongation less than 7 degrees. This is unanimously agreed upon by all astronomical scientists and the calculations for this determination will be made for each sighting before it is accepted. Explanation: This criteria means that the angle between the sun and moon relative to the center of the earth is less than 7 degrees. For everything below this number the moon is not visible because the small lighted portion of the moon is obscured from view by the mountains on the moon. The Bottom line: In North America, a pre-determined Islamic calendar is necessary to allow more people to schedule days off with their schools, and businesses. This is not an Islamic country and many can’t afford to schedule two days off to participate in the Eids. Many methods were proposed to generate such a calendar. Impressive historical performance by all of the systems presented and continual improvement leaves the door open to a long-term solution. The proposals presented at this symposium will be improved and tested for past and future reliability and will be presented to the Fiqh Council of North America for review. Conclusion: ISNA is dedicated to facilitating and encouraging the development of the Muslim community in America. The moon sighting announcements will always be jointly declared with the Islamic Shura Council of North America. For the last several years, ISNA has been dedicated to educating the Muslim community through sessions at conventions, seminars, conferences, and many publications and articles, regarding the issue of moon sighting. As a result, the number of false sightings has dropped considerably. More information on moon sighting can be found at: http://www.moonsighting.com. Ultimately we must remind ourselves of what is really important. It doesn’t matter how accurate our fasting, prayer, and Eids are from a Fiqh and scientific point of view if we aren’t willing to reach out to one another to cement our ties of brotherhood & sisterhood. It is our hope that this continuous effort will help ease the tensions that have haunted the Muslim community in the past and we can look forward to a unified future Insha’Allaah. May Allaah (SWT) help and guide us all. Ameen. |
| NS |
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