Eid

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Eid
BrKhalid
02/24/01 at 12:03:34
Asalaamu Alaikum ;-)

I just phoned Regents Park Mosque in London and they informed me that Eid-ul-Adha would be on Mon 5 March.

Accordingly the Day of Arafat will be on the preceding Sunday.

If anyone checked out [url]http://www.moonsighting.com/index.cgi[/url] this news will come as a bit of surprise.
Re: Eid
jannah
02/24/01 at 14:07:24
Br Khalid,
I believe the shura council of north america decided to go with local sighting for this second eid as well. In previous years they just went with Saudi's decision.

Now we are going to have problems on the dates of both eids :(
Re: Eid
Kashif
02/24/01 at 15:12:25
assalaamu alaikum

I've always had a problem understanding how if Eid al-Adha happens in the Haram on a particular day, how can people in another land, knowing of this, choose a day which is out of sync with that? Are there any fatawa on this?
NS
Re: Eid
bhaloo
02/24/01 at 15:15:51
slm

Yes, there are, I'll go look for them, I had posted them on the previous board, 2 or 3 articles.  Chief Justice Taqi Usmani (famous scholar from Pakistan) had put up a lengthy article with proofs criticisizing ISNA for doing what they did in the past, so maybe that's why ISNA has changed their ways for the better, alhumdullilah.  
Re: Eid
bhaloo
02/24/01 at 15:22:15
slm

I remember having something pretty good on this subject, and will insha'Allah look for that and post it later, but here is what Chief Justice Taqi Usmani said with regards to Eid and his criticism of ISNA's view (which alhumdullilah has now changed).

ISNA's Eid al-Adha Stance Evaluated by Mufti Taqi Usmani

A few years ago Islamic Society Of North America (ISNA, http://www.isna.org) had widely circulated a paper regarding determination of Eid al-Adha. It strongly suggested that all over the world Eid al-Adha determination should follow the announcement of Hajj dates in Saudi Arabia. Here is a scholarly evaluation of that claim by Mufti Taqi Usmani. (Courtesy of Al-Balagh.net)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have gone through the article of ISNA and with the utmost respect for their sentiment for Muslim unity, I am forced to say that the view expressed in the article (Eid al-Adha on next day of Arafat) is in total disagreement with the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, and with the Shari'ah position recognized throughout the centuries. This is an unprecedented view which has never been adopted by any of the Muslim jurists during the past 1400 years, and it has a number of intrinsic defects and anomalies, some of which are summarized here.

The article admits that the celebration of Eid al-Fitr should be tied to the sighting of the moon in each country and should not be linked with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, however, the article calls for celebration of Eid al-Adha according to the Saudi Calendar regardless of the local dates, which means Eid al-Adha will be celebrated in North America on 8th or 9th of Zul-Hajjah. It is thus clear that the theory proposed in ISNA's article is impractical.

The article has laid much emphasis on the concept of unity of the Muslim Ummah, which no one can deny. At the same time, however, one must appreciate that unity does not mean that the entire Muslim Ummah throughout the world should perform their acts of worship at one and the same time, because it is physically not possible. It is evident that when people in Saudi Arabia are performing their Fajr prayers, those in North America may still have not completed their Isha prayers of the previous day. Similarly, when Muslims in Los Angeles offer their Fajr prayers, those in India and Pakistan are offering their Maghrib or Isha prayer of the same day.

If it is made obligatory on all the Muslims in the world to offer their acts of worship at one and the same time for the sake of unity, such unity can never materialize (because of the time differences). It is, therefore, obvious that offering one's acts of worship at different times do not affect the concept of Muslim Unity.
What does the Muslim unity mean?

It means that all Muslims should treat each other with brotherly sympathy and affection and should not spread disorder and dissention among them. Nor should they invent new ideas foreign to the teachings of Quran and the Sunnah which may lead to division and conflict among Muslims.

It is also astonishing that the article views the celebration of Eid al-Adha on different days as being against the concept of Ummah while in the matter of celebration of Eid ai-Fitr, this concept is dispensed with. If the celebration of Eid al-Fitr on different days does not affect the concept of unity, how can it be said to harm unity in the case of Eid al-Adha.


It is true that Eid al-Adha falls immediately after the day of Arafat in Saudi Arabia, but it is not necessary that the Muslims in every country should follow the same dates in their respective areas. Hajj, no doubt, is tied with a particular place but the celebration of Eid al-Adha is not confined to that place alone. It is celebrated everywhere in the world and cannot be tied to the Saudi calendar.

The article admits that the celebration of Eid al-Adha in other countries was never linked with its celebration in Saudi Arabia throughout the past 14 centuries. This, the author's claim was because of a lack of communication facilities. With vastly improved communication today, they argued that everyone almost anywhere can find out the day of Hajj, and should celebrate Eid al-Adha based on Saudi calendar.
There is a clear admission in this argument that it is not obligatory according to Quran or the Sunnah to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to Saudi calendar. Had this been so, Muslims would have tried their best to find the exact date of Hajj in Saudi Arabia. It is not correct to say that it was not possible in those days for people living outside Saudi Arabia to know the exact date of Hajj, because this date is normally determined on the first night of Zul-Hijjah. There is a nine day period until which is more than sufficient to acquire this information. However, no jurists has ever stressed that such information be collected in order to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to Saudi dates.

Further, if the argument of the article is accepted and it is held that the real intention of Quran and Sunnah was to link the celebration of Eid al-Adha with the Saudi dates, as a mandatory provision for all Muslims in the world, it means that the Shari'ah has stressed a principle which was not acceptable for 1300 years. It is not against the Quranic declaration that Allah does not make a thing mandatory unless it is practical for the human beings.

If the authors argue that the celebration of Eid al-Adha was not linked with the dates in Makkah in the past but it has become a mandatory requirement of the Shari'ah now, then the question arises, who has abrogated the previous principle and on what basis? There is no provision in Quran or the Sunnah which orders the Muslims to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to their local dates up to a particular time and to link it with the dates in Makkah thereafter. Whoever considers this and similar questions arising out of this unprecedented theory advanced in the article can appreciate its fallacy.


Finally, I would like to inform you that the question of sighting the moon for each lunar month including Zul-Hijjah was thoroughly discussed at the annual sessions of the Islamic Fiqh Academy (held in Jordan, October 11-16, 1986) attended by more than a hundred outstanding scholars of Shari'ah. The academy adopted the resolution recommended that all Muslim countries should determine all the lunar months including Zul-Hijjah on the same basis for both Eid al-Fitr as well as Eid al-Adha.
This resolution represents the consensus of Muslim jurists throughout the world. The proposal contained in the ISNA article, however, goes totally against this consensus.

Before parting with the subject, I would like to emphasize that such unprecedented proposals can never advance the cause of Muslim unity. Rather, they may create a new point of disunity and dissention among Muslims. Before venturing such opinions as definite "Fatwa", these should be discussed at some responsible international forum of contemporary Muslim jurists like the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in Jeddah.

Mufti Taqi Usmani
NS
Re: Eid
bhaloo
02/24/01 at 22:09:33
slm

This isn't the article I was looking for but it sort of addresses the issue briefly.  The other article I had was in pretty good detail, I'll keep looking for it.  Yes, I know its about Ramadan but still the moon sighting part applies.


The Arrival of Ramadan & Sighting of the Crescent at Different Locations


The Arrival of Ramadan

This event is confirmed by sighting the new moon, even if it is seen by only
one just person, or by the passage of thirty days in the immediately
preceding month of Sha'ban.

Ibn 'Umar said: "The people were looking for the new moon and when I reported
to the Messenger of Allah that I had seen it, he fasted and ordered the
people to fast." This is related by Abu Dawud, al-Hakim, and Ibn Hibban, who
declared it to be sahih.

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet instructed: "Fast after you have seen
it [the new crescent] and end the fast [at the end of the month] when you see
it. If it is hidden from you, then wait until the thirty days of Sha'ban have
passed." This is related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Commenting on these reports, at-Tirmidhi states: "Most knowledgeable people
act in accordance with these reports. They say that it is correct to accept
the evidence of one person to determine the beginning of the fast. This is
the opinion of Ibn alMubarak, ash-Shaf'i, and Ahmad. An-Nawawi says that it
is the soundest opinion. Conceming the new moon of Shawwal [which signifies
the end of the fast], it is confimmed by completing thirty days of Ramadan,
and most jurists state that the new moon must have been reported by at least
two just witnesses.

Ibn-Rushd comments that: "The opionion of Abu Bakr ibn alMundhir, which is
also that of Abu Thaur and, I suspect, that of the Dhahiri school of thought,
is supported by the following argument given by Abu Bakr al-Mundhiri: there
is complete agreement that breaking the fast is obligatory, that abstaining
from eating is based on one person's report, and that the situation must be
like that for the beginning of the month and for the ending of the month, as
both of them are simply the signs that differentiate the time of fasting from
the time of not fasting."

Ash-Shaukani observes: "If there is nothing authentic recorded that states
that one may only accept two witnesses for the end of the month, then it is
apparent, by analogy, that one witness is sufficient, as it is sufficient for
the beginning of the month. Furthemmore, worship based on the acceptance of
one report points to the fact that such singular reports are accepted in
every matter unless there is some evidence that specifies the peculiarity of
specific cases, such as the number of witnesses conceming matters of wealth,
and so on. Apparently this is the opinion of Abu Thaur."


Different Locations:


According to the majority of scholars, it does not matter if the new moon has
been sighted in a different location. In other words, after the new moon is
seen anywhere in the world, it becomes obligatory for all Muslims to begin
fasting, as the Prophet said: "Fast due to its sighting and break the fast
due to its sighting." This hadith is a general address directed to the whole
Muslim world - that is, "if any one of you sees the moon in any place, then
that will be a sighting for all of the people."

According to 'Ikrimah, al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, Salim, Ishaq, the correct
opinion among the Hanafiyyah, and the chosen opinion among the Shaf'iyyah,
every "country" (or territory) is to take into consideration its own sighting
and not necessarily to follow the sighting of others. This is based on what
Kuraib said: "While I was in ash-Sham, the new moon of Ramadan appeared on
Thursday night. I retumed to Madinah at the end of the month. There, Ibn
'Abbas asked me: 'When did you people see the new moon?' I said: 'We saw it
on Thursday night.' He said: 'Did you see it yourself?' I said: 'Yes, the
people saw it, and they and Mu'awiyyyah fasted.' He said: 'But we saw it on
Friday night. We will not stop fasting until we complete thirty days or until
we see the new moon.' I said: 'Isn't Mu'awiyyah's sighting and fasting
sufficient for you?' He said: 'No . . . This is the order of the Messenger of
Allah.' " This is related by Ahmad, Muslim, and at-Tirmidhi.

About the hadith, at-Timmidhi says: "It is hassan sahih ghareeb. Scholars act
in accordance with this hadith. Every land has its sighting." In Fath
al-'Alam Sharh Bulugh al-Maram, it is stated: The [opinion] closest [to the
truth] is that each land follows its sighting, as well as the areas that are
connected to it."


Sighting of the Crescent by one Person:


The scholars of fiqh agree that if only one person sees the new moon, he is
to fast. 'Ata differs and says that he is not to fast until someone else also
sights the new moon with him. The correct position is that he is to break the
fast, as ash-Shaf'i and Abu Thaur have ruled. The Prophet has based the fast
and its breaking on the sighting of the moon. One's own sight is enough for
him and there is no need for another person's sighting.
NS


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