Are
calculations and lunar calendars an alternative to the sighting of the
crescent?
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| Are calculations and lunar calendars an alternative to the sighting of the crescent? |
The Ministry of Science and Technology
announced in a tweet on April 3, 2021 that the moon of Ramadan will appear on
April 13 this year and the first fast will be on April 14. In addition, the
moon will be clearly visible in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi. This
tweet from the government started the discussion on the issue of sighting of
the crescent once again. On this tweet, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, the
new chairman of the committee, also expressed frustration that Fawad Chaudhry
should have waited for the meeting of the committee while a senior official of
the Ministry of Science is also a regular member of the committee. It may be
recalled that Fawad Chaudhry Sahib had also launched Pakistan's official
website pakmoonsighting.pk based on Ruit Hilal on May 26, 2019
and on May 30, 2019, he also released an Android application called "The
Ruet". Was available on the Google play store. But this time a new
dimension has emerged in the debate as to whether the lunar month can be
started on the basis of calculations or not.
It is true that due to advances and innovations in
science, such mysteries of astronomy have been revealed to man, the
acquaintance of which was once considered a dream. Thanks to these newly
acquired sciences, man today is able to accurately estimate the movements and
conditions of the sun, moon and other planets and stars, not only in the
present but also for many years to come. A recent example of this is the
successful access to the surface of Mars by a number of automated spacecraft
sent to Mars by the US space agency NASA, which were launched from the
Earth by targeting a small part of the surface of Mars, while their Mars The
journey to took several months. Today, thanks to the science of astronomy, man
can know with great confidence when and where the next solar eclipse or lunar
eclipse will take place, or when and where the moon of any lunar month will
appear and his vision. What are the chances of coming?
But the degree of inferiority over the merits of
science has given rise to the debate in the Muslim world that since science can
now determine whether the crescent was born or not, or whether there is a
possibility of its appearance, scientific calculations can be used as an
alternative to the sighting of the crescent. What's more, Muslims no longer
need to see the beginning of the lunar month because science can provide
reliable information about the birth of the crescent, so the issue of
determining the beginning of the month of Ramadan and the day of Eid The
dispute can be settled amicably and the dispute can be resolved. Proponents of
this position also say that since it is permissible in Islam to use the
calendar of prayer times etc. to perform the prayers in its own time, which is
based on the calculation of the sun, ie the calculation of times and days in
worship is permissible. ۔ In the same way, for the beginning of the
lunar months, it should be correct to calculate the origin and appearance of
the crescent and to start the month on this basis.
In this regard, when we review the Shari'ah texts,
we find some hadiths which seem to address this issue directly.
Therefore, Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Nisa'i narrate that Abu
Hurayrah narrated that the Holy Prophet (saw) said: And when the moon is seen,
break the fast and if the clouds cover, then complete thirty days. ”Similarly,
Imam Malik, Bukhari, Muslim and Nisa'i narrate that Abdullah Ibn Umar narrated
that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) observed the month of Ramadan. When he
mentioned it, he said: “Do not fast until you are crescent, and do not be
distracted until you are distracted.” And if the clouds cover, then
complete thirty days. "
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| Are calculations and lunar calendars an alternative to the sighting of the crescent? |
These hadiths of the Holy Prophet (sws) clearly
link the beginning and end of the month of Ramadan with the sighting of the
moon. That is, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) made it
a condition for the Muslims to observe the crescent for the beginning and end
of the month of Ramadaan after the 29th, and in case the sighting did
not take place, he ordered them to complete 30 days of the month. Allah (swt)
also forbade any action other than sight to be the standard for the beginning
of the lunar months. Furthermore, pointing to a subtle aspect found in these ahaadeeth,
the scholars have written that in case the moon does not appear, the reckoning
was not ordered but to be completed 30 days a month. This indicates that there
are only two cases for the beginning and end of the lunar month. First you have
to see the moon, but if you can't see it, you have to complete 30 days. That
is, no third form (such as calculation, etc.) has been ordered to be adopted.
Do it But that was not said.
In the case of the sighting of the crescent, there
is another very interesting hadith regarding reliance on calculations. Imam
al-Bukhari narrated that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him
peace, said: ثَلاَثِينَ)) ie "We are an illiterate nation,
we do not know how to write or calculate. The month is like this (29 days) or
like this (30 days). He said with the gesture of his blessed hands."
The word ummi here does not mean that the Muslims were illiterate in the sense
that they did not know how to do calculations or were not skilled in it,
because the Muslims still had to pay Zakat, Ushr, Kharaj, Khums and inheritance
etc. There was an order which was not possible without calculation. In this
case, the purpose of saying ummi is to show that if 29 is not observed, then
the month of 30 should be completed instead of confusing this process with the
complexities of calculation. Try to find out if the moon should be present on
the notice. So these words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) (إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ مُمِّيَّةٌ
، لاَ نَكْتُبُ وَلاَ نَحْسُبُ) are in fact
rhetorical to emphasize that do not calculate to determine the beginning of the
month. Thus, on the one hand, it has been commanded to rely solely on the
sighting of the crescent to start the lunar month, and on the other hand, it
has been forbidden to rely on reckoning in this matter.
As far as the justification for finding out the
times of prayers in advance through calculations is concerned, Allah (swt) has
attributed the time of prayers to the conditions of the sun. For example, the
time for Maghrib prayer enters when the sun sets, the time for Fajr prayer
enters when the sun rises, the time for Zuhr prayer enters when the sun is at
its equator. Will begin to adapt to, etc. But the law does not specify how to
determine the condition of the sun. Therefore, the Shari'ah set people free to
determine the conditions of the sun. For this reason, it became permissible to
use arithmetic to know the conditions of the sun, that is, the times of
prayers. In contrast, the beginning and end of the lunar months are not
commanded to begin the month at the birth of the moon. If this were the case,
it would be correct to find out about the birth of the moon through
calculations and then start the month accordingly. But the order was given to
see the moon, and to complete 30 days if not seen, which clearly indicates that
the axis of the beginning and end of the month is the sighting of the moon,
that is, it is not to be seen. That it is located in a particular place.
Therefore, according to science, if the birth of
the new moon has taken place on the 29th of the month, but it cannot be seen
for any reason, then it would not be permissible to start the next month.
Instead, it will be necessary to complete 30 days. Similarly, if the 29th of
the month is the date and science says that the moon was not born but on the
contrary receives evidence of the sighting of the moon which meets the Shari'ah
code of martyrdom, then the new lunar month will start from the next day. And
30 days of the last month will not be completed. This is because the command
about the beginning and end of the lunar months is to see the moon, not the
possible birth of the moon or its special place or condition. We pray to God
Almighty to enable us to perform our acts of worship according to His commands
and to keep our understanding of our religion free from all non-Islamic
admixtures. Amen.
Thanks for read this most informative
Islamic article. It consists on complete analysis on Titled: Are calculations
and lunar calendars an alternative to the sighting of the crescent?
Related Videos Documentaries:
The Islamic, Muslim, or Hijri calendar is a
lunar calendar consisting of 12 months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used
to date events in many Muslim countries. It is also used by Muslims to
determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the annual
period of fasting and the proper time for the pilgrimage to Mecca. The Islamic calendar employs the Hijri era
whose epoch was retrospectively established as the Islamic New Year of AD 622.
During that year, Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib and
established the first Muslim community, an event commemorated as the Hijra. In
the West, dates in this era are usually denoted AH in
parallel with the Christian and Jewish
eras . In Muslim countries, it is also sometimes denoted as H from its Arabic
form. In English, years prior to the Hijra are reckoned as BH. The current Islamic year is 1439 AH. In the
Gregorian calendar, 1439 AH runs from approximately 21 September 2017 to 10
September 2018.
To Understand Every thing about Islamic Calendar and Events of moon Lets see Video Documentary.
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nice article most informative .....
ReplyDeletecarry on work..