Where on the Earth
should the first Jumu'a of the week be performed?
How can this
be fixed according to the Qur'aan and Sunnah?
The verse of the Holy Qur'aan "He merges night
into day and he merges day into night" (35:13) indicates that the Earth
must be a globe rotating on its axis and that the rotation would merge night
into day and vice versa. The hemisphere on which the sun light falls
experiences day while the opposite hemisphere experiences night. As the globe
rotates, night passes into day and day into night. The first hemisphere in
which the Ka'aba is situated and contains Australia, Asia, Europe and Africa
enjoys daytime while the second hemisphere containing two Americas enjoys
nighttime. As time proceeds from east to west on earth, the five prayers as
mentioned above, must be performed at the stipulated times in succession
according to the angles of the Sun at the particular place without violating
the order. Thus no time in the world passes without a Muslim prayer.
In the second year of the Hijra the order to turn
towards the Ka'aba, during the prayer, was revealed in the Holy Qur'aan (2:
144). Supposing the Earth to be a vast area with the Ka'aba at a particular
place, imagine what will happen to the people in prayer on both the sides of
Ka'aba at the last ends. A diagram will explain this better. (Diagram No2)
When all people turn towards the Ka'aba what will
happen to those at the ends, if the ends are joined together as it is upon the
globe? The people at the ends (A and B) will face towards the opposite
directions and their backs will meet! This condition is not contradictory to
the Qur'aan, which says: "Righteousness is not that you face East or
West." (2:177). At a certain place on the Earth the Muslims must
necessarily face towards the opposite directions during their prayers. Where on
the Earth could this happen?
The Kiblah of a town cannot be different. All
Muslims in a town must face to one direction in their prayer. But as the Earth
is a globe, a place where the Muslims must necessarily turn towards opposite
directions while in prayer, where two days of Jumu'a are experienced and where
a man crossing from one place to the other loses or gains 5 prayers of the day,
is inevitable. This cannot happen on a land inhabited by people. Such a place can be only at sea.
The Imams of the past have written down the rules
for such a place. According to them it should be separated by a sea or an
uninhabitable mountainous barrier, which makes the two sides approachable only
by travel in which the Shariah could allow lessening of the canonical prayers.
Here a traveler must change his Kiblah, his Day and his Date. This is the
Meeqatul Kiblah of which we have mentioned in the beginning. The Meeqatul
Kiblah is one of the Signs of Allah. It must be recognized and respected by all
people. (Q.22: 32). The diagram shows how the Kiblah lines radiating from the
Islamic Center, Makkah towards all directions meet on the Meeqatul Kiblah, the
date line. (See the diagram 4) The Kiblah lines radiate towards all directions
of the compass from Ka'aba and meet on the Meeqatul Kiblah on the opposite side
of the Earth.
Since a traveler is allowed to lessen his prayers
(4:101) the peculiarity of losing or gaining of the prayers during a travel
across the Meeqatul Kiblah is not a problem. The diagram explains how the west
and east Kiblah lines radiating from the Ka'aba meet and form a line passing
from the north pole to the south pole of the Earth through the Bering Strait
which is the only gap separating the two continents of Asia and America. The
Kiblah lines radiating towards north and south of the Ka'aba do not cross the
poles and reach the opposite side. (See diagram No. 5). It is noteworthy that
the Qur'aan does not mention north and south in relation to Kiblah. It mentions
East and West only.
The Meeqatul kiblah or the date line has to be
zigzag to allow one Kiblah, one Day and for those who had already settled and
established their Day and Kiblah when they occupied the islands near it. They
were living there without knowing each other till the explorers detected them.
The inhabitants on the East observe the East Kiblah and Thursday, while the
inhabitants on the West observe the West Kiblah and Friday. There is one day's
difference at this place on the Earth. The Islamic Shariah forbids the change
of Day, Date and Kiblah at any other place in the world. The diagram 5 shows
the Kiblah lines meeting with the counterparts. When these are connected we get
the Meeqatul Kiblah, the International Date Line running from north to south.
This is the boundary for the West and the East on the Earth.
The Meeqatul Kiblah is exactly 9 hours ahead of
Makkah. The Zuhar prayers of Thursday end and the Jumu'a prayers of Friday
begin immediately from here. This is the Zero hour of the world. All calendar
dates must change at the Zero hour. Days and dates of the Islamic calendar also
begin here at the Zero hour at noon. Corresponding time at the Ummul Qura, the
Center of Islam is "Sahar" (the last part of the night) and at
London, situated on the opposite side of the Meeqatul Kiblah, it is midnight.
Allah (swt) had ordered the Prophet (saw) to observe the singular Kiblah and
change the Day at 'Sahar' time in the second year of the Hijra about 1400 years
ago and the Muslims began to practice it since that time. The navigators in
1886 A.D. found out the Date Line of Islam defined at the time of the Prophet
(saw). Those who established it did not know the Islamic rules!
A day dawns first for those who live near the
'Meeqatul Kiblah' 9 hours before it dawns at Makkah. So they must observe all
religious rites 9 hours before Makkah. In fasting and feasting also they will
be 9 hours ahead. They cannot postpone any ritual saying that the Center has
not yet done it. The order of time sequence in the world must be strictly
adhered to. Violation of time order in performing the rituals is forbidden in
the Shariah. For the same reasons a time bound prayer cannot be postponed.
(2:189, 17:78, 9:37). So a gap of 24 hours (a day) must be observed between the
Islands on either side of the Meeqatul Kiblah, the International Date Line.
This means that those to the west observing the West Kiblah shall observe
Friday while those to the east observing East Kiblah observe Thursday.
Meeqatul Kiblah is the Date line of the Islamic
calendar. A Day begins depending on the Sun. "Have you not seen how your
Lord spread the shadow. If He willed He could have made it still. But We have
made the Sun its indicator" (25:45). The shadow shrinks as the Sun rises
and vanishes at noon and then again appears in the afternoon with the decline
of the Sun. It goes on lengthening till the sunset, indicating our time. Had
there been no sunlight, there would have been no shadow. The Sun indicates day,
night and our time. So date, which stands in place of a Day should begin with
the Day. A date line cannot shift from place to place because people living on
the sides of the Date line must observe different days. This is not practicable
on a land.
Unfortunately some Muslim astronomers have suggested
that lunar date lines should be marked on the world map for the Muslims to
begin their fasting and celebrating their Eid. This would be according to the
first visibility of the crescent. The so-called curved lunar date lines always
keep on changing and they pass through cities, towns and even houses! They do
not abide the rules of the date line. So the Lunar date lines are impracticable
and meaningless. They are neither scientific nor Islamic. An example of the
three lunar date lines plotted on the world map for a year indicating the
appearing of the crescent of Ramadan, Shawwal and Zul Hajj of the Islamic
calendar is given in the diagram 6.
Our knowledge of time is in relation to the rotation
of the Earth with reference to the Sun. To count the number of rotations of a
wheel two marks are necessary; one in the rotating wheel and one stationary,
outside. When these two marks meet, one rotation is counted. In the same way to
count the rotations of the Earth a mark on the Earth and a mark outside are
needed. The mark on the Earth is the Meeqatul Kiblah and the external mark is
the Sun. When both meet, one rotation for the Earth or one day is counted. To
get the correct count we need a stationary mark outside. But our mark, the Sun
is moving and the Earth too is perambulating the Sun. So we will not be able to
count the number of the Earth's rotations exactly with the help of the
celestial objects, which too are in motion. We need not worry about the correct
number of the Earth's rotations because our time is not connected with that.
Our days depend only on sunrise and sunset.
We record the count of days in dates. So if we
calculated with the average length of a day, measured in relation to the Sun or
the other objects, which too are really moving, we will make errors in
calculating our old dates. So the Creator has provided us with a wonderful
system to calculate our time and has asked us to use the Moon for the purpose
so that we may not make mistakes and be confused in calculating our dates.
"He has appointed Manzils for it (the Moon) so that you may know the count
of the ages (of the Moon) and the calculations."(Q.10: 5). We follow the
instructions of the manufacturers in using of our home appliances. In the same
way we must follow the instructions of the Creator in order to be on the right
track.
After having defined the beginning of a Day under
the light of the Holy Qur'aan and the Sunnah let us try to define the beginning
of a month of the Islamic calendar. The Qur'aan has already explained that our
dates and months should depend on the Moon. The Sun cannot catch the Moon.
(36:40). The Earth has already caught it. It rotates around the Earth. One
rotation of the Moon around the Earth with reference to the Sun is one month. As
the Moon travels in its course, the change of its position in relation to the
Sun creates changes in the phases of the Moon seen from the Earth. This marks
the dates for the people. (2:189) The diagram No. 7 explains it.
A solar eclipse (New moon) can occur only when the
Sun is in line with the Moon and the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth.
Since it can happen at any part of the day, it is called the new moon day. The
Islamic month ends with it and the next month begins. A month can begin only
with a Day. So the next day is treated as the first day of the ensuing month.
The dates of the Islamic calendar must tally with the phases or the Manzils of
the Moon. (2:189, 10:5, 36:38-40). Thus a lunar eclipse should occur only on
the full moon day in the middle of the month when the Moon is behind the Earth
and enters into the shadow of the Earth. A solar eclipse should occur on the
new moon day in the end of the month when the shadow of the Moon falls on the
Earth. Since the plain of the Moon's orbit is slanted by 5 degrees the eclipse
does not occur every month. It occurs only when the crossing coincides with the
end or the middle of the lunar month. So the Islamic dates that depend on the
angles of the Moon in relation to the Sun can be checked on such occasions with
the naked eye observations. The Days could be found out exactly by using
astronomical calculations.
The Islamic month ends when the Moon competes her
cycle around the Earth and this is calculated taking the Sun as the reference
point to begin the cycle. When the Sun, the Moon and the Earth come in a line
the cycle is complete and the next one begins. (See the diagram) This moment is
known as the conjunction or new moon. The Hilal can be seen at different times
at different places on the Earth, just as the sunset, many hours before and
after the conjunction. Some times a solar eclipse can be witnessed at the time
of the Eid prayer at some places on the Earth. (Imam Shafi, Fat'hul Barri Vol,
2)). It happens due to the error of parallax. The month should change just
after the conjunction. Conjunction or new moon is calculated from the center of
the Earth. During a solar eclipse the shadow of the moon falls on the Earth.
The shadow crawls on the surface of the Earth with time. If one travels with it,
the eclipse can be seen for a longer time. The first and the last is not the
conjunction. The middle one is the conjunction. A diagram explains it better.
See diagram No. 9
Our time depends upon the angles of the Sun in
relation to the horizon. Our dates depend upon the angles of the Moon in
relation to the Sun. The horizon has nothing to do with this. We can know our
time without seeing the Sun or the shadow. There is no objection to use other
means of finding out our time in the Shariah. Then why should there be any
objection to use other means for finding out our dates that depend upon the
angles of the Moon when the Qur'aan informs us that both the Sun and the Moon
are with calculations? Can we use calculation for both, our time and our date? The
Ulema should give a verdict on this issue.
The Prophet (saw) who taught the Qur'aan to the
illiterate Arabs of his time taught them the easy method of finding out their
time by observing the Sun. He also taught them the easy method of finding out
their dates by observing the Moon. They were not in the habit of writing,
calculating or recording their time. The Prophet (saw) asked them to learn
wisdom, the art of reading, writing, recording and calculating. He did not
forbid them to learn but on the other hand, he enjoined them to acquire
knowledge in every faculty of learning from wherever it was possible.
In the days of the Prophet (saw) Arabs were using
the Jewish lunar calendar, which had a fixed number of days for every month, 30
or 29 alternating and had leap years to adjust their artificial months with the
natural calendar. He gave instructions to correct the dates according to the
Ahillah (Manzils of the Moon) (2:189). He ordered to avoid the leap years and
make the calendar fully natural. The deviation of dates from the Manzils of the
Moon was not allowed because if a day of Sha'ban entered into Ramadan, Halal
and Haram of Allah (swt) would be violated. Sha'ban according to the Jewish
calendar always had 29 days where as it could have 30 days also and all months
of Ramadan had 30 days, but Ramadan too could have 29 days according to the
Moon's phase (Ahillah). That is why the Prophet (saw) ordered to observe the
Moon and correct the dates accordingly. The final amendments regarding the
calendar were announced during the Hajjathul Wida.
There are 12 months in a year (9:36). We know what
will happen if a date is skipped over. The Qur'aan forbids the intercalations
(9:37). The observation of the Moon for long periods gives us the average
number of 354.3671days for a year and 29.53059 days for a month.
(29.53059x12=354.3671). Astronomers have proved that the statement of the
Prophet (saw) that the lunar months have 29 or 30 days is correct.
Since the dates of the months are related to the
days of the week, but not to the places, the months of the Islamic calendar
should begin from the Meeqatul Qibla with the day. Now the Muslims do not
practice the Islamic calendar, instead they rely and depend on the Christian
dates for their daily use. So they do not have any idea about the Islamic
calendar! They foolishly believe that the Islamic months will begin only when
they see the Hilal with their naked eyes at the sunset differently at different
places! It is wrong to say that time will wait for man and different towns
could have different dates in the Islamic calendar!
Julius Caesar had instituted his calendar in 46 B.C.
Later the Christians adopted it as their calendar. It had accumulated an error
of about 10 days by 1582 A.D! Pope Gregory removed 10 days and changed the
rules of the calendar, and it is known as the Gregorian calendar since then.
The exact measure of the solar year was not known
when Julius Caesar instituted the calendar. Even today we do not know the exact
measure! It was regarded as 365.25 days. Later it was estimated that the Earth
takes 365 days 5hrs 48 minutes and 49 seconds to make a rotation around the Sun
according to the correction made in 1582 AD. This is 365.2422 days and this too
will change whenever the accumulated error of days is corrected at an interval.
The error of 0.0078 days added up every year amounts
to 15.6 days in 2000 years! This means that 15.6 days would have passed without
sunrise! In a solar-based dating system the error will accumulate without our
notice and days will have to be eliminated from the calendar at intervals in
order to adjust with the natural system. This sort of meddling with the
calendar will create confusion in calculating the passage of our time. Such a
dating system cannot be good for recording the events of history.
Had the people of the past used the lunar phases for
their dates to record their events, we will not have had problems in finding
out the actual days on which the incidents in the past had occurred. But now we
are in utter confusion. We do not arrive at the recorded date and day by
calculation. The Qur'aan says,
"The Sun and the Moon are with calculation" (55:5). So both
the Sun and the Moon should be used for calculating the passage of our time.
Renowned mathematicians and astronomers have
calculated the date of birth of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). But all of them
have gone wrong. They give different dates for the Prophet's birth! The fact
that a person cannot be born on two days indicates that there is some thing
wrong with their calculations. Their dates do not tally with the historical
records too. This is because the calendar had been meddled with and the
omissions are not taken into account correctly.
We have a record of two events of the past recorded
in two calendars. If we calculate the number of days elapsed between the two
incidents according to the two calendar systems we can see what happens when a
defective calendar is used to record time. The equivalent dates and days of two
solar eclipses of the past are given below as recorded according to two
calendars.
Solar eclipses recorded according to C.E and M.E.
1. C.E. 22-07-1990 Sunday.
M.E. 30-12-1410 Sunday.
2. C.E. 14-07-0622 Wednesday. M.E.
30-12-0000 Wednesday.
08-00-1378 years. 00-00-1410
years=Time elapsed.
Total N0. Of days according to C.E. 1368 x 365.25+8
= 499670.00 days
Total No. Of days according to M.E. 1410
x354.3671 = 499657.16 days
The error accumulated in C.E for 1378 years is 12.39
days. At the same time there is no error in M.E. From this we can see that the
Lunar dating system is perfect. If we calculated our time without involving the
Moon we would make mistakes and we would not know that there is a mistake! We
will be left in confusion. It is high time that we adopted the scientific
dating system and used it in our day-to-day life so that we may not create
confusion for the future generations.
If we have the consensus to prepare the scientific
lunar calendar based on the phases of the Moon as per the rules of the Qur'aan
for the entire world, we can have the first of Ramadan on the same day for each
and every Muslim on earth. Likewise we can celebrate the Eid also on the same day
in all countries. Let me remind that the Holy Prophet (saw) has forbidden to
fast on the Day of Eid. How is it justifiable to have fasting and feasting on
the same day? If we agree that it can be so we are admitting that there can be
mistakes in the calculations of Allah the Almighty also.
Observing Ramadan and Eid on the correct days which
will be same for all people in the world as commanded by Allah, will lead us to
the much required unity, harmony and peace of the people in various parts of
the world.
Kindly think over the problem and the relevance of
the Meeqatul Qibla, which is very important to define the dates of the Islamic
calendar. The Lunar Date Lines suggested by some Muslim astronomers are neither
scientific nor Islamic.
May Allah bless us with open minds and intelligence
to find out his orders and systems, which are hidden in Nature and help us to
live accordingly!