7. Moon Sighting, Problems and Solutions
“Arrahman, the most beneficent one. He taught how to read, He created man. He taught him the speech. The Sun and the Moon are with calculations”. These words of the Holy Qur’aan tell us that the knowledge and inventions made by man through his observations and experiments are the bounties of the Lord who created and fashioned this world. We must make use of all these things in our life in this World. If we do not use them we become ungrateful to the Creator because we do not accept what He has provided for us.
portion of the above verse of the Qur’aan informs us that both the Sun and the Moon are subjected to certain calculations by which we can know and record the passage of our time. Our time is very valuable. We cannot get back the time, which has passed. So it is important that we spend our time with care. For this it is necessary to calculate and plan our day-today affairs. The Qur’aan orders us to pray at five times at different angles of
the Sun. The angles of the Sun show us the times to pray and by performing the prayers at regular intervals we learn the importance of time keeping.
The
Qur’aan says: “Establish regular players at the Sun’s declines till darkness of
night and the morning prayer and reading for the prayer, certainly reading in
the morning carry the testimony”.
(17:78)
Islam teaches us how to manage time by appointing 5 prayers, which must be performed in a day, punctually at the fixed timings. The prayer times were measured in the days of the Prophet (Saw) using the shadow of an object cast by the Sun. Other measuring devices were not invented at that time.
The
Zuhar prayer is performed when the shadow becomes shortest or disappears and
the Sun is on the meridian after the first declination of the Sun, that is when
the Sun has passed 90 degrees, the Asar prayer after the shadow equals the
object, that is when the
Sun has
passed 135 degrees, the Magrib prayer after sunset, that is when the Sun has
passed 180 degrees, the Isha prayer when the glare of the setting Sun has
disappeared, that is when the Sun has passed 202.5 degrees and the Fajre prayer
when the first rays of the rising Sun appear, that is when the Sun has passed
337.5 degrees if the Sun is taken to be at 0 degree at the beginning. The
Qur’aan explains this in the verse 17:78.
People had not invented the instruments to measure the passage of time when they were ordered to perform the 5 time prayers at the correct times. Necessity is the mother of invention. The Prophet taught them the simple method of finding the prayer times by observing the shadow. This was in vogue at that time in many places in the world and it was not difficult for the people to practice it. The Prophet did not come to put them into difficulties. He came to make things easy and bring them out of darkness to light.
Our time is dependent upon
the Sun’s angles in relation to our horizon, Necessity to know the exact time
for the prayers made people think about methods of measuring the passage of
time. They invented water clocks that indicated the Sun’s angles for the
prayers. Now we know all these angles of the Sun by our watches. We can tell
the Sun’s angle in hours, minutes and seconds without looking at the Sun or its
shadow. There is no difficulty in telling our time even when the Sun is not
visible for days together because Allah (swt) has subjected its movement to
certain calculations. The Qur’aan says: “The Sun and the Moon are with
calculations”. (55:5)
Will anyone say that we should
not use the instruments but we should only look at the shadow because the
Prophet has done so? It will be silly to say like that. We should understand
that knowing time for prayer is need. We can know it through other means also.
Today we have watches that tell us time with a human voice. We must use our
common sense.
At the time of the Prophet
means of communication and transport were not developed. The Prophet used
horses and camels for transport. Can we say that we should not use the modern
facilities of transport like cars and airplanes for going to Makkah for the
pilgrimage because the Prophet and the Sahaba had not done do?
The Qur’aan condemns such
foolishness. “ Certainly the worst of the beasts in the sight of Allah are
those who do not use their speech and hearing, those who do not use their
intelligence”. (8:22)
We must realize that we
should use our intelligence and explore what Allah has provided for us. There
are numerous creatures of Allah in this world. But none of them are endowed
with intelligence. We must investigate nature, study and find out all that we
can do and advance in all
faculties of knowledge without transgressing the limits of Allah (swt).
The five time prayers are
very important because they teach us many principles of science. We must know
the exact time to discharge this duty. We have to make
instruments to show us the
correct time. We have to know the exact time sunrise, the sunset and the
meridian etc., For this we should observe the Sun’s movement for many years and
make tables to know them. We must know the Kiblah the direction to face during
the prayer and this directs us to the place where the days begin on the Earth.
All these are involved in performing the five-time prayers.
Because Allah has made the
Sun and the Moon to move according to certain laws, which they cannot
transgress we are able to tell their movements in advance. We can make watches
to tell us the time. Thus without seeing the Sun we can tell at what time the
Sun will set at a given date at a particular place on the Earth. It will be
foolish to say that all these things are not permissible in the Shariah. The
Qur’aan says “He has not placed any hardships for you in the matters of
religion”. (22:78) So there is no harm at all in finding out easier methods and
means to achieve the ends. We can use calculations for finding out our time and
date.
For calculating the passage
of time we have different units of time, such as seconds, minutes, hours, night
and day. We have still bigger units of time such as Days, weeks, months and
years. These bigger units are common for all in the world while the smaller
units differ from place to place on earth. Allah (swt) has given us seven days
of the week that repeat. Numbers or names mark these days. They are Sunday,
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. All have the same
day throughout the world. But the beginning and end of the days are different
everywhere. Allah (swt) has also given us twelve months that repeat, which are
known by names. The Qur’aan corroborates this. (9:36). According to the
Qur’aan, these twelve months are to be measured with the Moon’s cycle around
the Earth taking the Sun as the reference point,(36:37).So the months will have
29 or 30 dates. A date is the period from sunrise to sunrise and represents a
Day of the week. Hence a date must begin with the day. It is about 24 hours.
All must agree and accept these time units.
There are many communities
of people in the world living in different parts in different climatic
conditions. They are different in colors customs and languages. All these
people have their ways of calculating the passage of time. They have invented
their own methods. This is known as calendars. Europeans, Americans, all have
their calendars. Even the small states of groups speaking different languages
have their calendars.
Since time immemorial people
counted days and nights basing on the Sun. They depended on the Moon for their
months. The word month itself is derived from ‘Moon’. The Qur’aan says “He
appointed Manzils for the Moon so that you may know the count of the ages and
the calculations”. (10:5)
The pagans have invented
another system of calculating the passage of time excluding the Moon. It was
based on the change of seasons. They too agree to have 12 months for a
year. As the Sun took 365 or
366 days to travel from equinox to equinox they fixed the months with the
arbitrary dates of 30 or 31.
Solar and lunar calendars
differ by 10-11 days in a year. Occasional adjustments were made so that both
could be unified and this has created a lot of confusion in the time keeping of
the olden days and we are unable to find out the exact days on which the events
had occurred in the past history. Allah orders us to be scrupulous in all
matters so that we may avoid unnecessary confusion.
The
Hebrew Calendar
The Jews had invented the
artificial lunar calendar long before. This was in vogue in Arabia at that
time. In it the 12 months of 30 or 29 days alternated in a regular sequence.
Their dates did not tally with the phases of the Moon. The dates were one or
two days behind and contradictory to the statement of the Qur’aan. Their
artificial lunar calendar was as follows.
Muharram
30 Rabiul Akhir 29
Rajab 30 Shawwal 29
Safar
29 Jumadil Awwal 30
Shaban 20 Zul Qaid 30
Rabiul Awwal
30 Jumadil Akhir 29
Ramadan 30 Zul Hajj 29,30
The calendar introduced by
Julius Caesar was similar to this ancient Hebrew calendar. Julian calendar had 30 and 31 days
alternating while the Hebrew caendar had 29 and 30 days alternating. The last month got one day extra in the leap
year just as the Hebrew calendar.
The Hebrew calendar months
had a fixed number of days for all the years i.e. .6 months of 30 days and 6
months of 29 days. Thus the year got 354days only. But according to the moon’s
Movement some years could have 355 days. So the calendar needed occasional
adjustment to keep it in step with the Moon. Introducing the leap years in
which Zul Hajj, the last month got 30 days did this. In Julian calendar every 4th
year is a leap year. But in the Jewish
calendar the leap year is fixed by some other calculation. Even this system is not free from
error. It accumulates an error of one
day in 2000 years. In Julian calendar
the accumulated error amounts to one day in 127 years. In Christian calendar dropping the leap year
once in 4 centuries eliminates this. Even then there is
Some error. Islam follows the natural calendar and there
is no error at all in it.
Gregorian
calendar
The Gregorian calendar,
which is now in use all over the world, has a very interesting history. The
Emperor Julius Caesar first introduced it in Rome in 46BC. The priests
controlled the Roman calendar and the dates were changed according to their
whims. Julius Caesar who was a very ingenious person thought of reforming their
calendar. He studied the calendars of Egypt and Babylonia and made a calendar
based on the change of seasons. He banned the lunar calendar and ordered them
to use the new solar calendar.
The details of that calendar
are given below.
January 31 April 30 July 31
October 30
March 31 June 30 September 31 December 30
Their year had 365 or 366
days. They had a leap year once in 4 years. February, which has 29 days, got 30
days in the leap year. The leap year was necessary in order to adjust with the
Sun. The people were not aware that the Earth is like a ball, which went round
the Sun while spinning on its slanted axis. They thought that the day is
exactly 24 hours and calculated accordingly. They did not know at that time
that the days of the week would go out of step from their artificial dates in
the long run and that their calendar would need adjustments later by removing days
from it! They thought that their year is exactly 365.25 days. Later on, people
learnt that the Earth perambulated the Sun and the time taken was about
365.2422 days. (365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds) They took this as
the measure for the year.
Augustus Caesar became the
Emperor after Julius Caesar. In 8 BC, he ordered to reform the calendar.
August, which had his name, had 30 days. Now he wanted to give it 31 days. When
August got 31 days, the number of days in the year increased and one day had to
be removed. Thus February got 28 days instead of 29 of the previous calendar.
Now July, August and September got 31 days consecutively and a change in the
following months from September was necessary. Thus the number of dates in
those months was changed in the following manner. September 30,October
31,November 30 and December 31. This order is followed even now. This calendar
is known as the Julian calendar.
The Christians adopted this
Julian calendar. They called it Anno Domini. They calculated the years before
and after Christ and called BC and AD. At that time they did not know the value
of zero and the count began from one. This calendar continued to be
in use till the time of Pope
Gregory xiii. It was noticed that the Sun had not reached the place where it
should be at the time of Easter celebration. Their calendar had gained about 10
days. If the error was not corrected the months would shift their place in
course of time. Then it would no longer be a solar calendar. A solar calendar
must go with the Sun.
In 1582 Pope Gregory ordered
to remove 10 days from the calendar. The people who slept on 4th
woke up on the 15th! They had the wonderful experience of losing 10
days of their life! A strategy to avoid such an occurrence again was invented. They
decided not to have the leap year for century years unless divisible by 400.
This calendar was christened as the Gregorian calendar. The rules of
calculation for the Julian and Gregorian periods are different. Even with all
these adjustments it will not be possible to find out a day on which an
incident has occurred 10 thousand years ago. The day would have gone out of
step. We are at a loss to find out exactly on what day Lord Jesus was born! The
recorded date and day would not tally with what we get by calculation and we
would be bewildered.
If we use a defective dating
system for recording the historic events it will create confusion for the
posterity. So people need a dating system that will be free of errors for all
time.
The creator of this world,
the Supreme Gold Almighty Allah (swt) had sent many prophets to guide mankind
to the truth. They lived in different parts of the world at different times in
history and conveyed the message of God to their people. The Qur’aan is the
scripture revealed to him. The Qur’aan claims that everything is explained in
it and invites people to do research and find out the treasures hidden in it.
The Qur’aan says, “The example of those whom the previous scriptures were given
was that of Asses carrying books”. The Qur’aan requests us to recite it often
and try to understand the meanings by using our intelligence. It wants us to
practice the injunctions in our day-to-day life in this world instead of
preserving it in closed places. The Qur’aan also informs us that Muhammed (saw)
is the last Prophet sent to all mankind and that the Qur’aan is for all.
How can we ponder upon the
Ayahs of the Qur’aan if we could read it only without knowing the meaning? We
can easily see that we cannot understand the meanings of the verses without
learning its language. This means that all people must learn the language of
the Qur’aan and this would provide them a common language, which is inevitable
for the people to know each other and strengthen their brotherhood in this world.
By reading a translation it
will not be possible to grasp the different shades of the meanings contained in
the Ayahs of the Qur’aan. We know what happens when a
language is translated into
another. Sometimes the whole idea gets changed. A translation is only a
production of the translator. It cannot be the Qur’aan the Book of Allah (swt).
It may be asked how all people can learn the language of the Qur’aan? We
learn many forie4gn
languages for achieving our material ends. Then why can’t we learn the language
of the Qur’aan, which is so important for our guidance in this world and the
hereafter? Why should we become so heedless?
The Qur’aan says about such people: “Certainly, We have created many
Jinns and human beings for hell; those are the ones who have hearts with which
they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, they have
ears with which they do not hear. They are like animals- or even worse than
them, because they are those who are heedless”. (7:179)
What does the Qur’aan, the
last book of Allah say about calculating the passage of our time, which is very
important for us? Let us see what the last Prophet said about it and think over
it.
“ O believers! Obey Allah;
obey the Rasool and those charged with authority among you. Should you have a
dispute in anything, refer it to Allah and His Rasool, if you truly believe in
Allah and the Last Day. This course of action will be better and more
suitable”. (4:59)
Qur’aan was not dropped down
from Heaven all of a sudden. It was brought down piece by piece by Gibreel
(Alaihissalam) to the Prophet (sal). Once when the Prophet was meditating in
the cave of Hira, Gibreel (Alaihissalam) appeared with the verses of the
Qur’aan. “Read in the name of thy Lord who created. He created man from ‘alaq’.
Read, and thy Lord is the noblest, who taught through the pen. He taught man
what he did not know.”(96: 1-5) These very first verses of the Qur’aan invite
us to read and write. The Prophet (saw) had not studied anything till that
time. He was 40 years old. He had neither read nor written anything. Now Allah
orders him to learn. The Qur’aan says, “The mighty one in power taught him”
(53:5). The common belief that the Prophet was a mere illiterate contradicts
this statement of the Qur’aan. Muhammed (saw) was not a man who talked like a
parrot without understanding the meaning. It is reported in the Hadith that he
once said, “ If you knew what I know you will often cry and seldom laugh”. We
can estimate the depth of his knowledge from this Hadith. There are individuals
who can copy pages after glancing at then only once without seeing them again.
Then how can we believe that the Prophet who was the most superior of the Homo
sapiens was devoid of such qualities? The Qur’aan says about him. “ Surely you are
of the highest noble character.” (68:2)
Let us come back to our
subject. The Qur’aan speaks about the dates required for calculating the
passage of our time in the verse 2:189. It reads: “ They ask you about the
phases of the Moon. Tell, they are dates for the people and the pilgrimage”.
(2:189)
After the Prophet began to
receive the revelations of the Qur’aan and proclaim it the dis-believers
persecuted him and his followers so much that they were at last compelled to
leave their homes after 13
years of suffering. At that time there were Jews and Christians living with the
native pagans at the city called Yathrib. They used to visit Makkah during the
Hajj Pilgrimage. The Prophet used to meet them on such occasions and deliver
the message of Islam to them. They had liked his teachings and accepted his
admonition. They had
established relations with the Prophet. They wanted him to come to their town
and the Prophet awaited permission from Allah (swt). When the persecution
reached the climax Allah (swt) ordered him to depart. The Prophet escaped from
the enemies who surrounded his house unharmed and fled to Yathrib. He reached
there in the middle of Rabiul Awwal. It was after the Prophet’s arrival there
that the city got the name Medina, meaning the city of the Prophet.
The customs and culture of
the people of Medina were mostly that of the people of the Book. When the
Prophet saw people fasting on the 10th of Muharram he enquired the
reason for it. He was told that it was in commemoration of the escape of the
Moses from the tyranny of Pharaoh. The Prophet told them that they were also
close to Moses and his people, they too would observe fasting on that day.
We can understand from this
that they followed the customs of the people of the book, which included the
practice of the lunar calendar also. The Christians used their solar calendar.
But Arabic names of their 12 months differed from what we had explained before.
The religion of Islam is
straightforward. It does not entertain
any crookedness. So Islam
Recommended for the use of
mankind the natural calendar, which is free from any error. The Prophet who was the teacher for the
worked gave instructions to make the calendar scientific and natural so that
people could calculate and find out any date or day without a mistake by
scientific calculations. The
instructions for the calendar are found in the sayings of the Prophet regarding
the month of Ramadan in which the Qur’aan was revealed and Allah (swt) has ordered
the people to fast and practice endurance in this great month.
The followers of the Prophet
started living as a different community after his arrival at Medina. It grew as a new social set up. No sooner than he arrived at Medina than mosques
were built for communal prayers and gatherings. A method of calling for
prayers was found out. Though the others used bugles, horns or
bells for the purpose, Islam did not choose them. The call for prayer is announced with a melodious voice that conveys
meaningful words to the listeners. This
call would certainly generate waves of awakening in a living mind.
The names of the months that
were in vogue during the Prophet’s time were adopted for the Islamic
calendar. The Prophet did not change
the names or the order of the months.
The birth of the Prophet,
his migration to Medina and his demise took place in the middle of Rabiul
Awwal. But the years of the Islamic
calendar do not begin with Rabiul Awwal.
The ancient order of the months was retained according to the instructions
of the Prophet and the years begin with Muharram in the Islamic calendar
also. Omar® instituted the calendar in
17H when the need arose. It was called
the Hijra calendar.
In the second year of the
Hijra compulsory fasting of the month of Ramadan was prescribed for the
believers. The Qur’aan says: ” Oh
believers, the fasting is prescribed for you just as it was prescribed to those
before you, so that you may ward of evil; a fixed number of days. Those of you
who are ill or on a journey, then they should fast the equal number of days in
another month”. (2: 183-185) In the
next verse it is explained that this period of fasting is the month of Ramadan
in which the Qur’aan was revealed.
Till that time, the Prophet
did not explain anything about the rules of the month or the mode of fasting.
Naturally the believers would fast according to the previous custom, which was
in vogue in their land. Their calendar had affixed number of days for all
months, 30 and 29 alternating. Always their Shaban had 29 days and Ramadan 30
days. They would naturally begin Ramadan after the 29th of Shaban!
They had long forgotten the method of observing the Hilal and fixing the months
based on it. They had adopted the artificial lunar calendar of the Jews in
which looking for the Hilal was not necessary. One day of Shaban getting into
Ramadan was not a matter of concern for them.
Islam is scrupulous. Allah
has ordered to fast in the month of
Ramadan. The Qur’aan has already explained that the Moon governs the
months. The clouds or people do no have any authority to change their
predetermined dates. The months begin when the Hilal appears after completing
the cycle of the Moon around the Earth. It may be sometimes 30 or sometimes 29
solar days just as the Prophet had informed. The Moon’s movement does not give
30 or 29 days for any particular month. It would always vary. If Ramadan began
after 29th of Shabn, as they were wont to do, the next day may not
be of Ramadan, but the 30th of Shaban, according to the Moon! Allah
has not forbidden eating on the 30th of Shaban. If people forbade
eating on that, it would violate the limits of Allah. So Shaban and Ramadan
must be distinguished carefully.
They did not know the laws
of the Moon or the calculations to predict the months. The only means they knew
to distinguish the month was observing the Hilals or Ahillat. So the Prophet
said: “Do not fast without observing the Hilal and do not celebrate the Eidul-
fitre without observing it”.
Their Ramadan had always 30 days irrespective of the Moon’s position. The
Prophet instructed: “Fast at its appearing, if it becomes dubious complete 30
days”. He has also said, “estimate” according to some reports.
From the Qur’aan and all the
Hadiths that have come down to us we learn that the months should be measured
according to the cycle of the Moon. The Prophet did not recommend the
artificial dates of the Jewish or the Christian calendars. Islam is the Natural
religion and Islam orders the people to use the Natural dates and be scrupulous
in their affairs.
The people of the Prophet’s
time did not know the movements of the Moon. They did not even know how the
Moon waxed and wanted. They could not foretell the dates of a month before it
began. Their movements too were restricted and it was enough for them if they
knew the dates after the month began. They had no hasty programs like us. The
Prophet told them “ We are Ummies. We do not write or record. Our month is like
this and like that, meaning 29 or 30. Fast at the appearing of the Hilal and
celebrate Eid at its appearing”.
He ordered to look for the
appearing of the Hilal on the 29th. If it did not appear on the 29th
evening the month begins after completing 30 days for the out-going month. When
30 days are completed it is nor necessary to look for the Hilal once again. The
next
month begins irrespective of
the appearing of the Hilal at a particular place. These instructions of the
Prophet issued in connection with the fixing of Ramadan for observing the
compulsory fasting apply to all months. In the Islamic Shariah the months begin
with the appearing of the Hilal. The months do not begin after seeing the
crescent with the naked eyes as generally believed.
The way the people fix the
period of Ramadan in our times is quite wrong and un-Islamic. It is the result
of misinterpreting the Qur’aan and the sayings of the Prophet. The Prophet
(saw) had ordered to look for the appearing of the Hilal on the 29th
of Shaban. If the 29th goes wrong certainly the Ramadan will go
wrong. The 29th of Shaban is fixed according to the whims of the
people. Different towns have different dates for Shaban! They look for the
Hilal on different days and they believe that it is the Sunnah of the Prophet.
The first Hilal is not visible now a day.
If it were overcast and cloudy even the second would not be visible.
Thus we always begin the fasting on the second or third of Ramadan. Is this
what Allah (swt) has commanded in His Book? Is this what the Prophet taught?
Those who argue that Hilal must be visible to the naked eyes before beginning
the fast of Ramadan must answer this question. Certainly this is not the way of
the Prophet and the followers. This is a Bid’ah that the people have invented.
The Qur’aan says: “Certainly
the number of months with Allah is twelve ever since He created the Heavens and
the Earth. Of these, four are sacred. That is the right religion. And do not do
injustice to yourselves in them, but just as the disbelievers fight you all
together you too fight them all together and know that Allah is with those who
fear
Him”. (9:36)
We can understand from this
that Allah (swt) had determined the months and dates at the time of creating
the world. Days, dates months, all these are sacred and inviolable. It is
reported in the Hadith that during the Hajjathul Wida the Prophet addressed a
gathering
of more than a lakh of
people and explained about the inviolability of Days andMonths. He named the
four sacred months mentioned in the above Ayah of the Qur’aan as Zul Qaid, Zul
Hajj, Muharram and Rajab. The Qur’aan says that 4 months are sacred without
giving their names. So without the Prophet we cannot explain the Qur’aan. We
know through tradition that these four months were sacred from time to time
immemorial and the Prophet retained it just as he retained the names of the
days and months, and their order.
The Prophet in his address
to the gathering at the Hajjathul wida said: “Time has rotated and come like
the day when the Heavens and the Earth were created”. Then he asked the people
“What day is today?” Thinking that he was going to change the names of the days
they kept quiet. When he repeatedly asked they replied: “It is the same day as you regard it. O
people, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard
the life, the property and prestige of every Muslim as sacred trust. Return the
goods entrusted! All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to other and
those to others again; and may be the last ones understand my words better than
those who listen to me
now directly. Be my witness
Oh Allah that I have conveyed you message to your people”.
That was a Friday. It was
the 9th of Zul Hajj of 10H. We have known this correct date from the
Messenger of Allah. Now we can calculate the other dates from this basic date,
which is milestone in history, either backwards or forwards up to infinity by
using the laws that govern the Sun and the Moon. We can see that a date
calculated based on the phases of the Moon tally with the recorded day of the
week even after the lapse of thousands of years! Dates go hand in hand with
days.
This is possible only
because the Sun, the Moon and the Earth, which indicate the passage of our
time, move with precision under Allah’s control. To day we can calculate and
say the exact day and date on which an eclipse took place during the time of
the Prophet about 1400 years ago and we can predict the day and date on which
an eclipse will take place again after 1400 years from now. This was not possible
to the Arabs of the Prophet’s time. To say that we should not calculate because
they could not it in the past would be foolishness and superstition.
It may be asked, how can we
do or know what the Messenger and the Sahaba did not do or know. From the
following narration we can understand that things are not like that. Today we
do so may things, which they could not even dream of.
Once when the Prophet saw
people pollinating the date palms he remarked, “Even if people do not do these
things, the trees that bear will bear fruit”. The people around him thought
that the Prophet disliked their work. The next year they did not it. As a
result there was tremendous fall in the yield. They came to the Prophet and
complained that
they had stopped pollination
on hearing his remark and that the yield had come down. The Prophet replied:
“You have more knowledge in this worldly affairs of yours”.
We can understand from this
that in worldly matters like farming or calculating the months and dates, we
can have more knowledge than those who went before. We must think and use our
intelligence instead of blindly following the footsteps of our fore- fathers.
The Qur’aan condemns blind following. Those who lived a hundred years ago did
not enjoy the facilities that we have today. They had no telecommunication.
They had no airbuses by which people could reach far away places in quick time.
They lived in isolation.
They could not calculate
their time, months and dates exactly. Under such circumstances difference in
beginning the fasting or in celebrating the Eid is not a matter of concern.
They did not do it purposely. They cannot be blamed for it and they will not be
questioned. But our case is different. We differ in the months, dates and
celebrations deliberately. We have facilities to communicate, we know how to
calculate, we keep records and we have instruments to measure exactly, but we
do not use them. Our action
is foolishness and it can be likened to that of a man who fumbles
in the dark, without using the torch that is in the hand. Who is to blame if he
falls in a pit?
1400 years have passed since
the Qur’aan was revealed and the Prophet explained it in clear words. The
Muslims are the torchbearers and they should guide the others. But even today
we dispute among ourselves regarding the onset and end of Ramadan, the holy
month of fasting. The Eids that should bring amity, harmony and brotherhood
often end in quarrels and riots because of the indefinite nature of the
celebration. Is this not against the spirit of Islam? Is this not due to our
ignorance of the Qur’aan and Sunnah?
An examination of the past
history reveals that during the last 50years the fasting in India did not begin
on the right day. People may get annoyed when they hear this. How ever bitter
it may be this is the fact and the facts should not be hidden. The Prophet
said: “Tell the truth even if it is bitter”.
There is no room for doubts
in the clear Shariah of Islam in the matter of fixing the months. Allah had
fixed every month to begin on a particular day of the week on the very day He
created the Heavens and the Earth. He has made the Sun and the Moon subservient
to us so that we may calculate and find out the beginnings of our months.
The people of the Prophet’s
time did not know how to calculate the prayer times shown by the Sun’s angle
and the dates shown by the Moon’s angle. They relied upon the methods of naked
eye observation of the Sun and Moon in order to know the prayer times and the
important dates. They did not have the instruments to measure them accurately
as we do today.
The historic events prove
that they did not go wrong in fixing their dates. A thousand years ago the
atmosphere was not polluted like the present day. We burn too much of fuels and
release the smoke into the sky. In the clear sky it was easy and convenient for
them to look for the Hilal to begin the months. But today things have changed
and it has become a difficult affair because of our busy life and the
innovations made in the method of observation. We have no time to look for the
Hilal every month as they did. We look for the Hilal Occasionally for Ramadan,
Shawwal and Zul hajj only. We depend on false Hijra calendars to know the 29th
to look for the Hilal.
We do not bother about the
other months or dates. We have abandoned the Islamic dates. Instead we use the
Gregorian dates for our day-to-day needs. As a result we look for the Hilal
often on the wrong day depending on the false lunar calendars made by
non-Muslims. All these innovations mislead us from the true religion, but we do
not know.
The False Hijra calendars
are printed in tons every year by non-Muslims. The Muslims purchase them and
display them in their houses, mosques and shops. If the Shariah forbids
Publishing of calendars in advance, certainly the concerned authorities would
ban it. We fix dates of our programs in advance and perform our duties
according to the fixed dates. This is not forbidden in Islam. When we do things
according to the calendars
must be correct. They should
be published with the certificate of the concerned authorities. Fixing a date
in advance for an important function like a marriage or other programs and
changing the day all of a sudden will create confusion for the people and the Shariah
would not allow it. Then how can we postpone a date of the calendar, which is
an inter-national affair? Islam does not allow such things. The Qur’aan says:
“Certainly transporting is an addition to the disbelief”. (9:37) Changing a
Month or a Day is not allowed in the Shariah.
Keeping the promise and
observing punctuality are compulsory for the Muslims. So Muslims should never
change their printed and published dates. The date of the Hajj is calculated
and fixed one year ago and published in the calendars. When the time comes this date is changed into another day all of
a sudden. This is what we often experience. This type of fooling the people
reminds us about the ‘April Fool’ of the other communities. Such things are not
worthy of Islam and Muslims. This uncertainly, which we create in the Islamic
dates, has rendered the Islamic calendar useless. It serves only as a laughing
stock now.
I started thinking about the
difference that existed in the Eid festivals of Kerala and the Island of
Minicoy in 1960s. I belong to Minicoy Island in Lakshdeep. Before 1956 the only
means of transport from Kerala to the Islands which lay about 200 miles away
from
the coast of Kerala was the
sailing vessel and the voyages took more than a week! We knew very well that
the Day did not change between the Islands and Kerala. They have the same Day.
Whenever we come to the
mainland after an Eid in the Island we enquire about the Day on which they
observed the Eid in Kerala. There was a difference. I used to wonder how there
could be a difference in the Day of Eid
in Kerala and Lakshdeep. The Prophet had forbidden the fat on the Day of Eid
and if the Day differed people may fast
on the two Days and the words of the Prophet would become meaningless! This was
unbearable to me. But people told us that it was like that always. I was not
satisfied with their answer.
The ship service, which
began as a part of the development program of the Islands in 1956, brought the
Islands more in touch with the mainland. The Islanders got the news of daily
happenings of the mainland through telecommunication. They could talk to people
in the mainland through telephone. They were no more cut off from the mainland
even in the monsoon.
An unhappy incident that
took place in 1965 made me worry about the difference of Eid of Kerala and the
Islands. After the Eidul Fitre of that year, the Administrator of the Islands
departed for the Islands in the ship, which sailed from Calicut after the Eid
celebration. When he reached an island on the next day he was surprised to see
that the boats from the Island did not come to the ship to receive him as
usual. The Islanders
were celebrating their Eid
after the fasting of Ramadan! How could they come to the ship? The
Administrator was sorry; he did not know that there would be another Eid on
that day because he left Calicut after the Eid celebration! Communities observe
their festivals on the same Day everywhere.
He ordered the captain to
sail the ship to Minicoy. He was running out of his time. The ship had to
return according to the schedule to Calicut and then to Bombay for dry-docking
for the annual maintenance work of the ship. Late in the evening when the ship
reached Minicoy, he learnt through walkie-talkie that the people of Minicoy
were preparing for their Eid on the morrow. People would not work and he would
not be able to return to the mainland in time. So he summoned the 9 Mooppans of
Minicoy to the ship to discuss and take a decision about the unloading of the
cargo, which he has brought for the Islanders.
At first the Mooppans were
reluctant, but after the Administrator’s request to unload their own
requirements which he had brought, the Moopan of the Wahabi movement of Minicoy
agreed to unload the cargo after the Eid prayer which will be over by 9AM. They
returned to the Island after the discussion late at night.
Some people of the other
group did not like the decision of the Wahabi Moopan even though all Moopans
had agreed in front of the Administrator. They thought that the
Wahabis were going out of
the way in everything. They wanted to teach them a lesson. They planned and
lodged a treacherous complaint with the police against the Khatheeb of the
Wahabi mosque and he was summoned to the police station. When the police came
to take him the Khatheeb was on the pulpit delivering the sermon of the Eid
prayer. The police had to wait till he came out after the prayer.
The people of Minicoy have a
custom of a joint feasting after the Eid prayer. The nine villages conduct the
feast separately. The men bring the provisions and the women prepare the food.
On this happy occasion when they were preparing to eat, the police took away
their Khatheeb to the police station. Some hefty followed them and waited
outside the police station.
During the questioning the
police behaved rudely and beat the Katheeb. The companions waiting outside
could not bear. One of them pulled the gun of the watchman at the door. In his
rage he dashed the gun on his knee and broke it into pieces. In the pandemonium
that followed the Khatheeb found his way to the crowd in his village. They have
not even washed their hands after the feast when they heard the unhappy news at
the police station. In a moment all were in front of Minicoy police station,
which had only five constables.
At first the people of the
Wahabi group only were standing at the police station. In half an hour the
rumor that the police has beaten the Khatheeb spread throughout the Island and
people from all villages joined the group standing there. Now they were at a
common cause. They forgot
all their differences for the time being. They were sanctifying Allah chanting
the ‘thakbeer’ of the Eid day celebration!
The Administrator was now in the Dak Bungalow situated near the police station. The Islanders surrounded the Dak Bungalow. Adminstrator Mr.Ramunni had served in the Nagaland. He knew the psychology of the Islanders who were similar to them. He knew very well that the Islanders were a harmless people who did not even harpoon their fishes. Ramunni wanted to come out and calm the crowd. But the officials prevented him
lest some untoward incident may happen. The frightened mainland officials around him thought that the Islanders would attack and finish them. What could five policemen do with the crowd? One gun was broken into pieces in front of them. They judged the Islanders with their experience of the mainland Maplas.
The Islanders did not
retreat even for their food or prayers. They performed the prayers and chanted
the Thakbeer in the open air in front of the Bungalow. The mainland officials
grew more and more panicky. In the meantime the Administrator managed to send a
telegram to mainland requesting immediate assistance. Within eight hours a
warship fully equipped with armed forces to deal with the situation reached the
Island.
At the sight of the warship
the crowd dispersed and the people went to their houses. The place became calm
and quiet. The armed troupes with all paraphernalia and their commanders in
full-fledged suits landed the shore in their boats. They marched towards the
Dak Bungalow and met the Administrator. They felt they were fooled. The place
looked as if nothing had happened. Even the weak fencing of the Dak was intact.
The angry commander enquired why they were called for. Poor Administrator had
to arrest some 300 Islanders to justify his position. A case was filled against
them.
The root cause of this
notorious incident is the indefinite nature of the Eid festivals of Islam.
Every thing in Islam is in perfect order. I had to spend a lot of time to study
and find out whether the perfect Islamic Shariah could contain such an
indefinite ritual, which could create confusion and disharmony among the people.
Are the festivals celebrated without fixing the date in advance? Are the
festivals of Islam to be celebrated in the way we do it now? I wrote letters to
the world Ulema and organizations. I examined many books and Fatwas on the
subject. I got clear evidence that the Islamic Shariah does not forbid
calculating and fixing the Day of Eid in advance.
The Islamic dates are
definite and the calendars could be drawn thousands of years in advance by
using the lunar calculations. The dates and days of Eid could be fixed well in
advance and the concerned authorities could communicate the message all over
the world at the appropriate time. Islam allows calculating and fixing the
prayer times indicated by the Sun’s angle and making calendars in advance. We
use the watches made with calculations to know it. Then how could Islam forbid
the use of calendars, which too are made with calculations of the Moon’s angles
that show us the dates? The Qur’aan says: “The Sun and Moon are with
calculations” (55:5). If the calculations
of the Sun are allowed the calculations of the Moon also should be allowed. I
request the Ulema to issue a Fatwa on the subject without further delay.
Islam lays great stress in
observing punctuality. The prayers have to be performed at stipulated times.
Jumu’a has to be performed on Friday at noon. It cannot be postponed to another
day or time. The canonical prayers cannot be postponed. Thus Islam lays great
stress on keeping time, days and dates. The compulsory fasting has to commence on the first on Ramadan. The
Eiidul Fitre has to celebrated on the first of Shawwal. The Day of Arafat must
be observed on the 9th and the Youmunnahar or Eidul Adha on the 10th
of Zul Hajj. New year day is on the first and the Ashura on the 10th of Muharram. From
this list of religious days we can see how important the dates are in the
Islamic calendar.
What
is a date?
A date stands for a day.
Allah has given us seven days, which repeat and we call it a week. The Sun
indicates the days and nights. A day and night or from sunrise to sunrise make
a Day. Day is bright and night is dark. We use numbers from one to twenty nine
or thirty to mark these days of the week in an extended period of months. These
are called dates. A date cannot mark two days. So day and date are same and
both must change simultaneously at a convenient place on the Earth and must be
common for all. There are different types of days just as there are different
types of months and years. Day and night alternate because of the spinning of
the Earth. From sunrise to sunrise is a solar day. From star rise to star rise
is a sideral day. From moonrise to moonrise is a lunar day. All these have
different measures. In theIslamic Shariah the solar say is used as the measure
of a Day.
In all calendars one date
stands for one day. The dates of the month represent the days of the week,
which are common for all. So the dates too must be common. Let us examine a
date of the Christian calendar, which is quite familiar to us and see what we
can under-stand from it. India got freedom on 15/08/1947. This is the number of
years passed after Christ. The figure 1947 represents the number of years
passed after Christ. The figure 8 stands for the month of August of the
Christian calendar and 15 stands for the day of the week on which the incident
took place. By calculating with the rules of Christian calendar we know that
the date 15 stands for a Friday. If we cannot find out the correct Day for a
recorded date of the past event by calculations, then such a calendar becomes
useless. It does not serve the purpose.
The date 15-08-1947 denotes
Friday at all cities, towns and villages in the world. In America, Africa,
Asia. Australia and everywhere in the world 15/08/1947 denotes
Friday.16-08-1947 denotes Saturday and 14-08-1947 denotes Thursday. Anyone with
common sense understands this. The rule is that all calendars should have same
date and day everywhere in the world. All of us know that Calicut, Trivandrum,
Mangalore, Madras, and Lakshadweep, all have the same day. All of them pray the
Jumu’a prayer on Friday. The Jumu’a prayer teach us the principle that day and
date must be common for all. If Friday is the first at any towns should have
the first as their date. This means that date and day must be same everywhere in
the world.
What
is a month?
Allah (swt) has given us
twelve months, which repeat and we call it a year. The Moon indicates the
months. A month is the time taken by the Moon to go round the Earth. It is
measured with the Sun as the reference point. Is the period from the appearing
of the Moon to the next appearing measured with the solar days. One half of the
month is bright and the other half is dark. A lunar month has 29 or 30 days.
There are different types of months just as there are different types days. The
position of the Sun in a constellation pf the Zodiac marks the solar month.
This has 31 or 30 days alternating with leap years to adjust with the Sun. 29
or 30 days depending on the phases of the Moon marks a natural lunar month. 30
or 29 alternating and with the leap years to adjust with the moon marks the
artificial lunar month. A solar-based calendar gives no role for the Moon. The
Islamic Shariah does not allow the use of artificial dates of a lunar or a
solar calendar. Allah (swt) orders the people to use the natural lunar months.
(2:189).
We have been quarrelling
over our dates for more than a thousand years without under-standing the
instructions of Allah and His Messenger. Allah has given us a very clear Book
and the Prophet has explained it. But still we do not understand. That is
because we do not use our intelligence. We want to follow the Sheiks who have
gone before. We have become their worshippers. This is the Shirk which Allah
has forbidden and which He will never forgive. Let us sit down and think about
the Shirk of changing the Eid days to other days than what Allah has fixed.
I am giving below the
recorded dates of the Christian and Islamic calendars for the past 5 years from
1993 to 1997 AD and1413 to 1417 AH. We can see that we are making a great
blunder by having different dates for the same day.
Place Day Date
AD Date AH
Makkah Wednesday 24-02-1993 03-09-1413
Kerala Wednesday 24-02-1993 02-09-1413
Tamil Nadu Wednesday 24-02-1993 01-0901413
New Delhi Wednesday 24-02-1993 01-09-1413
Makkah
Sunday 13-02-1994 03-09-1414
Kerala Sunday 13-02-1994 02-09-1414
Tamil Nadu
Sunday 13-02-1994 01-09-1414
New Delhi Sunday 13-02-1994 01-09-1414
Makkah
Thursday 02-02-1995 03-09-1415
Kerala Thursday 02-02-1995 02-09-1415
Tamil Nadu
Thursday 02-02-1995 01-09-1415
New Delhi Thursday 02-02-1995 01-09-1415
Makkah
Tuesday 23-01-1996 03-09-1416
Kerala Tuesday 23-01-1996 02-09-1416
Tamil Nadu
Tuesday 23-01-1996 01-09-1416
New Delhi Tuesday 23-01-1996 01-09-1416
Makkah
Sunday 12-01-1997 03-09-1417
Kerala Sunday 12-01-1997 03-09-1417
Tamil Nadu
Sunday 12-01-1997 02-09-1417
New Delhi Sunday 12-01-1997 02-09-1417
A glance at the data given
above reveals a basic mistake in the Hijra dates. The dates of 4 distant places
are given in the schedule chosen for the study. All of us know that the days
are same at all these places. It will not be difficult for anyone to know that
the dates which represent the days must be common everywhere. Then what is
wrong with us? Are we told that the prophet has taught like that? How could the
Prophet of Allah the All-knowing make such a blunder? Those who utter such
words with their mouths should find their place in the fire of the Hell.
Certainly the Prophet has nor said like that.
The Christian dates given in
the schedule are uniform and correct. The Hijra dates supposed to be based on
the teachings of the Prophet have no uniformity! They are wrong and not
practicable in this world! Certainly the Prophet (saw) has not taught the
people wrong things. The Qur’aan says: “Tell, this is my way, I call to Allah,
my followers and I are on the right path and Allah is sanctified. I am not of
those who attribute partnership with Allah all our good works will be gone. We
change His fixed Days every year and commit this great sin by obeying our
leaders instead of Allah (swt).
From 1 to 4 the Hijra dates
are different at three places. In 5 only two places have different dates. How
could this happen? This means that the Muslims are careless about their own of
religion. They are heedless. If the Muslims argue that the Prophet who is
appointed to guide the world to the truth has taught such baseless things, how
will the people accept him as their guide?
He has certainly explained
every thing clearly and all people who were present at the Hajjathul wida bore
witness that Prophet has conveyed the Message of Allah (swt).
Hijra
Calendar
The basis of the Hijra
calendar, which is the Islamic calendar, is the Moon. One cycle of the Moon
around the Earth measured with the Sun as the reference point, marks its
months. The Manzils or phases of the Moon mark the dates, which may be 29 or 30
solar days depending on the duration of the Moon’s cycle. The phases (Ahillah)
are related to the Manzils (positions) of the Moon. It will be seen that a change
in the position of the Moon in relation to the Sun changes the phase according
to the angular distance between the Sun and the Moon observed from the Earth.
The Qur’aan explains this in the chapter Yaseen called the heart of the
Qur’aan. “And for the Moon we have appointed Manzils (positions) till it
returned like the old ‘Urjoon’ (withered date stalk).” (36:39).
There is only one Moon for
the Earth, which is our home. The Earth perambulates the Sun and the Moon
perambulates the Earth. There are other things also like the Earth that
perambulate the Sun.We know eight of them excluding the Earth. They are called
planets. The other planets too have Moons. These moons are known as Satellites.
The Qur’aan says that all these heavenly bodies float in their orbits. “ The
Sun, it is not possible for it to catch the Moon and the night is not the
forerunner of the day and everything floats in an orbit.” (36:40). We too
perambulate the Ka’aba, the Centre just as the planets go round the Sun
anticlockwise!
We see the same Moon from
everywhere on the Earth. The moons and the planets do not glow by themselves
like the Sun, which is a star. They reflect the Sun’s light that falls on it.
We begin the count of the Moon’s cycle around when comes again to this
position. The Sun’s light falls on the opposite side which is straight to the
Sun. The lighted side is not seen in this position to those who are straight to
Earth. This is known as the new moon. There is a difference of about 5 degrees
in the plain of the Moon’s orbit, so the shadow of the Moon does not fall on
the Earth at the end of every cycle (month). Only when the crossing coincides
with the end of the cycle the shadow falls on the Earth and the Earth
experiences a solar eclipse. Since all these bodies are moving continuously
this position change almost in a moment and a small portion of the lighted part
of the Moon must appear to the Earth. This is the appearance of the Hilal,
which the Qur’aan calls the ‘Urjoon al qadeem’. Qur’aan does not use the word
‘Hilal’. (See the diagram).
The birth of the new moon
can be likened to the birth of a child. This happens in a moment. But the
people see it after a long time depending on the position, atmosphere, weather
and any other factors. This seeing may differ from place to place age-to-age
and man-to-man. This seeing cannot be used for measuring the month or the
predestined cycle of the Moon. The basic principles that defines the month is
the measure of the
cycle of the Moon. The month
should be 29 or 30 days according to the instructions of the Prophet.
The Arabs at the
time of the Prophet were using the artificial lunar calendar, which too had 30
or 29 days alternating for the months and the dates did not tally with the Ahillah
(phases) of the Moon. So the Prophet ordered to look for the appearing of the
Hilal to make the dates tally with the Moon. It is reported that the Prophet
said: “Fast at the appearing of the Hilal and celebrate Eid at its appearing,
if it is clouded, then calculate or complete 30”.He also said: “If two Muslims
witnessed begin the fasting or celebrate
Eid”. From these
instructions of the Prophet and the Ayahs of the Qur’aan the lmams have derived
the laws to fix the months of the Islamic calendar. Seeing the Hilal on the 29th
or completion of 30 day is the rule given in the Books of Jurisprudence for defining a month in the
Islamic Shariah. We can understand from this that the 29th should
not differ except at the Mathla’h’, where the Day should naturally change from
Friday to Saturday.
We have now seen that the
calendar based on the Moon’s phase is erratic. The dates recorded for five
years tell us that the Hijra dates given in them are not correct. Those who
argue that the months would change only after the Hilal is seen to the naked
eye should prove that the Hijra dates given in the schedule agree with the Book
of Allah and the guidance of the Prophet. They will not be able to prove it
because Allah’s Book does not contain errors. The Prophet (saw) did not teach
wrong things. Those who mislead people with their ignorance and compel them to
celebrate Eid on different days should be prepared to bear the burden on the
Day of Judgment. Allah informs in His Book: “That they may bear their burdens
undiminished on the Day of Resurrection, with somewhat of the burdens of those
whom they mislead without knowledge. Ah! Evil is that which they bear!”
(16:25).
The Eid celebration is not a
trifling matter. Islam wants to teach people how to rejoice on a happy occasion.
Even though the Jurists have categorized it in the Sunnah it is a symbol of
Islam. The Qur’aan says: “Whoever respects the symbols of Allah that is from
the fear of the hearts”. (22:32) Days and dates also are such symbols. The
Prophet had explained the inviolability of days and dates during the Hajjathul
wida. The Friday should not be changed into another day. It is the leader of
the days. So the other days too become sacred and inviolable because of the
sanctity of Friday. Friday is the Eid that repeats once in 7 days. This is
observed on the same day all over the world. The Eid of the week teaches us
that the annual Eid also should be celebrated on one day all over the world.
Then how could the Eid ul Fitre fall on different days? But we have been committing
this mistake since a long time without realizing it.
We must realize that Allah
and His Messenger have not ordered us to do wrong things. If the Eid falls on a
Friday at some town then all towns on the Earth should observe the Eid on
Friday only. This is the right religion. But the Satan our enemy creates
confusion and makes us celebrate the Eid on different days and we believe that
is the way thought by the Prophet. We must be careful. The Qur’aan says: “He
and his groups are watching you from where you cannot see them”. (7:27) Saying
that the Eid should be celebrated on different days is fabricating a lie on
Allah and His messenger. It is a great sin, a Shirk that Allah will never
forgive. The Prophet (saw) had not given wrong instructions. “And who does
greater wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah when he is summoned unto
Al-Islam. And Allah guides not wrongdoing folk”. (61:7).
We should not speak
irrelevant things without knowledge. The Qur’aan warns us: “Do not stand on
which you have no knowledge. Certainly, the hearing, the sight and the
minds, all these things will
be questioned about”. (17:36) Allah has bestowed man the intelligence. Man has
learnt things by using it and mastered all other creatures without using the
intelligence they will degrade themselves to a lower level than that of the
animals.
The religion of Allah is
being mocked at because of the foolish attitudes and prejudice of the leaders
and the men in power. We claim that Islam is a perfect and everlasting code of
life for the people of this world. But the dates used by the Muslims are
absurd. We bear witness that Muhammad (saw) is the Messenger of Allah and
proclaim that the Prophet has not taught anything other than what Allah has
taught. Then is it Allah who taught that the Islamic dates in Kerala and Tamil
Nadu should be different? Those who put forth such argument put the blame on
Allah (swt).They should fear Allah (swt).
Due to lack of communication they may have celebrated the Eid on different days without knowing. But when there is communication and people know what is happening everywhere, it will be Harm to do so. Those who give Fatwas that the Eid can be forward with such argument have a disease in their hearts. The Qur’aan says: “There are people among men who say we believe in Allah and the last day, but they are not believers. They cheat Allah and the believers, but only they get cheated and they do not realize. They have a disease in their hearts. Allha increases it. They will have a painful punishment because they tell lies”. (2: 8-10)
We hear these Ayahs of the
Qur’aan very often. But they do not have any impact on us. The hearts have
hardened because of our misdeeds. The Qur’aan says: “”Had we sent down this
Qur’aan on a mountain you would see it humbling and bursting with fright of
Allah.” (2:74). We hear all these Ayahs but our conditions do not change.
Because we have been celebrating the Eid on different days since our boyhood and our fathers and forefathers too like that, we do not feel that it is a awkward and wrong. Satan makes it appear good to us because we do not use our intelligence. We are unable to understand and most of the people do not bother to know about it.
They think that they are not responsible and the matter is not serious. We do not have the knowledge of Qur’aan. Even our Khateebs do not know the meanings. If we ask them they turn us back saying that it was like that since the Prophet’s time! There is nothing wrong in it. What can the ordinary man do? He has no other alternative but to keep quiet. He may be great officer. He may be Judge. But as long as he is ignorant in the religion he cannot argue with the religious leaders. But Islam cannot suffer because of the ignorance of the religious leaders. Allah will find out a way.
The Qur’aan says: “If you dispute concerning a matter, then refer it to Allah and His Messenger”. (4:59) So let us examine first the Book of Allah, and see what it says about the calendar that is so important for man in his day to day life. We have already said that we cannot plan anything without using a calendar. Today when we except people from distant parts of the world to take part in a function we must fix the dates well in advance. We cannot fix it with the Islamic calendar in its present condition? It is impossible because the Khazi has to fix the date after seeing the Hilal! We cannot print the Islamic calendars in advance for a year because the seeing of the Hilal with the naked eye is not definite! The Khazi has authority to change the dates, as he likes. Is this the state of the calendar of Allah given to man to mark the dates for the civil and religious affairs of this world?
Today the Muslims have abandoned the calendar given by Allah (swt). They have chosen the Christian calendar and use it for the day today affairs just as others do. No one feels bad about it. No one knows how to calculate the dates of the Islamic calendar. Even the names of the months are forgotten. The religious authorities cling to the Fatwas issued hundreds of years ago and argue that calculations should not be used for computing the Islamic calendar! They believe that Allah has ordered them not to calculate. This is because they do not ponder over the Ayahs of the Qur’aan and do not open their eyes and minds to understand the creation. May Allah save this community! Allah orders the people to learn the laws of religion. The Qur’aan says: “It is not proper that the believers should go forth all together. Therefore, why not a group from each division stays behind so that they may obtain the understanding of Deen (Al-Islam), and admonish the people when they return to them so that they may refrain from un-Islamic conduct!” (9:122)
Allah orders us to keep our
words and words and promises. To say what we would not do is a great sin. The
Qur’aan says: “Oh! Believers, why do you say what you would not do?” (109:2) So
a Muslim should not change the fixed date. For this we should know the correct
dates in advance. This is not possible without calculations. Then how can Allah
the All-knowing forbid the use of calculations for making the calendar? But our
Alims say that calculations should not be used to fine out the appearing of the
Hilal on which the dates of the Islamic calendar depend. They believe that the
Hilal can appear, as it likes. Does not their belief contradict the Qur’aan?
The Qur’aan says: “It is He
who made the Sun a blazing light and the Moon a shining light and He appointed
phases for the Moon so that you may know the count of ages and calculations.
Allah has not created this but with purpose. He explains the Ayahs for the
people who think.” (10:5) This verse of the Qur’aan clearly informs us that our
dates, months and years can be calculated. Who can forbid what Allah has
allowed?
The Qur’aan also informs us
that the months were fixed in the very beginning. “The Qur’aan says: “Certainly
the number of months with Allah is twelve ever since He created the Heavens and
the Earth. Of these four are sacred. That is the right religion. And do not
wrong to yourselves in them, but just as the disbelievers fight you all
together, you too fight them all together and know that Allah is with those who
fear Him.” (9:36)
In Sura Yaseen that is very often recited at someone’s death we read: “And for the Moon we have appointed Manzils (positions) till it returned like the old ‘Urjoon’ (withered date stalk)”. (36:39) We can see that many important matters are dealt with in this Sura. But the wonderful thing is that we do not try to learn and under-stand the Qur’aan.
There are many verses in the Qur’aan that invite us to the study of the universe, Allah’s creation. “Do not they look at the camel, how it is created, at the sky, how it is raised and the mountains how they are fixed and at the Earth how it is spread out”. (88:17-20) These Ayahs invite our attention to biology, astronomy, geology and all branches of science. Allah has given man eyes to observe the creation, ears to hear and a mind to think and understand. By using these means Man acquires knowledge. He can learn and understand things and know the meanings of the Qur’aan.
Again we read: “Surely in the certain of the Heavens and the Earth and the alter-nation of the day and night there are signs for those who have sense, they remember Allah standing and reclining on their sides while pondering over the creation of the Heavens and the
Earth. Our Lord! You have not created all this in vain. You are sanctified. So save us from the punishment of the fire”. (3:190-191)
When the Qur’aan was
revealed Man’s knowledge about the things around him was very poor. Even about
the Earth, his own home he had wrong notions. Though he knew the positions of
the stars and the rising times etc. and could travel to destinations by their directions,
he did not know any thing about their nature.
He thought that the Earth
was flat and it was Centre of the Universe. He thought that the Sun, the Moon
and the stars all went round the Earth. This wrong geocentric theory was in
vogue in the world at that time.
People had many
superstitions. They believed that the celestial bodies too were gods like their
animal gods around them. They believed that they could harm them. So they
worshiped them. They were sunk deep in such superstitions. In some parts of the
world, people even worshiped creatures like cows, snakes and birds. Thus people
were degraded below the animals that were created for them and they lived in
total ignorance. This was the condition of the people in world in the 7th
century when the Qur’aan was revealed. The Qur’aan told them that people should
not worship any thing but Allah the Supreme who v\created every thing for the
use of Man. Thus the Qur’aan led the people out of the bondage of darkness to
light and they began top think.
Now we know by experiments
and experience that the Earth is a huge globe rotating as if on an axis. The
Moon is a satellite revolving around the Earth. The Hilal (crescent) appears on
the western horizon like a narrow sickle, grows bigger and bigger gradually and
attains half in 7 days and becomes full in the middle of the month and reverses
to the old stage of the narrow sickle in the end of the month. This is
explained in the Qur’aan, “And for the Moon we have appointed Manzils till it
returned like the old palm stalk” (36:39). Thus the Moon through her cycle
around the Earth indicates people their dates by her changing phases. The
Qur’aan says: “They ask you about the phases of the Moon, tell they are dates
for the people and the pilgrimage”. (2:189). 12 months or 12 cycles of the Moon
(29 or 30 days each) will give the year 354 or 355 days. This is the meaure of
the year destined by Allah (swt) for the use of the people in their civil and
religious purposes in the world. (Diagram)
Some people say that science
cannot be believed because it changes from time to time. In the beginning they
said the Earth was the center and now they say it is not so. Science is not
reliable. Ignorant people make such statements. They do not know what science
is. Science means the knowledge. Knowledge is that which we understand through
experiments and observation. It is the definite and correct information, which
will not change. The knowledge people had before the revelation of the Qur’aan
was not proven by experiments. They were superstitions based on beliefs. They
thought animals and things around them were gods. Then how could they dare to
experiment with their gods? What they said earlier was not science. It was
superstition.
The Qur’aan said: “He makes
the night enter into the day and He makes the day enter into the night”.
(35:12) and this can be proved with simple experiments. For a man of thinking
it is not difficult to know that the Earth our home is spherical. When we look
far we cannot see beyond what is at our horizon. If we put a mark on what we
see at the last end and then walk up to it we can see more things that are
further. If we climb upon a tree the same thing happens. We see more things
than what we saw from the ground level. This tells us that the surface of the
Earth is curved. If we know geometry it is not difficult to calculate the
circumstance of the Earth. If we measure the distance from our position to the
place seen to us, we can know the size of the curve. From this we can calculate
the circle. People know geometry even at the time of Pythagoras (570BC). They
could have known the shape and size of the Earth then! But who would believe
such things in those days.
Because the Earth rotates we
feel that the Sun, the Moon and the other celestial bodies rise and set. We can
prove this with a ball. All these things are taught to children in the school.
But we have to repeat it here because even today people do not understand
it. A candle can represent the Sun.
Light falls only on the side of the ball facing the candle. The other side is dark. This is the example
of day and night. Now as we rotate the ball we see the lighted part entering
into the dark at one edge and the dark part coming into the light on the other
edge. This is how Allah (swt) makes the night enter into day and day into
night. Now you will ask: “Is it that
simple?”
Things are very simple. But
the Satan our avowed enemy prevents us from thinking. Even after Allah gave hints in the Qur’aan and asked people to
ponder over the Ayahs,
they did not pay heed to
it. Even today Muslims do not
think. But other people do. People did not understand the phenomenon of
night and day till recent times. Qur’aan remarks. “But most of them do not
think” (29.63)
While rotating on its axis
the Earth perambulates the Sun. The
axis of the Earth’s rotation is not just perpendicular to the Sun. It is slanting by about 23.5 degrees. This causes the change of the seasons. The Earth takes 365 or 366 days to complete
one cycle around the Sun. The pagans had adopted this measure as a
year. But Allah (swt) orders the people
to use the measure of 12 months of the Moon’s cycle for the year. He informs in the Qur’aan that He has appointed
the Manzils for the Moon for that purpose (diagram).
Pythagoras a mathematician
who lived in 570 BC said that the Earth was spinning and perambulating around
the Sun. He also said that the Sun too
was perambulating a big fire. But no
one gave any heed to his words. No
wonder, people would not believe such things in those days. My mother related an event that happened
when she was a small girl at Minicoy.
The people of Minicoy are good sailors.
They go to Calcutta or Bombay and go on board the ocean liners as seamen
and return to the Island after a few years.
They
bring the news from abroad
to the Island, which was totally cut off from the mainland and not a single
woman would have seen the mainland in those days.
A sailor brought the news
that he had gone in a ship built of iron.
Nobody would believe. How could
iron float on the water? Who will
believe you? Do you think that we are
fools? They argued. Then an old aunt of my mother intervened and
enquired the reason for their quarrel. On learning the matter she summoned them
to the bathing tank.. She asked her
maids to bring the big vessel made of metal used for boiling the tuna
fish. She kept it on the water.
Lo! The metal floated on the
water! All were dumb founded. This is a good example to explain how people
do not use their common sense at times. This had happened in the recent past.
How could then people who lived 2600 years ago believe Pythagoras? They would rather treat him as a mad Man or
a fool.
Early developments in Astronomy
After Pythagoras the matter was not taken up. The next man to say some thing on the subject was Claudius Ptolemy who lived in 140 AD. He propounded that the Earth was the center around which every thing in the heaven went round. In 1543 AD Copernicus argued that the Sun was the Centre. His work was based on the new heliocentric theory. But this did not change their concept about the extent of the universe. Galileo who first looked at the heavenly bodies through a telescope had to suffer at the hands of the Christian priests because he divulged the Quranic truth that the Earth was not the center of their universe. The Christians believed that it was a blasphemy. Many others too had to suffer because they proclaimed the truth about the universe.
In 1805 the studies of Herschel
using powerful telescopes made it clear that the universe was not confined to
the solar system alone. He pointed out that the solar system was only a minute
part of a much vaster system called a galaxy. In 1925AD Edwin P. Hubble pointed
out that there were many other galaxies in the universe and that the universe
consisted of millions of galaxies and that these were flying away from each
other at terrific speed. Even though there are hints about these things in the
Qur'aan no one enquired about such matters.
Even today our knowledge about the vast universe is very little. The Qur'aan remarks: "They ask you about the 'Rooh'. Tell: what you have been given of knowledge is very little."(17: 75) As we know more and more we realize that there are much more things to know. Later on eminent mathematicians and thinkers like Isaac Newton, Euler, Laplace, Poisson, Heuser and others developed the lunar sciences. Man's landing on the Moon on 20th July 1969 bears testimony to the high accuracy and knowledge attained by man in celestial mechanics. This knowledge of ours is nothing when compared to the vast universe of knowledge. But to say that we do not know how to calculate the months of the calendar given by Allah for the use of mankind will certainly be a negation of the truth.
The Qur'aan not only gives
hints to Man to think about the universe and understand the creator, but also
gives ideas to get out of his home and investigate. The Ayah of Sura Arrahman
exclaims: "Oh! Groups of the people and Jinn, if you can penetrate the
farthest extremes of the Heavens and the Earth, try. But you will not do so
except with power."(55: 33) This means that if we want to make a voyage in
space we need knowledge and power. People were not able to go out of the Earth
till they got rid of their gods and superstitions and began to use the
intelligence. But even today the Muslims are lagging behind.
The Ayahs of the Sura Yaseen
inform us that the Moon is a satellite of the Earth. The Sun cannot catch the
Moon and make it a planet that goes around it. Moon is under the gravitational
force of the Earth, it cannot get detached and go away to become a planet of
the Sun or a moon of another planet. It will be attached to the Earth,
perambulating it till the last day, to indicate our dates, months and years.
Elimination of the Moon from calculations of time is a negation of truth. To
understand the verses of the Qur'aan, which deals with astronomy, we should
first know the primary elements of that branch of knowledge. Just as a mechanic
cannot understand a book of medicine, Qur’aan, which contains every thing,
cannot be understood without knowledge. The Prophet always used to pray:
"Oh! Lord, give me knowledge more and more."
It may be asked: Why the
Prophet who was sent to teach the Book and wisdom to people, did not teach them
the lunar mechanics so that they could calculate their dates easily? We must
understand one thing. His life in this world as a Prophet was only about 24
years. He was not appointed to make things difficult for the people. He came to
relieve the people of their burden and make them think about the world around
them and the Hereafter.
If a professor is asked to
teach the children in the LKG class he cannot teach them the lessons of the
college class. He cannot say that he does not know how to teach the children in
the LKG. He should teach according to the level of their knowledge. In the same
way the Prophet taught a people who did not know even the elementary things
like reading and writing. He taught them the fundamentals and laid the
foundation for later developments. But the Muslims later on lagged behind and
others stole the basic knowledge, labored hard and developed it. The basic
requirement for the development of science or knowledge is getting rid of gods.
Fear and faith in Allah (swt) is necessary to control Man from doing mischief.
The Muslims even today cling on to gods other than Allah (swt) and lack fear
and faith in Him. They are afraid of their gods. How can they go to space and
study the movement of the Moon? They see the Hilal only as a matter of worship!
They are unable to understand why the Prophet asked them to look for it on the
29th of every month.
The Moon is the nearest
object to the Earth. It is very close to the Earth when compared to the Sun. It
is about 400,000 kilometers away from the Earth. The Sun is about 150 million
Kilometers away from the Earth. We can say that the Moon is the first step into
the outer space. Even though man had lived for millions of years in this world
he was not able to step on the Moon till our times. Now the developments will
be fast because he has got rid of the fear of gods. He has not developed a
faith in Allah (swt), so he is prone mischief.
When we watch the Moon in
the background of the stars that surround us in the sky we can notice that it
is moving. It takes 27,1/3 days to come to the same place. A day is always
measured in relation to the Sun. Our Day is always connected with the Sun. We
do not use 'Lunar day'. When we observe the Moon comparing with the Sun, it
takes about 29.5 days to reach the Sun. This is because the Earth from where we
are looking is moving around the Sun. The Prophet asked to look for the
appearing of the Hilal on the 29th for measuring the Moon's cycle
around the Sun, which is the month for us. He said: "our month is 29 or 30
days". We can calculate the average by observing the Moon for many years.
The average number of days calculated by this method is 25.53059. The science
has proved that the Prophet taught the right method. How could he make a
mistake? He was the Messenger of Allah (swt).
When people questioned the
Prophet (saw) regarding the waxing and waning of the Moon, Allah (swt) ordered
him to reply: "say, they are dates for the people and the
pilgrimage."(2:189). In another verse of the holy Qur'aan it is explained
"And for the Moon we have appointed Manzils (phases) till it returned like
an old Urjoon"(36: 39). The Moon has 29 visible phases commencing from the
shape of Urjoon or Hilal, which grows and attains half at the quarter and full
in the middle of the month. Then it becomes smaller day-by-day and attains half
in a week and the original shape of the Urjoon or Hilal just before the end of
the month. This process goes on repeating in order to show people their dates
to calculate and record the passage of their time.
We begin the Moon's cycle
from the Sun that is when the Moon and Sun are in the same position. This is
called the new moon or conjunction. It can happen at any part of the day and
this day is called the new moon day. This will fall only on one of the days of
the week. The first Hilal appears and sets in the western horizon just after
the sunset. This is the last day of the month. If the preceding month is of 29
days, the Hilal is visible somewhere in the world under a very clear sky on the
29th of the month. If the month is of 30 days the Hilal is not
present on the 29th and not visible anywhere in the world. It may
not be visible even on the 30th day anywhere in the world. The next month
in such cases begins after completing 30 days for the previous month, without
seeing the Hilal! This is the criterion for the Islamic months and this is
derived from the Holy Qur’aan and the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw). The common
belief that every month begins after seeing the Hilal is wrong and
contradictory to the Qur'aan and Sunnah.
It will not be difficult for
a man of knowledge to understand from the verses of the Qur'aan that Allah
(swt) wants people to use the phases of the Moon for their dates. He has
designed it for that purpose. The lunar dates will not go out of step with the
days for which they stand. People should not use artificial dates, which would
go out of step because the exact day cannot be traced out after a long
period. In technical terms
the lunar date is called the age of the Moon. The Qur’aan has used the same
word. (Adad assineen = count of the ages).
Nautical Almanacs publish
the data of Sun, Moon, Planets and stars, every year for navigation. The Sun
and the Moon and everything move under certain laws and calculations and it is
not difficult for us to find out the exact dates shown by the Moon for any
given time in history without seeing the Moon just as we calculate our time
shown by the Sun without seeing it. When Allah (swt) created everything He knew
that we would do this. Then how could the Prophet (saw) prohibit calculations
and order people to look always at the Moon to find out the dates without using
calculations? Certainly the Prophet (saw) would never have said so.
The diagram given below
explains the Manzils of the Moon, the phases shown at each Manzil, the degrees
it travels every day. The Moon’s orbit, its distance from the Earth, the Sun's
orbit, its distance from the Earth, the solar and lunar eclipses and many other
details.
There are Hilal committees
and Moon-sighting committees all over the world. They believe that the months
of the Islamic calendar begin after seeing the Hilal! So they go to the scientists
and observatories to enquire when the Hilal would be seen. But the scientists,
the religious leaders or the people do not know that some months would begin
before the Hilal is seen, as per the laws of the Shariah. The scientists do not
know the rules of the Shariah and religious leaders do not know the rules of
science. Scientist tell the correct date on which the Hilal would be seen. But
often the khazees announce the month before the predicted date! The people lose
their confidence in science. They believe that science is wrong. The scientists
who know the facts do not believe the religion because the religious leaders
reject the facts. The religious leaders make them believe that religion is mere
humbug. This has been happening since a very long time. The Satan plays this
trick on us, but we do not realize. He wins the game because we do not use our
intelligence.
Some Muslim scientists have
come to the conclusion that the months of Islamic calendar begin only after the
Hilal is seen under clear conditions. This is after the angular distance of the
Sun and the Moon is 10 to 12 degrees. So they calculate the beginning of the
months based on it. The Hilal committees cling on this principle, which the
Qur'aan and Sunnah do not warrant. They believe that the Hilal cannot be seen
before the conjunction and the month cannot begin before it is seen. According
to them the moonset should be after the sunset at their place to begin their
month on the next day, but not for the others where the moonset is before the
sunset! They do not know that date and day are inter-related and both should
change simultaneously.
The records show that many
times Kerala Hilal committee announced Ramadan when the moonset was only 2
minutes after the sunset! The announcement was based on reliable witnesses! It
is sure that the Hilal will not be visible when the Moon is so close to the
Sun! But actually the next day was the first of the month according to the
calculations. The Hilal becomes visible only the next day after the conjunction
when the difference is more than 48 minutes. The studies and data reveal that
the criterion that defines the month according to the Qur'aan and Sunnah is not
seeing the Hilal with the naked eyes.
On some other occasion the
difference was 8 minutes. But the Hilal committee did not begin the month
saying that no body has witnessed the Hilal. This proves that they do not
believe the facts. Seeing the Hilal or sunset before moonset is not the
criterion that defines the Islamic month. The sunset and the moonset for a
given place can be calculated and predicted exactly. This will differ at all
places. The same calculations are used for navigation. The ships find the way
and reach the destinations depending on these calculations. They do not get
lost. The Qur'aan says: “It is He who made the stars so that you may guide
yourselves with their help through the dark spaces of land and sea. We detail
our signs for people who know” (6: 97) and this has been proved long since. But
the Muslims who bear the Book of Allah (swt) do not know it. It looks as if
they do not believe the Ayah of the Qur'aan. Ignorance makes them cling to
their superstitions. They simply argue without knowledge. The Qur'aan says:
"There are people among men who argue in the matter of Allah without
knowledge, guidance or an enlightening book."(31: 20).
.
The Prophet (saw) and the
Sahaba did not look for the Hilal based on calculations as the Hilal committees
do. Calculating the time of sunset and moonset and looking for the Hilal, which
is known to be present, is certainly contradictory to the Sunnah. It is an
innovation (bid’ah) made in our times. It is clearly known from the Hadiths
they did not use calculations. The Prophet (saw) himself said: "We are
Ummis. We are not used to writing and recording, our month is like this and
like that (29 or 30)”. They depended on the Hilal, not on the calculations, to
know their months and they did not go wrong. They looked for the Hilal on the
29th of the month, but not on the 30th or on the first as
the Hilal committees do today. If the Hilal is known to have appeared, they
began the month on the morrow. If it did not appear they completed 30 days and
began the next month without seeing it with the eyes. If this Sunnah of the
Prophet (saw) and the Sahaba is followed we can see that some months begin
before the Moon reaches the visible angle. But without knowledge of Qur'aan,
Sunnah or science we have been committing the blunder of beginning the months
after seeing the Hilal of the second or third for many years! We need not
wonder at this. People do not believe facts, but they believe superstition.
They did not believe Pythagoras for thousands of years! The Qur'aan rightly
remarks: "But most of them do not think."
The Prophet (saw) has not
ordered to begin the months after seeing the Hilal. It is a wrong
interpretation of the Hadith "Fast at the appearing of the Hilal and
celebrate Eid at its appearing". If seeing of the Hilal is the criterion
to begin the month it would not be a correct measure. As generally believed
whenever the clouds mar the Hilal, the month would get 30 days, but the month
may be 29 days according to the Moon's cycle that measures it. The next month
also can be 29 days and clouds could mar the Hilal. Then dates will go out of
step. It would look as if the Prophet entrusted the authority of changing the
months to clouds and people while Allah entrusts it to the Moon. The Prophet
did not say anything contradictory to Allah’s (swt) command. A calendar based
on that principle would be worse than the Jewish artificial lunar calendar,
which the Prophet (saw) did not recommend for the Ummah and the words of the
Prophet (saw) would become meaningless and the method taught by him would be
wrong and impracticable in
this world. This is exactly what
the Shaitan wants to accomplish through the Muslims.
If the method of giving 30
days to months whenever the Hilal is marred, is followed, places like Kerala
where the monsoon prevails for long periods, many months would get 30 days.
There are places where the first Hilal is never visible, in the world. Then
months would become indefinite and incorrect and the dates would get out of
step. The Islamic year should have only 354 or 355 dates that tally with the
phases of the Moon designed for the purpose. But according to the 'cloud
method' the years would get more days! Islam is perfect and final. How can the
Islamic calendar be defective and impracticable? The Ulema must answer this
question. Certainly they are responsible for the prevailing pathetic condition
of the Islamic calendar.
The Qur'aan describes the
plight of the people who knowingly or foolishly make innovations in the way of
the Prophet (saw) and the Sahaba: "And whoso opposes the messenger after
the guidance of Allah has been manifested to him and follows other than the way
of the believers, We shall turn him to what he has turned and expose him into
hell, a hapless journey’s end!" (4: 115). Certainly, the Prophet (saw)
taught the method of fixing the months by observing the Hilals or Ahillah of
the Moon. People have invented other ways than what he taught! The Prophet
(saw)or Sahaba never calculated the new moon and looked for the Hilal according
to it! But the people today know the exact time of the new moon. They know to
calculate the exact times of moonset and sunset and go to beaches and
observatories to have a look at the Hilal. But hey do not see it! Sometimes
many of them see a Hilal that is not present. A method taught by the Prophet
can never be like this?
Alas! Poor people. They do
not know that they cannot see the Hilal unless the moonset is about 48 minutes
later than the sunset! They do not know that the sunset and moonset are not
alike everywhere. It can be seen at some other place and the Prophet (saw) had
ordered to do according to the information. The crescent becomes visible only
the next day after the new moon. Most often the authorities declare that the
Hilal is not present when it is present and do not fast on the first of
Ramadan! The same thing happens in the end of Ramadan too. They do not see the
Hilal, but the Moon has already appeared. The Sun and the Moon do not
transgress the limits of Allah (swt). They do not take leave. But the people
do. In the beginning of Ramadan they transgress by eating on the first and in the
end by fasting when it is forbidden. By this they disobey Allah (swt) and His
Messenger and make the religion a laughing stock. Who will come to their help
on the Day of Judgment? The Qur'aan says: "And Satan said when the matter
is decided: Lo! Allah gave you a true promise, and I gave you a false promise,
and I cheated you. I had no power over you except that I called you and you
obeyed me. So do not blame me, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can
you help me. Lo! I did not believe in that which you ascribed to me before. Lo!
a painful punishment awaits the wrong-doers". (14:22).
Let us
be careful of what we are doing. The leaders and others, who mislead the common
people and make them commit this great sin by making them celebrate the Eid on
a different day, will certainly bear their burden on the Day of Judgment. The
Qur'aan says:” Let them bear their burden undiminished on the day
of Resurrection, with
somewhat of the burdens of those whom they mislead without knowledge. Ah! Evil
is that which they bear! (16: 25)