Akram Nadwi – Muslims and Moon-sighting – Navigating Scholarly Differences
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AI: Transcript ©
So Insha Allah, in this class today I
am going to teach you
the importance of sighting the crescent, the moon
to determine the beginning of,
month of Ramadan and also how important it
is
for other month
of Islamic
Alibada.
So this is what we have to then
we have to discuss
that what are the opinions of the jurists.
Aymah, Ima Wuhanifa, Malik Shafaiyah
Khanbal,
and other people about sighting the moon.
How
they used to determine
what the moon sighting means.
Then we're also going to discuss
that
can we rely in the moon sighting,
you know, on the scientific evidence,
you know, on the astronomy.
Can we,
rely on that or how can we benefit
from that and how much we can benefit.
Similarly, we have to also learn really is
moon sighting really a religious matter
or it is secular matter?
You know, it is really something, you know,
for a part of the religion or it
is something secular.
And, also I'm going to discuss,
that how important is
the unity
among the believers.
What is the difference between those Ibadah,
Ibadah which are personal,
you know, for every individual
and those Ibadad which are collective, they should
be done collectively.
What difference is it and how we
approach to both of them. That Insha'Allah
I'll make effort to
explain to you. So the first thing Alhamdulillah
is that we people are coming nearer to
the month of Ramadan.
Nearly 10 10 days when we are going
to start
this,
month of the barakah and the blessing.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has mentioned in
the Quran that Allah has made fasting obligatory
obligatory for a purpose
And that is Laa Allahkum Tathakoon.
To that in Islam actually everything has got
a Hikma,
wisdom. The reason behind everything.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
is his commander,
he is also hakeem,
wise. He never commands his slaves something
which is going to harm them or it
is going to be difficult for them. Always
he commands things which are beneficial for them
and going to be easier for them. That
actually is his way always have been. And
every single thing other, for his commands,
we find
wisdom. So he has no interest to make
us people
to,
remain hungry
for so many hours.
The reason he made fasting obligatory
to benefit us
to the certain benefits that we get from
the fasting and that why he had made
the fasting obligatory.
And the important thing that he mentions is
So the fasting is not that to make
people hungry and because when they're hungry
then they, you know, they break their
desire and this and that. Like, you know,
many people have been saying like, ma'am Bala'i
rahumullah
said that, you know, fasting is to train
people to become hungry. So when you are
more hungry,
you are better in to achieve
the,
goal of the fasting.
So he had made the fasting, 3 types
of fasting. Fasting of the Awan people, common
people, lay people and the fasting of the
Hawas, special people and the fasting of Ahasul
Hawas.
And Ahasul Khawas are the people who only
eat in the morning.
They don't eat in the
sunset
time, maybe they just drink water, but they
don't eat.
So the reason is because they are thinking
is, the fasting is that when people are
hungry
they become nearer to Allah Subhana Wa Ta'la.
Though
hunger is important
and eating less is always important in the
Sharia, but this is not the purpose because
you can see their Hadith at the where
he said,
My people will
be on the good path
as they delay the Sukhbun
and they do the breaking the fast as
quickly as possible.
So if it is the Parapad would have
been,
to make people hungry,
then he should have said that my people
will be good if they delay the breaking
the fast and they make the Suhoor early.
But no. He didn't say that. He is
saying that, you know, as Ma'ajalu
al Fitra,
if they make the breaking fast
as quickly as possible. So that is very
important to understand really that fasting is not
to make you to suffer from hunger.
You know in Muslim countries all over the
world, in the month of Ramadan,
Muslims always eat more
and they eat a better quality.
Always. Since that time the prophet
if the Prophet had been to keep people
hungry
then Muslims would actually eat less in Ramadan.
But nobody eat less actually. Even the Prophet
you know used to make arrangements for iftar
and for Sahoor,
invite the people and actually their hadith of
the Prophet not so strong
that before Ramadan the prophet would give a
speech
and in which he said,
month of Ramadan is the month in which
the provision of the believer increased.
If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala increase our
our our provision in the month of Ramadan,
Why?
Does it mean that he wants us to
wait for Shawwal to eat it?
No. For Ramadan.
So it is very important to understand that
the purpose really is not
that you make you hungry. That's not never
a purpose. The so what is the purpose?
The purpose
is the purpose is that, people get taqwa
and taqwa has 3 parts. 1st first one
is fear of Allah, second thing is muraqabah,
that you see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and
the third is not to disobey him.
You know to obedience properly.
That what Ramban is, it trains people how
to obey Allah Subha'ala.
That is the proper Taqwa, to attend the
Taqwa.
That's why you can see
people even if they are alone they don't
eat.
You know, if I am alone in my
kitchen, nobody sees. I'm not going to eat
anything. Why? Because I see Allah. The believers
even if they are alone, nobody sees it,
still they don't eat. Why? Because of Taqwa.
So Ramadan makes them muttaqih,
pious. They attend Taqwa. It is very important
really to keep Allah in the mind, to
fear Him and to attend the Taqwa and
to obey Him and to avoid this obedience.
That is actually,
you know, when Quran benefits you. Allah SWT
said,
in the Quran has come to guide the
people who have taqwa.
To always keep in mind really that in
all ways whether we are alone in the
presence of the people we always have Allah
with us.
To with that what we learn Ramadan.
So obey him
and avoid the sin as much as possible
seeing Allah Subhautahu Ta'ala.
Now what happening in all over the Muslim
world, I've seen really in this UK more
than 30 years, when Ramadan comes
one
discussion starts starts and that is about moon
sighting.
People differ, they spend so much time, they
waste their time
and they make, you know, the starting of
Ramadan in 2 days, you know, in some
mosque this day, some mosque next day. Something
may be happening this year or even. Sometime
I've seen him actually, they have got 3
days
for beginning of Ramadan
and 3 days for Eid.
And sometime,
in UK, in the same mosque, same masjid,
2 Eid and 2, days for Ramadan.
And sometimes people said to me in the
same houses, because some people believe in this
opinion, some people in the same house they
have 2 different Eid.
To think really, is it piety? Is it
really fear of Allah? Has Ramadan come to
make us to fear Allah and to achieve
a goal or Ramadan has come to divide
us?
What we have been seeing really is Ramadan
has come to divide the believers. That what
actually happening to young generation people grow in
the family. What they learn is oh, now
we can't agree. They go to the mosque.
Then when they go to the school, they
want one day a far Eid. So some
children will say this day, some say the
other day, to even the schools are confused.
Can't we think really?
Is it this purpose of Ramadan to divide
the believers?
And when they divided,
they never
Then they backbite, they fight,
they argue. Even the mosque, they argument, shout,
and everybody prefer with other people and they
make other people less important. That will happen.
And people write against each other. I've seen
people writing very inserting each other, making grouping.
It's all taqwa.
You know, first thing we should understand is
why we fast, then don't fast. You know,
if we are fasting for the sake of
Allah and
to get taqwa, closeness, then to Allah then
we should be scared.
We should not backbite. We should not do
anything which can divide the believers and create
all the problems. Then Ramadan is not a
barakah. You know, the prophet has called Ramadan
at the Barakah, you know, month of Barakah.
How can he Barakah if the month of
Ramadan actually comes to divide the believers and
create so many divisions in Muslim society.
So let's make very clear that we have
to respect the month of Ramadan
and to have to believe really what Allah
said. He had made the month of Ramadan,
you know, guide us
for all the people.
When Ramadan comes, Muslims should improve themselves.
Muslims should become
nearer to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Muslims should
be more united.
You know there should be less division. You
know that what Barakah for Ramadan will be.
So the first thing is that don't make
Ramadan
you know, cause of division.
Don't make Ramadan cause of difference and disunion.
No. Get the Barakah of Ramadan, you know,
united, Muslims eat together,
they pray together,
they fast together,
then they celebrate or eat together, then they
embrace each other, they meet each other. It
should be like unity. People should everybody all
the nations should say that where Muslims will
differ, but when Ramadan comes they are united.
But not really. People see that when Ramadan
comes we are disunited.
Another thing really is what is moon? Crescent.
Crescent is created by Allah Subhautahu wa'ta'ala.
And Ramadan
is in fasting, Ramadan is command of Allah.
Command of Allah is more important than his
creation. When Allah commands something, they should be
more respected.
Moon should not be able to divide the
believers.
Believers should determine what is moon, what moon
society because they want to, obey their load.
How can moon divide you? And you
are a believer in Ibrahim
When Ibrahim
looked at
the stars, moon and sun, what he said?
I don't love those who disappear.
Those who sit. Now those who sit, they
divide us, they are distracted from Allah?
Muslims should leave Moon and Sun and Star
to Allah SWT.
Now Moon comes and distract us from Allah.
Moon becomes more important than Allah's command.
Moon and sun are Allah's signs.
They are not more important than Allah if
Allah SWT wants that. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
said in Namar minu I Khutun, believers are
brothers.
So that should be more important than anything
else. Any moon, any sun, anything
we divide the believer, we should turn away
from that. We should know. We are Salas
of Allah, we want unity, we want to
obey Him. He wants us to be 1
nation, we will remain 1 nation. Moon should
never be able to divide the believers. So,
you know, keep that in mind that that
Nivrahi for example said,
Now let's understand exactly what exactly moon is
what moon why moon sighting is important
and why in why we differ really and
why Islam is clear that we should not
differ
and why in the past Muslims were not
different really. In the past they used to
do the same regardless of all the Muzadda
in school. You know, the people in Kufa,
you know, they never had Abu Hanifa al
Qadhi. Abu Hanifa never had a Qadhi.
Abu Hanifa
has his own opinion, differ from the rulers
of Kufa, but he never did either Ramadan
different from the people. His opinion is there,
but he already made his opinion
to surrender to the opinion of the Amir
and the ruler
because
he wanted unity. So that I'll come to
Insha'Allah. But the first thing is, let's understand
what Hilal is. There's a verse of the
Quran,
They ask you about the Hilals.
To hill a hilllatun is jamaf. Hilal
means crescent.
Many people think
that they ask the question
that why the sun, moon decreases and increases,
why disappears,
what is behind that? They ask about Hilal.
Why what is the nature of the Crescent
is. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala did not
want to waste their time till He answered
them something more beneficial
and He says,
Tell them that crescent are
timing for the people and timing for the
Hajj. So that's correct really.
Did people ask about the crescent, the nature
of the crescent
when the sun, moon increase or decrease?
This is really what they ask? No. If
you read the Surajur Baqarah where the questions
coming, first thing is these questions are not
from unbelievers.
The questions are from believers.
Believers have no interest really
to ask the prophet
why the moon increases or decreases.
No. Their only interest is about the akham,
rulings of Allah SWANTAWA, the Hakam of Allah
SWANTAWA
What they are asking is,
They ask you the rulings about the chalice.
Like in the Quran
they ask about the Kalala. And then Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta Meshed, what they're asking?
Muslims had no interest to ask why the
moon increases or decreases because that had nothing
to do with the prophet. It is a
scientific question. They were not interested. The question
is that, they're asking about the, you know,
timing of, you know, that based on the
crescent, they're asking about the Ashul Hurom, the
month in which fighting is forbidden, that's what
they're asking. So, yes,
they ask. And then Allah
said, I have made the quiescent
at the timing for the people.
So how it is timing?
Month of
in general in the past, it tried to
all the nations.
You know, months were
determined
by the moon.
You know? Then some people made up by
the, you know, solar calendar and the sun
decal. They want to fix the timing, but
that actually made up by the people later
on. Generally, in the past,
every calendar was based on the moon. Even
actually in English word month, if you look
it is coming from moon not coming from
sun. The month actually is from moon. So
it always used to be based on the
moon but somehow people made on the sun
and
more, you know, calculation.
So the Quran, when Quran mentions about the
month, it means mentioning
about the lunar calendar. The month which is
based on,
on the moon.
The month that is based on the moon
is always either 29
days or 30 days.
And the prophet has said that
to 29 days. Then it's Asharuhaqada,
wahaqada, wahaqada, wahaqada, wahaqada, 30 days. So the
prophet said
a month will be
29 days or 30 days. It can't be
less than 29 days and it cannot be
more than 30 days. You know, these are
the 2 days
to generally, most time, okay, the month is
29 days. Some months will be 30 days.
That's why he started with the 29 days.
When
the month of, you know,
based on the moon starts,
it is when the people see side the
crescent.
So that's the beginning.
Then by the end of the month, you
know, hyphen
2 days or something more or less
when the moon disappears.
Disappearing of the moon basically means
that
moon becomes completely
between the,
Earth and between the sun.
So the part of the moon which is
towards the Earth
like
we see, on that part there's no shining
of any no reflection of the sun. Sun
does not reflect on any part of the
moon which we face.
So that's why we can't see it. To
that happens
at the end of the month. When the
moon becomes completely
between the earth and between the sun.
And the sunlight does not appear on any
part of the moon that we face.
That is called in Arabic language, mohawk.
Mohawk. So Mohawk means
the end of
the month
where moon cannot
be sighted.
It disappears
completely.
Between the earth
and between the sun, you know, if moon
is there,
and no single part of moon is reflected
by the sun. Sun does not get anywhere
any light
from moon does not get any light from
the sun.
Today it is mohawk, that time.
When the sun when the moon
basically moves
for a mohawk,
a small part of moon becomes reflected
by the sunlight
which we see,
means when
that part of the moon, which is seen
faced by the people of the earth,
That part of the moon, part of it
get a reflection
from the sun.
That is what is called actually in the
astronomy,
that is called birth of the moon, that
the moon has been born.
We call it.
Birth of the moon is
as soon as the
you know,
there can there can be any part of
the
moon
reflected
by the sun.
But some it is so tiny,
generally, people or the Earth
cannot see that tiny moon. Because the reflection
comes from the sun on a very very
small part of the moon,
and the people of the earth are unable
to see it.
Then reflection grows.
So reflection can be this this birth of
the moon can happen in the daytime,
can happen in the nighttime, it can happen
anytime.
If it happened during the day daytime,
there's no way anybody can see it.
Even in the night actually because it's so
tiny.
When people are able to see
the moon after it is born, when they're
really more likely to see. So
we don't really have a very exact timing.
But in some countries,
people
think that, you know, it's impossible
to see the present,
you know, until the moon is
16 hour old
or maybe like that. 16 hour old or
something or less than that of people who
are different in this matter, then you can
see. The meaning basically is
that,
you know, like,
if the,
moon is born on the 28th morning,
20th of Shaban, father of Shaban is coming.
On the 20th morning, it is born. Then
on 29th
evening,
soon
moon can be seen in many many parts.
Because then it becomes 16 hour old, 18
hour old, 20 hour old, it can be
seen. So is it clear to everybody? Today,
the birth of the moon,
that is a different matter. Birth of the
moon does not mean sighting of the moon.
Sighting of the moon actually is something different.
What we call helal.
Helal basically is different. That is
possibility sighting of the moon
of the crescent.
That is actually.
You can say.
So sighting of the crescent is different from
the birth of the moon.
The month used to start in the time
of the prophet
before that or after that
by sighting the moon,
not by the birth of the moon.
So that we have to understand properly
that how the moon was sighted.
It was sighted after being born.
Nobody could sight crescent
before the moon is born. And nobody actually
even can sight
when moon is
very very small like 6 year old, 6
hour old,
7 hour old, 8 hour old, people cannot
see it. You know, generally, people see it
if there it is really 16 hour old.
Generally, the whole world will see, you know,
this crescent in same day. Sometime the first
can be one day, sometime, not all the
time. Generally, it could be same day, but
sometime can be one day.
This is clearly what we have to understand.
We have to understand 3 different words.
1 is Mohawk.
Mohawk basically means
that
Moon has completely disappeared.
Moon is between the Earth and between the
sun, and no single part of the moon
is reflected by the sun
to the people of the Earth. That's Muhak.
Birth of the moon means when a tiny
part of the moon
is being reflected by the sun.
It is so tiny it cannot be seen.
It needs a little, you know, reflection. The
sun grows and grows. So generally people think
once it is 16 hour, moon is 16
hour old or maybe more than that,
then when moon is,
could be sited.
That we call Ru'itul Hilal sighting of the
crescent.
The prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam that what he
said really. He did not say until the
moon is born. In this time people did
not know even the birth of the moon
anyway.
What Arab people knew is actually,
the sighting. They knew Muhak. Muhak means when
the moon disappeared. That way you can see
in Arabic language
even mohawk can be used for
the birth of the moon.
Arab people, when the moon is born, still
to them is mohawk
Because they
until they are able to see the moon,
they don't want to call it a ruya.
They they only know 2 things, mohak or
ruya to halal. This thing is astronomical
thing. It's from astronomy. Nothing to do with
Arab people.
Common people in any society with Arab, non
Arab society,
they only know 2 things.
What they know know is Mohawk,
when they can't see the moon.
And then second part is when they can
see the moon. So basically, even the birth
of the moon,
that is
part of Mohawk,
part of this this this phase. This is
not this.
When they see, then they have got a
noon. That they call it Hilal.
To Hilal, to them a clear sense, high
penis, to Hilal, all those things. That what
they could see.
So the prophet has said in many many
hadith in Muwatta, in Bukhari, in Muslim
that Hadith has come from many companions.
The most famous Hadith is Faram Adulah ibn
Umar That
Hadith is in the most books of the
hadith you know and very very many many
Sinad
that hadith become widespread all over the world
from so many chants of narration. If you
want to see them you can see all
of that in the in Sahih Muslim
in the beginning of,
Kitabu song that you can see.
Don't fast
until you see the crescent.
Means this part, this thing. He's not saying
about the birth of the moon. The prophet
is saying that you are don't fast until
you side the crescent.
That what people knew. People don't know this
part.
Birth of the moon is not known to
the people.
What is known to the people is mohawk
when they can't see the kerosene
and what is no to them after that
is ruya to hilal,
the sighting of the crescent.
That's where the month starts.
So the prophet
said, don't fast
until you see the crescent.
And don't start fasting
until you see the crescent. Meaning,
you know,
don't start the month of Shawwal
or
until you see the crescent.
To between seeing the crescent of Ramadan
and seeing the crescent of Shawwal,
either it will be 29 days or 30
days. Is it clear? To the prophet
don't start the month until you see the
crescent
and don't make a 'id until you see
crescent.
Okay? But you can say sometimes it is
really cloudy on 29th.
Oh, it is, you know, so much dust
sometime in the horizon. How you can see?
So he said,
very easy.
If it is if you can't see the
crescent because it is cloudy
or dusty or something like that, Faqadurullahhu
then estimate.
To what means estimate?
It has come in another version of the
same hadith by Muhammad
where the prophet
says
29 days.
Don't fast until you see the crescent.
To see, he always says, see. He does
not say until the moon is born, until
you see the crescent.
If it is it looks cloudy
and on 29th,
you cannot see the it could be there.
It could be visible, but because the cloud,
we can't see. To what is solution? Solution
is complete 30
days. Very easy. So the prophet said if
you see
then 20 you know that's right 29
days. If you can't see make up till
30 days.
Sometimes it is actually very clear still you
cannot see. So you know month could be
29 days or 30 days. In another hadith
the prophet has said
that
We are Ummah, Ummi. Ummi means we don't
know reading or writing.
As a nation, we are Ummatun
Ummiya.
Why the prophet says we are Ummatun Ummiya?
Because there were people of the book, Uhalo
Kitab. Today, no, there are people of the
book, Uhalo Kitab.
And there are Arabs who are Ummatul Umiyyah.
Ahlukitaab
are the people who got a book, a
scripture from heaven.
So they read it and they write. It
does not mean everybody from Ahluk Itab knows
reading and writing. That is their title.
That how they are called Ahluk Itab.
Arab people generally,
they did not read and write because they
did not have the book, you know. But
some Arabs did write and read. It's not
that everybody
Reading and writing are very much mentioned in
Arabic.
Even the Quran is mentioned, and there are
so many, you know,
metaphor
used for
Arab people know reading and writing, but either
nation, they're They
are they don't read and they don't write.
That's why the Prophet
has been called An Nabi yur Ummi.
It means An Nabi which has been raised
among the people who do not know reading
or writing,
and he himself does not know reading or
writing. Umi does not mean Jahil. Jahil is
different. Jahil is ignorant.
Umi can be learned.
Like, you know, like blind people.
A blind person could be a Halim scholar,
learned person, but he does not know reading
and writing.
Somebody who does not know reading or writing
still can be learned.
To like there are many many olema, they
are blind like Qata'adim de Uma Sadusi,
you know,
expert of the hadith,
tafsir,
fiqh, history.
Ummi does not know. There are also many
other people do not know reading or writing,
but they still actually,
you know,
learned people. To Omi does not mean somebody,
not Omi is not a defect.
Being Omi is not an 'aib, is not
a defect. So the prophet
being Omi does not mean we are insulting
him or hurting him. No. It is just
acknowledging
that he did not know reading or writing.
Baidu alim is the best alim. He said,
ana aala mukumbillah.
Among all of you, I am the one
who knows Allah the most. To the prophet,
salallahu alayhi wa sallam, the best alayhi. Still,
he did not know reading and writing. So
reading and writing are a means to the
knowledge.
They are not the knowledge themselves. They are
very important for the knowledge, but people can
be can attain the knowledge without them. Anyway,
to Arab people did not mean that they
are not learned. They had learned, many of
them learned, but they did not have this
quality of reading or writing.
When you have no reading or writing to
develop
develop many skills, to like for the past
to know me, to look in the star
and all those things, they depend actually on
the reading and writing and all those things.
So the prophet said we are umatul umiyyah.
You know, we don't know.
We don't write and we don't calculate.
It's not over there. So what we do
really, we just know the month. He said,
the month. Then second time,
we say,
Then the second time he said,
The Prophet also
said,
Nobody should fast one day before Ramadan.
To that, there are actually many hadith where
the prophet does not allow people
to fast before the month of Ramadan even
one day. Because otherwise what will happen is
people will think, oh, maybe we don't know
really till the beginning of Ramadan or not.
Lest be cautious and start one day before.
Then one day people add to the Ramadan.
He does not want. He wants Allah the
Father to be complete.
No day should be added
and no day should be taken out. That
by the day in which people are doubtful
fasting in that day, the Maghru.
The meaning is, the prophet used
to enter into the month of Ramadan
with
knowledge.
When he knows it is a month, he
will start, not just on guessing. He never
started the month on guess. Month always starts
with proper knowledge. What Allah has given him.
That you know, going outside, sighting the wickiressant,
if he
sights,
he does not sight completely 30 days or
if he is cloudy completely 30 days. So
the prophet said Allah also follow the knowledge.
That's what Allah has done. For every Aybada
and for every hukmah of Allah, you know,
it must be we must follow the knowledge.
There's no way that you follow the guess.
Guessing, estimating
that is not part
of the arena of Allah subhana wa ta'ala.
Allah has commanded the believers to follow the
proper knowledge. Similarly,
all the hadith, we only follow the hadith
which is knowledge, which no really more likely
saying at the prophet
If hadith is da'if,
we don't follow, we get a guessing. It
could be hadith or the prophet, it could
not be. We have to follow the knowledge.
It is very important to understand really. Allah
did not command the believers to follow anything
other than proper knowledge. And proper knowledge has
got its own tool, means when you can
determine really what the knowledge is.
That what the jurists
have been
agreeing on this matter. How they used to
determine really when the month
starts.
Or the jurists say the month starts like
that. That when you are 29th,
people come and see the crescent.
If they see, month has started.
If they don't see, then they have to
complete 30 days. That
all the Juris
and all the Sahaba, and all the Ta'vin,
everybody had been saying that you start the
month with sighting the crescent. If you see
it, you start the month. If you don't
see, the complete
30 days. That's what they have been saying.
But sometimes what happens when it's cloudy,
many people cannot see. The opinion
is
that if the sky is open, very clear,
then it should be
seeing of big number of the people, not
one person. Because, you know,
why only one person will see if it's
open.
So when sun is clear
with no cloud,
no dust,
then a clear center must be seen by
a big number of the people who cannot
agree on a lie.
Means people understand really it's not lie.
If the sun if the sky is, you
know, cloudy
or dusty,
then a Kaat wa Hanifa
sighting of the month of Ramadan
will
be accepted
by 1 person.
If one person says I've seen the crescent
and he does not lie, he's the honest
person in the society, or he could be
a woman or or man or woman or
anybody who has seen a reliable trustworthy
then the month will start with the witness
of 1 person.
So in this case,
the witness of 1 person with a man
or woman both are equal
in the beginning of determining the beginning of
the month of Ramadan.
Though for the ending of the month of
Ramadan, they don't accept one person's witness. They
was, want to because it basically end of
Ramadan. So you can't start the stop fasting
unless
much more clear. So the fact that they
make 2 people to witness.
Is it clear? So let me make again,
so if 29th
Ramadan,
what you need to do is
that,
people come in the big crowd and they
start sighting the crescent.
And if they see, that's fine. If they
don't see, then complete 30 days. And if
it's cloudy,
then
sighting of the crescent by one person
can be enough.
Now we are coming real that how things
have been practiced by the time of the
prophet
later on. Now that one question comes,
is sighting of the crescent
by people of a city
is enough for other cities?
So there are people who say that, you
know, we must go for Iktilafur
Maqaliam.
Deaths think
that basically
it could be possible that moon is sighted
in one place
but not in the other place.
So every locality
should have its own moon sighting.
You know, there are some places
when material is same. You know, if moon
happen
in, you know, in Atar of Emirates, it
must be also in Qatar, you know, these
type very very close.
But if it is very very far away,
then difference happens.
To what Iftalaqirmataleh
is another
matter. But actually,
the opinions of the people of the Madahi,
Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi, Humbali,
has so much difference really. People cannot know
whether they are considered
the mataliya or not.
But,
Asher Taherb na
Ashur. And many people think really that originally
Abu Hanifa and Malik and Sharjah and Humble,
they did not consider Iqbalah from Matalah.
Their opinion has been if moon is sighted
in one place
and their new information reaches to other place,
they must follow it.
To follow the police, if in Saudi Arabia,
moon has been sighted
and it has been,
accepted by the jurist and Foqaha,
then all the people all over the world,
they must accept it. That is the opening
of Abu Hanifa, Malik Shafi'i, a number, according
to many people. That's what they say.
The noachtlaha from Allah. Sighting of 1 place
will be sighting of all the places.
Is it correct everybody? Do I measure to
2 opinions? One opinion is ikhtalaafurmata'ala
is
considered.
Meaning is that if people cite the crescent
in one locality,
it is not necessary that crescent will be
cited in other locality.
So people are not bound to follow that.
So like Farapur in Pakistan, very often, people
cite the crescent in Peshawar.
The people of Peshawar cite, is it obligatory
on the people of Karachi
upon jab to follow it? To a kind
to disappear, no. It is not obligatory because
it could be 2 different matala. Difference can
happen in in the world. So that one
opinion. 2nd opinion, no. If Talafur Matala is
not considered.
If people of,
any locality decide the moon and the Fokaha
and Mufti of that region,
they accept
it, then wherever the news goes, it becomes
obligatory on the believers all over the world
to accept
it. It's all same thing. So the 2
opinions. A third opinion in Hanafi Madhub, and
that opinion is the one I follow really.
A third opinion is in Hanafi Madha that
if the moon is sited somewhere,
then all those cities and population
which are west of their city,
they must accept,
not the east.
Why?
Because
moon becomes more visible
when it grows.
So if, you know, when the sun was
setting in Saudi Arabia and the moon was
16 hour old 16 hour old undecided
it,
So by the time the sun sun sets
in England,
it will be because the difference of 3
hours, it will be 19 hour old.
So people in England more likely will see.
And by the time the sun sets in
America, it will be more than 25 hours
or maybe even more than that. Today, more
likely we'll see. So the third opinion is
if moon has been sighted
in any place,
then all the places which are west of
that locality,
they must follow it.
But not those who are in the East.
For example, if sun moon has been sighted
in Saudi Arabia,
then it is not obligatory
on the people living in Pakistan,
in India,
Malaysia,
Indonesia to follow it. Because by the time
when the sun set in Indonesia, Malaysia,
moon was very, very little. It was just
maybe 1 hour old, 2 hour old, 3
hour old, so they could not see. By
the time when the sun set in Saudi
Arabia, it became 16 hour old.
Is it clear? So now we have got
3 opinions. 1st opinion is Iftalaful
Mataaleh is not accept considered.
Iftalafal Matalih is considered. First one is Iftalafal
Matalih is accepted.
That you know people can have different Matalah.
Second is not considered.
3rd one is more cautious opinion that I
accept.
That is that if moon has been sighted
in any place,
then all the places which are west of
that locality,
they must accept it.
Because when the sun set in that place,
their moon will be even older,
but more likely to be seen.
So if sun sun sets in Saudi Arabia
when moon is
16 hour old, by the time sun sets
in in UK,
then the moon will be 19 hour old.
It's more likely to be seen.
So the third opinion that I more like
I I'll support really that anywhere when,
moon has been sighted
and had been accepted by the jurists,
by the Fokha and Mufti,
then all the places which are
west of that locality,
they must accept it.
And those places which are east of that
locality,
it is not obligatory on them to accept
it. So this I discussed to you about
the,
in Uqtlaq al Muqadda'ala.
Now next thing is coming is that
Kylie may rely
on the moon sighting
about the moon sighting
and,
you know,
and the science,
you know, on the Alimur Falak, on the
astronomy,
you know, on the observatory
because they can actually prepare observatory of the
old month for 10, 20, 30, 40 years
in advance because it's so well calculated,
you know, that they can see really that
when, you know, moon is,
like, more likely to be sighted in in
next month, that month, that month.
Can we accept that or not?
So this is a a controversial
issue from very past really. In the past,
it was not so maybe accurate,
but the difference always happened.
So there are a jurist,
in Islam
who say no. We are not going to
accept,
you know, any,
you know,
scientific observation of the moon. We are going
to rely, you know, on normal
sighting of the moon. So there are jurists
who don't accept,
any scientific evidence, you know, observatory
or things like that. There have been appear
like that and because and there are many
argument
the hadith or the prophet don't
fast until you see the crescent.
And the * seeing means seeing with the
eye.
And that's how the Prophet used to do.
So these people don't accept
any scientific evidence.
There are jurists
who say no we can accept because the
prophet
said we are Ummatul Ummiyyah.
We don't know reading or writing.
But,
he made very clear because we don't know
reading and writing, so when the Musa learn
reading and writing and they become more learned,
they know the scientific evidence, They understand the
observatory. They understand the, you know, scientific calculation.
So why not? Then we can follow that.
So, you know, the prophet did not say
it's something divine, you know so that we
can you know
uh-uh follow. So this is a second opinion
that we should follow the scientific evidence that
you know if science said that moon has
been sighted or moon is visible.
They can't sight really. They only can see
to you
visible. Any visibility of the moon. Any moon
is able to be sighted. It is so
that we can can we make that beginning
of the month of Ramadan or beginning of
the month of Shawwal or any month? So
there are opinion,
people say like that. This is second opinion.
3rd opinion is
that we can accept the science,
observatory
in denying the moon sighting.
So for example, if somebody
make a witness they have sighted the moon
before the moon was born
To will reject. Science said moon is not
even born. To how can see it? So
that evidence will reject it really.
Why people see the moon after moon is
born, like when moon is 16 hour old,
18 hour old,
then we accept.
But when 16 hour old, it is cloudy
and they don't see, then we complete 30
days.
So these people say we accept signs
in rejecting the sun,
in sighting other people to reject a claim,
but we are not going to accept the
moon for sight if I determine the beginning
of the month. We can use it only
to reject.
So if somebody claims to sight the crescent
before the moon is born, they will reject.
We said, no. Scientifically, it is impossible to
to see it anyway. So how can you
see it? We can reject it.
But if people claim to see the moon
when scientifically it is possible, we accept.
But if people don't see, even if scientifically,
possible, we don't accept because, you know, we
go for sighting. If we don't cite, even
if science says it's possible, it is visible,
we don't go for that. So we have
got 3 opinions
about the,
using the science scientific method.
The first one is we don't accept it
completely.
We follow the way of, you know, the
time of the powers of lawlesson, we don't
accept it. 2nd opinion is that we accept
completely.
You know, whenever a moon becomes visible,
we start the month. That's how they prepare
the calendars in many many other countries by
scientific observation in advance, you know, they they
make it.
The third one is we in the middle,
that we accept scientific observation
to reject a false claim.
To somebody claim that they have seen the
moon even before it was born,
when it was very little,
we reject it.
If people, you know, claim
sighting the moon when the moon is born,
yeah, that's fine. And when a moon is
actually,
you know, visible,
but some people the people cannot see. We
don't accept unless people see it. So this
is a thorough opinion.
Now we are coming really
that what is moon sighting really? Is moon
sighting
purely religious matter
or it is a worldly matter.
You know, unless we understand this thing properly,
we cannot know really how are we able
to use science or not.
You know when Allah
commands, you command. Like Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
said, when you stand for the prayer, wash
your face.
Is washing
in a religious matter or
is it a
human dictionary?
What washing means? Does Quran say what washing
means?
Does Quran say what face means? When Quran
say wash your hands? Does Quran say what
hand means? No.
What 'Hain' means? What 'face' means? That is
actually human matter.
It is linguistic,
language. Language determines
sometimes people's custom determines a meaning when a
Quran is said that we may should put
on, you know, himar on their head. What
himar means?
Urf will decide,
people's customs will decide. So sometimes you understand
meaning by dictionary,
sometimes you understand meaning by the custom, by
the purest culture, and sometimes you accept a
meaning which is legal meaning. Like, you know,
what salah means,
what zakat means, that legal meaning. You can't
know by society.
That how we know. So when it is
said really
that, you know, khelar kerosent,
what kerosent means?
What nalaya kerosent means? It is actually something
religious
or
something secular
in which all the people share.
It cannot be religious because people used to
determine the month even before Islam.
And there have been societies which are non
Muslim. They also depend on the moon sighting.
It can't be like that. So first thing
we have to understand is moon sighting itself
is not a religious matter.
It is a completely different matter. It is
human matter. It should be for adults. What
is religious is when a month starts you
start fasting.
Fasting is a religious matter. But beginning of
the month, that is human matter, it is
linguistic matter, orf matter, customs matter, that how
it is. And actually,
you can see in many of these matters
we make a difference really. We don't follow
commands of Islam.
Like Farah Appur, the prophet said
that when you sell,
you know, wheat for the wheat,
barley for the barley,
dares for the dares, salt for the salt,
gold for gold, and silver for the silver.
6th season.
When you sell them, then what you do?
Sell them equally. They should be equally. It
is 1 kilo gold to 1 kilo gold
from other side. 1 kilo barley to 1
kilo barley, but on both sides same amount
to equally. And second thing is yadam biadin,
hand by hand.
So the prophet
says that you do hand by hand and
the and it should be equal. How do
you determine the equality?
So Arab people,
they used to
know the equality between gold and gold, between
silver and silver by the weight.
They used to make by weight.
Weight was wasn't.
And how they determine
equality between the, you know, wheat and barley
by
by volume. They used to measure by the
volume. 1 sour.
To 1 saw,
wheat is equal to another one saw of
wheat. 1 saw of barley is equal to
another was 1 saw of barley.
One,
saw of,
dates is equal to another one saw of
the dates. That how they used to measure.
That was the custom of the people, culture
of the people. Now in our time really,
when you go to buy the dates, do
you buy the debts in the volume or
weight?
Weight like gold. It has changed. So can
you say now, you know, we there's no
reba, no interest? It's still very slow. You
know, 1 1 kilo deaths far 1 kilo
deaths.
You know, it's still the same thing.
So we have changed the measurement.
So the prophet, sir, after trying some measurement,
no more effect, no more there. It's a
different measurement. It's still fine.
You know, it you know, you you quality
while determining his time by volume. Now it
is determined by by the weight. It's fine.
Even actually the measurement by volume was not
agreed upon. Sa of Iraq used to be
different from the Sa of Madinah.
You know, the volume that in which people
in Iraq used to wear,
or measure that were different from the one
one used in Madinah.
Each body each one followed their own saw.
So they did not follow the saw of
the prophet salallahu alaihi wasallam because it is
not religious miter. It is worldly miter.
So that how people used to do. So
in the worldly matter,
you don't bring the religion. You have to
find out how the people in the world,
they determine something.
That I want to say really that sighting
of the moon
is not a religious matter rather than it
is a worldly matter, secular matter.
I give you another example.
The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
has made very clear
that when the time or the fire starts,
to time all the prayers, the fire time
starts,
you know, when,
light appears,
certain lights in the in the horizon,
that's the beginning of the Fajr.
And when the sun rises,
that's the end of the Fajr.
Then he said when the sun declines,
that is the beginning of
Zohr,
and when the shade of everything becomes
twice or one length of any object,
that is end of Zhor and beginning of
Asr,
and when the sun sets,
that is the beginning of Maghrib, ends of
Asr.
And when after that, when the Shafaq,
the
light, you know, disappears,
that is the end of Maghreem
and the beginning of
Asia.
That's what he said.
And the prophets used to follow that and
his companions used to follow that. And when
it used to be cloudy,
you know, when there's cloud raining,
they can't see really whether sun has set
or not.
To how they know the sun is set?
They used to guess and they used to
delay further
because it could be possible they did not
guess properly. They used
to delay Maghrib prayer in the,
in the in the rain time in the
cloudy time, and that the professor has said
really. That when it's raining, delay it till
you become more certain. That's how they used
to do.
Tell me really, what do you do now?
Do you delay Maghrib now?
Is it cloudy with delaying Maghrib because the
prophet said? No. Because you know really, we
can determine the sunset very
accurately.
Now people prepare the calendar for the whole
year. Every masjid everybody has got that you
can make calendar for, and everybody follows the
time properly.
Nobody goes really. You know, in the past,
I remember when I was child, in some
Masjid, they used to have this diagram, how
to determine determine
the Zohar time.
The diagram in the Masjid that how they
know Zohr time because there was no wars,
no time. And when I used to I
studied the fiqh in the madrasah when I
was child,
that time, you know, was not in the
villages. So they they taught us how to
know Zohr time.
So how to fix something, you know, in
the Masjid, how to follow the shadow, and
they used to make very nice diagram to
when the shadow becomes this this part of
the diagram, there it is over time, and
when it happened this part, there are other
time. They used to make it and teach
you to learn.
Now when I teach you people fech, do
I teach those diagrams? No. Why? Because they
are not religious.
They are part of a knowledge how to
determine Zohr time. Zohr time is a secular
time. It has nothing to do with religion.
If people can determine the Zohr time by
other means more accurately, we will not go
to that diagram, not
not circle.
Now everybody goes for time. Everybody knows when
sunset
without
cloudy, raining, it doesn't matter.
So I I remember really the words
I was in Jada,
in in Mecca in the month of Ramadan.
And the sun,
or maybe Ibad Madinah really. Ibad Madinah when
Iftar time happened and there was particular time
and then I came to Jad Makkah, did
Umrah. And Farifthar,
I have to come to,
Jada too. Somebody invited me. So I got
a taxi, and I also had date.
And the one that because I knew really
I can't reach on the time. During the
time for the sunset came according to Madinah
time, I forgot I'm in Jeddah, and time
is
different. And Jaddah time is a few minutes,
maybe 4 or 5 minutes or something like
that, different from
Madinah Makkah time,
Madinah time few minutes later.
I got a taxi, and I realized over
time, so I start eating the date. All
the people passing by me, they're looking at
me very badly, like it's in the thinking
I'm a bad Muslim and all that. I
didn't understand. Then I realized really, maybe during
that time. So think really, all these people
because it was dark. You know? Because it
may be cloudy. I could not see sun.
Why these people are so certain that I'm
around?
Because of time the bush.
Nobody sees the sun because some I I
I hide there be sun. I would never
have, you know, eaten. I was eating because
it's dark.
But everybody was very certain because they follow
the everybody follows the time.
So that I'm trying to say really easy.
The timing, you know, they are secular.
Meaning of secular is they are part of
human knowledge.
Whether Islam is there or not, sun will
set.
Whether in the world there is a Muslim
or not, sun will rise, sun will decline,
sun will set.
Whether there are Muslims in the world or
not,
moon will, you know,
is crescent will rise. Month will start. Month
will, you know, end. It will happen. So
in these matters, if there are things developed
by none Muslims or by anybody
better than what we do, we follow.
I'll be followed in the prayer. In the
prayer, we take take the timing of other
people. And maybe, no. We,
and we follow that. Nobody has any problem.
Every much in the world, they follow those
time. Nobody actually see make effort to follow
follow the sunrise or decline of the sun.
So people's custom can can change.
So if people can do further prayer, which
is more important,
why they cannot do further Ramadan, further moonsa,
further even further Hijjah, further hajj. They should
be able any argument really,
against that is not very I look in
the argument. I never found any validity. There's
a because the hadith said, don't fast until
you see. Yeah. It said until you see,
but meaning until you know. Because Hadith also
said about the, about the prayer time.
That, you know, until zawar, until this, but
you never see anything like that. You just
get the knowledge of that. The meaning of
the knowledge is the knowledge
And the prophet said we are Umma through
Umiya, it does not mean that we remain
Ummi far all the time. You know, this
being Ummi, it can end.
So this is
important to understand really.
So what will we do
in this matter?
My thinking in this matter is that wherever
Muslims live really,
first thing is they should understand
how to unite their martyrs.
Once, I remember,
I was invited to a conference,
in
Birmingham
in about the moon sighting long time ago,
20 years 20 years back or something like
that.
So that what actually I made it clear
that moon sighting is not a religious matter.
It is really an organizational matter. It how
to organize.
It can it does not need olema.
It does not need fakaha.
It does not need Mufti.
It needs really anybody who can understand what
moon sighting means.
Anybody.
If you take a student. I said take
appoint 1 person in this country
and he determined everybody follows. You don't need
so many faqar, mufti to I had for
Abu time table, prayer time table. We don't
need a mufti.
You know, anybody who understand really what prayer
time table mean, even non Muslim. A calculation,
you know, a calculation can make very clear
what time is the order and you rely
on that. So similarly for this matter, we
don't need to have different opinion and many
people.
You need to follow that any one person.
But the problem is because there's so many
opinions,
like, you know, somebody said they know we
must decide the crescent,
somebody says no we can't rely on the
science,
on the observation,
some people say we cannot be in the
middle. So to think think really, with our
3 opinions,
how can unite?
Unity can happen only when everybody sacrifice their
opinion for the sake of one. That why
in Islam we have got what? Imara,
Jamara.
That in all those matters which are matters
of society, social matters,
in that we must follow an imam, collective
matters. So like for an Anapur,
their JAMA prayer is with JAMA with congregation,
5 trans prayer with congregation,
5th prayer is Zohr Asr Maghrib Beyish. The
4th prayer with congregation is Jama'ah.
Most people have heard about
prayer so many differences. In 4 raka they
have got really 300 differences.
In 4 raka' prayer, the difference among the
Fuqai is nearly 300
differences. So when you go for the prayer,
you can't
and the people who pray behind the imam,
some people could be Hanafi, some could be
Mariki, some people could be Shafi'i, Hambali, Al
Hadid, so many madhab. Somebody could be Shia,
Ibadi.
Are you going to mix 4, 6 imams?
I'm going to choose 1 imam.
1 Imam. Though the miters which are collective,
we follow the Imam. So when Imam goes
in the ruku, everybody goes in the ruku.
When Imam stand far from the ruku, everybody
stand from the ruku. When Imam goes to
Sada, everybody go far Sada. When Imam reads,
everybody is quiet. When imam says salaam, everybody
says salaam
because we follow the imam. But within that,
there are also a scope of differences.
So for example, where to put your hand?
Place. Some people put a place on the
chest, some people on the navel, some people
leave.
You know, about reading, about sitting, about raising
the hand. Some people say raise your hand
up to your earlobe. Some people step to
shoulder.
So many different opinion people follow. The meaning
is people can have their own different opinions
as long as it does not, you know,
come in clash with the collective opinion, with
the Imama.
Obey the Imama.
The people should have Islam respects
To to all the matters where you need
unity,
you need to find a solution that is
to follow the imam,
to follow the leader,
to follow the people who are in charge
of rheumatoid.
You know, Muslims must follow the Uruil Amre,
the people who are in charge of the
matter.
The best theory should be that in every
country
there should be
1 body.
Few people,
they decide the beginning of month, and then
all the believers, whether they have their own
opinion, they should follow that opinion.
Don't believe that my I'm more right. Even
if you're more right, in this matter, you
have to follow. Like, you know, when you
you follow behind the imam, it could be
that you're appearing more more right, but you
can't differ from the imam. If you differ
from the imam, your prayer will be invalid.
The same thing moon sighting, could be I
have an opinion which is much better,
but when I am with the rest of
the believers, I follow the opinion of the
imam leader and I make my opinion under
him. I remember
in Oxford, in the when I came there,
there used to be, you know, 2 or
3,
mosque people used
to come together and discuss,
you know, to unify about the moon sighting.
In the beginning, they also used to, you
know, invite me. So once there was a
meeting in the Durbanji Masjid
and waiting for the Barelvi people.
So I said to them, you know, the
you know, if you you know, the best
thing really is
to accept any opinion.
You know, just follow, you know, one opinion
in rather than making that I'm more right,
I'm more right. It's not a problem. Just
follow one of them.
I said to them, follow-up on my see
me. I have my opinion,
but I'm really very happy that whatever you
people decide, I follow. I'm not gonna follow
my opinion. I want to follow you. I
found 1 honorary.
So they say, yeah. No. No. We are
fine, but you but there'll be people who
make problem.
They they don't want to unite with us.
So I said to them, what happens if
they don't accept what you say? Why don't
you accept what you they say, still unity
can happen.
Just a no no. How can we unite
with the believers? How can we follow them,
with Baralebis?
To think really, if you can't agree with
Baralebis, Baralebis cannot agree with you, then no
way unity can be achieved.
To understand properly, it is not that who
is more right really, it is who can
unite people.
It might have been the organization.
It might have been right or wrong really.
Muslims must understand
that in
the matter of the collective you must come
to agree on opinion
which unite the believers. As I mentioned to
you in the beginning,
Qadhi of Kufa in this time used to
be Ibn Abi Layla,
sometimes Sharif used to be used to be
Qadi
and sometimes, you know, Hafs ibn Hayat was
Qadi Khufa. None after them followed Abu Hanifa
and Madhab. They were independent Mufti al Faqih.
Actually they used to differ from Abu Hanifa.
There appears to be different from Abu Hanifa.
But you never find Abu Hanifa
makes his own Eid or makes his own
Ramadan. He follows the imam, the leader. Whenever
Kufan Qadhi and Amir
determines
Abu Hanifah follows him, Abu Hanifah never has
his own opinion. Though he has opinion, but
he never follows that. Because following opinion means
to
divide the believers.
I give you example,
you know, in Hanafi Madham,
if you're bleeding, blood comes from your body
then your prayer becomes invalid. Your
You have to do udhu again. You you
believe. If blood comes out, you have to
do udhu again.
In Maliki Madhav in Madhav Madinan people, bleeding
does not break your odour. You can carry
on. Bleeding is not effective.
Our Yousafarqad is the chief justice of Islam,
who is a Bu Hanifa student.
He went for the Hajj with Harun al
Rashid, the Khalifa, the caliph.
When Haru was in Madinah,
he learned the prayer, one of the prayers
and then after that he did cupping, hejama,
where his blood was taken out.
So he know that if he asked Abu
Yusuf Al Taadi, Abu Yusuf will say, your
oath is broken, you have to do Odo
again.
What Harun did, he asked Imam Malik.
Imam Malik said no. You're fine. You can
do the prayer. You don't need to do
it again. That is fine. So he accepted
Ambali's opinion and led the prayer.
Abu Yusuf al Qadi, his opinion was different
but still he followed Abu Har Rashid and
prayed behind him. So people said to Abu
Yusuf Al Qadi that, why did you follow
Harun when actually Europe is different from him?
So he said, do you think we'll leave
the imam for this small thing?
It is the way or the with our
people we follow the imam. Following the imam
is more important
than following your own opinion
In collective matters you must follow the Imam.
Another example even before
that, another example is that the prophet
when he came from Makkah from Madinah to
Makkah,
he did Hajj. He did only 1 Hajj.
So he was a traveler.
Till Makkah,
he prayed Zor, Asr, and Asr, 2 Rakah.
Same when he was in Mina, he played
Zohr Asr and Esha 2 rakah.
Not for 2 because he's a traveler.
When Abu Qasiddhi became Khalifa,
he came and hid Hajj. He also used
to pray 2 rakaal mina. Zohr Asr Anisha
2 rakaal.
When Umar Khattab became Khalifa, he also did
the same thing. 2 rakhaan Zohr 2 rakhaan
Asha.
When Usman became Khalifa, he also did the
same in the beginning. 2 rakhaan Dzohr
2 as in Asr, 2 asha.
Then after a few years of his khilafa,
Uthman changed.
An Usman said, Now I am going to
pray in Mina 4 raka.
Zor 4 raka,
Asa 4 raka, and Asha 4 raka.
Some companies criticized him. Among the people who
were more criticizing him very openly
is Abdullah ibn Masood Al Lat Anhu, great
Khalifa
companion
and great faqih and jurist. He criticized him
very heavily.
And when the time for the prayer came,
then he prayed behind Usman
like Usman. So people said to him that
you differ from him, still you pray behind
him? He said, no, we can't leave the
imam. We must obey the imam.
We can have our opinion but we can't
differ from him. That what actually we need
to learn, you know, from the oldest thing
that I'm advising you people.
It is not really that, you know, which
opinion is more valid. All these opinions existed
in the beginning of Islam. You will kind
of find the opinion that people who say
we must
side the question. That's fine. There are people
who say no. We can depend on the,
you know, observatory. That's also fine. That also
has good argument. You can follow the third
opinion, which I made in the be in
the middle that you can have, depend on
the observatory
to reject an opinion,
but, then you have to side the curse.
The 3 opinions are there.
You can follow any of them. There's not
a problem really.
But what you can't do really, eating fasting
or the month of Ramadan,
our Hajj,
our Eid, they are not individual or personal
matter. They are collective matter. They should be
imam and leader. What you need to do
is,
in one whole country
must make an imam a leader. They are
and everybody else forget.
The imam and the leader announce
when he's beginning Ramadan,
everybody follows him even if they don't agree
he follows him. And when is the Eid
follow him even if you don't agree because
it might have the organization.
I'll be doing in in the prayer. We
pray behind the imam.
That what should be done in every country.
If you can't do in every country, at
least in the city,
Make one body and I I announce,
you know, actually, to my my opinion, it
should be done in the whole world, really.
The whole world can have one same day
beginning of Ramadan
and the same day beginning of Eid. It
could be possible
that sometime, you know, moon is sighted in
Saudi Arabia and not sighted in South Indonesia.
Sometimes it can happen. Still if we can
follow, that's fine because the prophet has said
your fast is the day you fast and
your Eid is the day you make Eid.
That way, Ullama say, if Imam decided,
you know, Arafah should be 9th of Dhul
Hijjah, If somehow the imam leader make mistake
and people heard their Arafah on the 8th
Dhul Hijjah.
Our 10th Dhul Hijjah, the Hajj is valid
and they don't need to repeat it. Because
whatever Muslims accept, Allah makes it valid. It
becomes like that. So if Muslims all over
the world, they agree on a date, on
something, for example, if all Muslims decide
that we are going to accept, you know,
sighting of Saudi Arabia
wherever we are. That's not a problem. Then
fine. The unity will happen all over the
world. You know, people can can make like
that.
I personally, really my opinion is that people
of all over the Muslim, then Muslims don't
need to waste their time. One society, enough
for everybody, everybody in the world, and you
do it because it's just a symbol. And
and you tell the believers is much more
important. It's really great great sin that most
necessary for in this matter. Difference really in
this matter much much much more problem. You
know, unity of the believer, if it is
a mistake, it's still fine.
If there are 2 opinions in the fiqh,
Furqah have been saying that there are 2
opinions,
but one opinion which is weaker,
unites the believers
that is better than the strong opinion
which divides the believer.
Not only that really, you know, there are
Sahih Hadith the prophet
used to pray Fazil in a ralas in
the dark. So many Sahih Hadith.
Imam Hanifat
least died and he said Fazir prayer should
be delayed.
And the reason he said is because when
you delay it, you make more people to
pray attend the prayer. Because young people, they
get up in the morning very late. To
make the fire delayed, the more people can
see
because far more people will change this opinion.
Similarly, for example, in Ramadan, Hanafi opinion is
prayer fire late. By Ramadan or the Hanafi
mosque, they pray for the early because they
everybody wake up to have suhoor.
So it makes more sense that in the
suhoor ends, else, say, I run out the
file, forget, then sleep.
Otherwise, if you delay the file, then people
have to, you know, wait for half an
hour, 1 hour So that's why everybody
but fine because you see the convenience of
the people. It is very important really to
always understand. You you know, in the matter
of the collect though the matters which are
collective matters, in though the matter, it is
not important which opinion is more sound. What
matters is the opinion
which can ignite the believers.
Unity of the believers is more important.
In those matters which are personal, then you
follow what is up to you. You you
kinda follow the most straight opinion, whatever you
like really. But once you have to be
with the people,
then make sure that you follow what is,
you know,
uniting the believers more and more. Tell me
that somebody other matter really is to remind
me and you that the month of Ramadan
should not be wasted in gossiping,
in fighting for unnecessary problem, and I've seen
really for more than 32 years, it is
a cycle.
And, I remember,
just 2 years ago, 3 years back,
before Ramadan, I am part of 1 of,
moon sighting or or FIRK Committee of America.
So they asked me, that to join their
online meeting to join. And the meeting was
about moon sighting.
Same arguments.
So when it came to me to talk,
to I started with the,
poetry of Mo'al Al Hakad,
I said to them if you read Arabic
poetry
all the poets they where they start their
poems long poems with only one thing. Where
they start?
They pass by by a by a place
to remember their beloved. They used to see
her there, and now they left and they
moan and they cry and all those things,
and then they start that poem. So every
poet starts with the zikara habi, remembering
the place of their beloved. That's how. So
I said to them that that how you
have been we people have been. Every for
32 years, I've seen it. Every time people
come to determine the moon, they start with
the same arguments.
Exactly the same. Repeat the same thing again
and again. It kept tiring and boring. You
know, they're nothing new really. You attend any
moon sighting conference,
meeting,
seminar, all same old argument.
You know, it might nothing to do with
argument really. The matter is a matter of
organization.
And I said to the people, if you're
not able to decide
determine the month, make a lot.
Meaning is that write on 2 papers. One
paper says,
'Your month is starting on
this date, on Monday. One says Sunday.
Make 2 paper and take it and hide
it, you know, fold it, and then call
a child and ask him to lift one
of them and lift any one of them.
That's the beginning of Ramadan. That's not a
simple matter.
It will unite you. Diet is better than
all discussion because all this discussion
never led anywhere.
When you discuss more, differ more.
This matter never can be
understood
and achieved by discussion.
It is by compromise, by surrendering,
making very clear, no. Nothing to do with
me really. Just make one person, and he
announced, and we follow that simple matter. Why
should I give an opinion for everything? That's
why I'm unhappy. I said to people of
Oxford all the time. If you take my
opinion, I'm happy whatever you decide. I don't
follow my opinion. I follow your opinion. But
you people should agree on something, but they
never agree.
In Oxford,
in every year in the month of Ramadan
we have 2 different days. Always 2 different
days. Hardly I've seen it anytime really where
they've got one.
Same thing in India, it used to happen.
I remember in my village many times happened
we had 2 different elite. Smaller village, 2
different elite.
People cannot learn really how to follow.
It how if we cannot achieve the unity
about Ramadan and fasting, tell me in the
political matter how can we achieve unity. It's
impossible.
The moon sighting matter really to me is
not,
Amriddhi. What we I always say
really.
Sighting of the crescent is not a religious
matter.
It is organizational.
It is basically how to organize your matter.
Nothing to do religion. It is not a
religion matter.
You know, it is it is secular matter.
Actually, you can appoint a non Muslim
to tell you when the month starts.
That is much more safe than all. Nothing
to do with any Mufti.
You know, to determine the month of Ramadan,
you don't need a Mufti.
You just need really somebody on whom the
people can agree.
A state takes in her hand that you
know, I will decide. This state. Follow this
state.
Follow anything.
But if people give the month of Ramadan
to Muftis
and now in every city there are 10,
20 Muftis. Everybody's opinion. So how can we
agree? Tell me. In the same house there
are 2, 3 Muftis.
So then same house had 2 different different
3 different Eid.
So simple matter really easy. All the arguments
are there.
Everybody has got their argument, and we respect
everybody.
What I'm trying to say is that it
has nothing to do with argument. You don't
need to listen to everybody's argument. What you
need to make very clear is let's appoint
1 person or one body which can determine
this beginning of Ramadan
or beginning of Eid in our country,
and we follow that. We are not going
to put our argument. We are not going
to write on this thing and say, We
don't want to convince everybody. We just want
to follow this. If you do that, it
more likely you achieve. And, actually, I I
want to say more than that. To me,
really,
if Muslims all over the world,
they can agree on a country. Like, for
now, Makatul Makarama is, you know, a triple
of everybody, and we follow Saudi Arabia Hajj
anyway.
When people go for the Hajj, they follow
Saudi calendar. Nobody follows their own calendar.
If we follow Saudi Arabia already in the
Hajj, and Hajj is one of the important
things depending on the, on the moon. Why
can't we depend on them on the, Ramadan?
And I'm not saying that a Saudi opinion
is the right one. No. I never assist
I never agree with Saudi moon sighting. I
myself,
I have a different opinion. I don't I'm
not in favor of Saudi moon sighting.
For the sake of unity, I'm saying that
if Muslims all over the world, they agree
on the moon sighting of Saudi Arabia
in Ramadan
as they agree on the moon sighting Saudi
Arabia for the Hajj, then no
problem. All over the world Muslims don't need
to cite their own concerns
just wherefore the news when the news comes
from Saudi Arabia follow it Far Ramadan, Far
Eid, and Far the Hajj.
So such an important unity. And the prophet
said, your fasting is the day you fast
and
your aid is the day you may kill.
If people can do, if you want, this
is one solution. Second solution could be, okay,
people can say
those countries which are east of Saudi Arabia,
where Saudi Arabia saw the moon in a
it was, you know,
late, but, in Indonesia, when the sun was
setting, it the age of the moon was
very little. They could not sight.
So it's a good valid point, but for
the sake of fluency, we can actually,
pass this. But anyway, if you want to
keep that, then at least what I'll say
really is all the countries
which lie
west of Saudi Arabia, they should follow Saudi
Arabia.
And those which are in the east, they
should agree on something else. More likely, they
will do one on same day because, you
know, generally, it is same day or it
could be 2 different days. That's all. Not
more than 2. At the moment, it happens
3 days
difference in the world. So in the first
of my choice
is the whole world agrees on one moon
sighting and that may be Makathar Mukharama. And
we agree on Saudi Arabia in Hajj, let's
agree in Ramadan either well. This is first.
Second one is at least the people who
are in in the west of Saudi Arabia,
like, you know, UK, Europe, America,
they rely on Saudi Arabia. And those in
the east, they can have their own, you
know, one day later, whatever they like. There
can be a solution.
We don't have, you know, one leader for
the whole Ummah anymore, sir. We have imams
and we have leaders, and most of the
leaders not learn it. Should we just follow
our own masjid and the imam of the
masjid?
And then the second,
question is the fasting of Arafah because it's
the 9th of the.
And, of course, the night falls differently in
the US versus this the Saudi
and Saudi. And from what you're saying, we
can follow Saudi for,
Hara and Hajj, but also for Ramadan. But
most of the time here in the US,
we we follow our own calendar for for
Ramadan. But then for Arafa, there's always a
dispute that the night falls
in in the US on a different day
where the night, of
Durhad will fall on a different day in
in in Saudi. So but then people said
the Arafah is only
in in Saudi. There is no Arafah here,
so we should follow,
Saudi. We can't follow,
the 9th here. It could be 8th in
the US. So wanted to hear your thoughts.
You know, as I mentioned, moon sighting is
not a personal matter. It is actually a
collective thing. You know, leaders are to wherever
you live live, whatever they decide. If they
decide to follow Saudi Arabia, that is fine.
If they don't decide, then you have to
you know, you can't differ from your local
mosque where you pay. So Ramadan starts, maybe
your opinion is to follow Saudi Arabia, but
they choose differently.
Don't differ from the mosque where you pray
because that you go your people are going
to celebrate with them. Your family is going
to be with them. So it this my
advice is for the older, you know, leaders.
They should actually come together one opinion.
But, if they they don't unite, they have
their own opinion to at least, we common
people follow the mosque that we pray. So
in this matter, I'll say, you know, whenever
your mosque announced beginning of Ramadan,
follow that. Similarly,
for the Dhul Hijjah as well. Whenever they
announce Dhul Hijjah, you follow your local mosque
because you're going to do eat with them.
You can't follow the day of Haraf of
Saudi Arabia because you're not going for Hajj.
If you're going for Hajj, you are there,
the different matter. But if you are at
your place, then your 9th, Dhul Hajj will
be, the day before your Eid. That your
Eid, not Saudi Arabia Eid to whatever your
people because
you can't have, you know,
same day anyway because sunset differently,
sunrise
differently. So you should follow your own. When
I fast on 9th, I always fast 9th
of the country where I live. Meaning one
day before dulhaja.
In your country, when you know your masjid,
when they do dulhaja,
just fast one day before that.
Maybe Saudi Arabia that that that is we
don't know really. Tell me,
my advice is the people are the most
they should follow Saudi Arabia, but if they're
not doing that you know for the sake
of community, they want to have their own
opinion
then common people they can't differ from their
own local mosque. You have to follow that.
Is it clear? To for the beginning of
Ramadan, for the Eid,
follow your local mosque.
Following up on,
something that you had mentioned, you know, like,
in non Muslim countries that,
now there's a trend for,
kids in school, not in, you know, regular
schools to try and get,
each recognized as a holiday.
And, I actually have a different example person
that,
my father used to volunteer at a prison
to teach
Islam to the Muslim inmates.
And, you know, he
had to give them the dates ahead of
time,
because, you know, they he couldn't just, like,
for Ramadan or especially for Eid.
He couldn't just say one day before. He
had to give them the full schedule at
a time. So in cases like this, especially
like in
non Muslim countries, I mean,
if I understand correctly,
it's more advisable to follow,
the calendar calculation method so that, you know,
you
you can,
with non Muslim, I guess, entity, you can
let them know that, okay. You know, these
are the dates ahead of time because
even like the school districts, they here in
the US at least,
they plan their calendars out, like, multiple years
in advance. Yeah. No. You're likely I that
why I I really suggest that, you know,
should be, if you follow the calendar, you
know, in advance, it will be so easy
for the schools for everywhere for a holiday.
But the problem is not that me and
you decide.
Problem is really if we you give to
the school the data according to calendar, but
your local mosque and imam, they don't agree
with that. The children children have to pray
Eid in the masjid.
So you make one day Eid in the
school, but the school the actual Eid in
the masjid is something different. The the problem
really is not that what is the best
way
to determine the month. We can find any
best color. The problem to convince local community
that how to agree on the right opinion.
So that that is the problem really easy.
I I mentioned that there are to me
really, there's no harm to follow, you know,
in a scientific calculation
or to do your own moon society. Any
opinion, actually, has got,
in its proper argument.
But the moon society is not really that
problem problem with the organization.
How to make the same day for everybody?
That what people need to learn really.
Like in the UK, UK is a small
country. For whole UK, easily you can accept
one day. You know, all the mosque, they
can agree, okay, there is this, you know,
in London, there is,
you know, this mosque,
which is, you know, we accept it, then
everybody accept the same mosque. There's no harm
in that. They make one in mosque as
your main mosque, and everybody follows that. Or
maybe what happens is
that 3, 4, 5, you know, main mosque,
they make a body,
and they announce
every year, you know, either by, you know,
Ijemaya consensus or by majority.
They vote and they decide then everybody follows
them. To for whole UK, they can make
their own moon sighting committee
for the whole UK. Ten people, twenty people,
whatever. And this committee meets one day before
Ramadan.
And they decide either by, you know, agreeing
on something or by a majority, and then
everybody follows. So there are so many ways
to solve you know, this country is a
democratic country. You can see in the parliament,
they disagree,
but they have got a way how to,
you know, come,
on unity. Then they unite on one opinion.
So why can not we Muslim do? When
our religion unity, it is jamaah, it is
unity, umara, so much actually, in a query
by the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. So
the problem really is until we become very
clear that we know how to organize our
matter, nobody can solve. I've seen it 33
years now in this country in
it's not solved. You cannot solve the
problem by argument. You only can solve the
argument when everybody accept to sacrifice their opinion
for the sake of immunity. Everybody said, you
know, bring a formula. We'll follow it. So
I can give a formula. I can say,
okay. Take 1 majeel, and everybody follows that.
It's too easy. Oh, I can make really
follow Saudi Arabia or follow Morocco.
Anything.
You know, you people can make anything, but
you can't make 2 opinions at the same
time. Some people follow Saudi Arabia. Some people
follow Morocco. It is again the same problem.
The unity cannot be achieved if we really
want to unite. And it is so much
ugly, really, in the schools everywhere
that, you know, my children used to go
and everybody that teachers ask. So half of
children say, is it tomorrow? And half children
say easy the day after tomorrow. It looks
very ugly for
us. Why can't we agree? So this is
that what we need to encourage everybody that
leave the argument. Let's agree on a way
that which can unite us more. You know?
And unity on a weak opinion is better
than, you know, disagreement. Always.
Sheikh, just wanted to ask your advice with
regards to
many people now, Sheikh, especially in cities like
Bradford and
others, we have multiple local mosques.
So many people don't have one mosque which
is their determined mustard.
And secondly,
we now have families who are
dividing as well.
So in a situation like that, would you
say that people
can go
with who they think is the right masjid
and part of their family, or would you
say they should look at who's the majority
of their family
going with Fareed? Okay. That's a very good
question, really. I remember once we in Oxford,
we agreed on a date. So the Bengali
community said to us, we can't do that.
I said, why? He said, because we celebrate
Eid with other Bengali people in London and
they have different date. If you have a
date different from London, we cannot do with
you because we want the same day. That
is a very good point, really. That people
have got community, people have got relatives, they
want to visit each other. So these are
the other concern area. So in your case,
you can't do much. But one thing I
can say really, maybe best thing is to
make a meeting among your own family.
I said to your family, let's make one
leader.
And we agree with the tweet and then
pray in the most that they they do
that day to at least family can do
same day.
You know, this one solution, you can make
all your family members, your relatives get together
and let's make either one day, and then
we choose the Moscow that does in that
day.
That could be one solution. But still, really,
it's not going to solve because all your
relatives, they have their own relatives. They have
their own relatives. It's the things actually you're
never going to solve. Solution only can come
if the whole bread food not only the
whole bread food, because bread food has also
reacted
in bottle, somewhere else. You can't make really
in the whole country united.
So anyway whatever
you see good for your family, do that.
Because any solution I bring, it will be
a problem. The only solution can work is
the unity of the whole country. If the
whole country it is small country, tiny country,
just unite. But people don't want to accept
that.
The people writing so much, differing. It is
not a matter of argument. I said so
many times really. Nothing to do with argument.
Every opinion has got argument. It is a
matter of the unity. We learn how to
organize our matters. So unfortunately, I I don't
think I have any solution in in in
the current, you know, way things are going.
We can't solve.
Sheikh, there is a group in the UK
trying to unite everyone on UK moon sighting.
Should we not try to encourage everyone towards
this for the sake of unity as we
have many mosques following Saudi, some following Morocco,
some following Pakistan.
The community is already very divided. Unfortunately, we
don't have the one Mufti for UK or
even London. So in trying to be the
change that we want to see, could we
stick to UK moon sighting group and begin
Ramadan with them even if it means not
celebrating with our immediate community?
Secondly, if we know, for example, that Saudi
couldn't have seen the moon when they said
they had, but followed them anyway,
then how does this affect us trying to
seek later
as the last 10 days would be different?
You know, similarly, if you make a new,
committee or new people in UK UK moon
sighting, there's no harm that. But before they
come with anything, they should make everybody agree
on them. So these people instead of announcing
anything, what they need to do is approach
all the mosque and then take members from
every mosque, every committee, and then the whole
UK agree. Otherwise, it will be new division.
So there are already few divided. Some people
follow Saudi Arabia, some people follow from Morocco,
and now we have new committee.
So this will be new. There's nothing no
unity will come. So this thing really is
a very very bad manner. The second part
of the question I want to,
answer very clearly.
When you follow
a committee or any moon sighting, then don't
worry whether it's right or wrong.
Whatever they decide, that is the right. To
follow-up on people who decide to follow Saudi
Arabia.
Maybe Saudi Arab Arabia has done mistake. Still
that mistake is fine. You know, they will
accept it. Are you fa celebrate? You are
led,
kind to that. But anyway, people who think
that is one single night, they are not
right to lead. It could be any night
among the last 10 nights.
But anyway, people think it's just want to
cement. So you can follow based on that,
opinion. If you accept an opinion,
then that opinion even if it's wrong, it
becomes right. Once the people agree on some
something because they know that how Allah has
made us, you have to follow an opinion.
So if people accept Saudi Arabia, even if
they're wrong, it's too right because, you know,
people can do mistake. And the prophet said,
well, sometimes you had mistake happen. Later on,
a mistake happened and if
by mistake people do,
Arafah on the 8th or 10th, it's still
fine. Hajj is accepted. They don't need to
do Hajj next year. So if Saudi Arabia
moon sighting the one day before everybody, still
fine if people accept.
Mike, you know, only I will encourage people,
you know, accept opinion which can make everybody
to be united.
If not, then at least secondly the opinion
which can bring more people, majority of the
people together.
Any opinion which can make otherwise,
third last thing, follow your own Masjid.
That's all.
Can we take, from the hadith, sunu'alayruyah
tihi?
Can we take,
ruya to mean el in this case? Yeah.
That one meaning because ruya is a mean.
I usually in knowledge anyway because the prophet
said, if it's cloudy,
then complete 30 days.
30th on the 30th also could be cloudy.
Do you see? Don't see. But why you
think the month has ended? Because of knowledge.
You know really month never can be more
than 30 days.
To the reason we say moon sighting because
it is means to knowledge. The knowledge is
the end. Because on 30th, everybody said that
now the month has entered. Not because they
have seen the moon, month, because they
know to what end is actually the knowledge.
If any means which make you to know
the month, that's fine. So like I said
to you that, you know, people are there
in a community, they have made somewhere in
Morocco or the Arabia,
you follow them. That's the knowledge. You follow
them and they decide. They will be accountable
in the day of judgement whether they do
properly or not. If they do properly and
they do mistake, still they get reward.
What is your opinion on observing the new
moon,
through optical aids such as telescopes or binoculars?
Yeah. That's fine. Really. People are always have
been doing this. You know, any means is
fine. What I'm trying to say really, what
you like the believers.
If something can
enlighten the believer,
that'll be fine. You you need to tell
the believers.
But if you see with the telescope
and everybody another people don't like you, so
what's the purpose? Just you make your own
Eid, your own Ramadan.
You know, you have to you have to
make people to like, you know, this UK
moonsighting group.
They only are important if they make everybody
to follow
them, if they contact all the mosque. If
they just make a new group, useless. Nothing
will happen really. Just a a new division
in the society.
Has there ever been a scientific
discrepancy
that was citing the new moon? How can
we that because this scientific calculation are so
accurate. How can there be, like, something different?
They're always same. I don't think there can
be what they say is they can't say
you saw the moon. They say visibility.
It is possible to see the moon, See
the curse. And that what this you can
say, they will say that the, you know,
6 moon was born on that time exactly,
and it will be in this country on
that day that night. So, you know, such
age, they can decide to determine the age
of the moon, but nobody knows really seeing
the moon.
Sheikh, how can we unite in India?
Because in India, we have a lot of
groups. Some said the moon doesn't sight and
others said,
said that they did sight here. How how
will we manage,
presuming lead, they're also adding that India is
quite a big country as well. No. No.
They can agree. They want to just make
one moon sighting in Delhi or something, the
whole committee. But in every India, in every
city, there are moon sighting. And And Ramadan
is coming, you'll see from every city of
India, you'll get a a moon committee deciding.
In Allahabad, there is a moon committee. There
is a in Lucknow, there is a moon
committee. In every city there, do we need
really? No. It's just we need one moon
committee for the whole country and they decide.
But people don't want to follow really. They
want to their own madras is more important.
My madras announce, my school announce, but every
people announce, these people announce, everybody has got
their own group. In this matter they of
the collective thing, they should unite on one
thing. To Ilsa really, if in just a
Muslim or not, for example, will follow,
daily Jamil Masjid, for example, the mosque of
Delhi. That's fine. Then everybody can agree. Or
if you can follow Farangi Mahal, or we
follow Diovan, or we follow Braly,
one group, and then everybody follows that. But
it's not going to happen really. In every
single city in India, they've got their own
moon sighting committee.
What is the ruling on when the night
begins? Some follow the rule after the Adhan
or at the point of when the Adhan
is called, which causes people to differ on
when to start and break the first? No.
Night is very clear, really. As soon as
the sun starts at
night, whether Adan is here or not, there's
nothing to do with Adan.
As soon as the sun sets
you know, on sunset is very clearly known,
then you just do start. That's all. Whether
people say Adan, don't say Adan, it doesn't
matter.