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In
August 2006, the Fiqh Council of North America
announced the exact date for the start of
Ramadan based solely on astronomical calculations
rather than actual sightings of the new moon. Many
around the world protested the validity of such a
decision. The debate over visual sighting versus
astronomical calculations is not new. This
three-part series explores the arguments on both
sides of the issue.
The
preferred opinion among all the schools of Islamic
fiqh in the past was
that the month of Ramadan cannot be determined by
calculations. Astronomical calculations, in the
view of the majority of jurists, rest on mere
assumptions and are hypothetical in nature.
Therefore, significant acts of worship such as the
beginning and end of the month of Ramadan cannot
be based on probabilities and uncertain
presumptions. Consequently, the months connected
with acts of Islamic acts of worship (`ibadat)
such as Ramadan, Shawwal, and Dhul-Hijjah,
can only be determined either by practical
sighting (ru'yah) or by completion of 30
days.
The majority of
classical scholars argued that actual sighting is
required by the Qur'an, the Sunnah, ijma`
(consensus of the jurists), and the linguistic
meanings of the word hilal (crescent moon).
These four main arguments were usually presented
to substantiate the claim that actual sighting by
the naked eye is a prerequisite to the fasting of
the month of Ramadan.
Arguments
of the Majority
The Qur'an narrates
[Ramadan
is the (month) in which was sent down the
Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also Clear
(Signs) for guidance and judgment (between
right and wrong). So every one of you who is
present (at his home) during that month should
spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or
on a journey, the prescribed period (should be
made up) by days later. Allah intends every
facility for you; He does not want to put you
to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete
the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in
that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall
be grateful.]
(Al-Baqarah 2:185)
The phrase "faman
shahida minkumu ash-shahra" [So
every one of you who is present]
in the above verse is interpreted by the majority
as requiring practical sighting of the new moon.
Such an interpretation seems to be authenticated
by the Prophetic injunctions such as the
following:
The Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) said, "Fast
with sighting it (the moon) and break the fast
with sighting it. Complete thirty days of
Sha`ban if it is cloudy." (Al-Bukhari)
The Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) said, "Fast
with sighting it (moon) and break the fast with
sighting it. Count 30 days if the month is
concealed from you (being cloudy)." (Muslim)
The Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) mentioned Ramadan and
said, "Do not fast until you see the
moon and do not break the fast until you see it.
Estimate about it in case it is cloudy."
(Al-Bukhari and Ahmad)
Actual
Sighting Is Required by Ijma`
The Hanafi jurist Abu
Bakr ibn `Ali Ar-Razi Al-Jassas stated the
following in his Ahkam al-Qur'an:
The statement of the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
"Fast with sighting it" is in
line with the Qur'anic verse that says [They
ask you about the new moons. Say: they are
timings for people and for Hajj]
(Al-Baqarah 2:189). The Muslims have agreed
about the meanings and relationship of the verse
and the hadith with sighting of the crescent as
a condition to the fasting of Ramadan. It proves
that the sighting of the new moon is what is
termed as witnessing the month. (Vol. 1, 279)
He concluded that
actual sighting is the only method prescribed by
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to
confirm the month of Ramadan. If it cannot be
determined by actual sighting on the 29th, because
of unfavorable conditions such as cloudy weather,
then completing 30 days of Sh`aban is required,
and that is the original rule.
Al-Jassas further
stated that
In light of the
Prophetic hadith, the original rule is that the
month consists of 30 days unless the new moon is
sighted before that. We must count 30 days for
every month we are at a loss to see the moon due
to cloudy weather. This rule applies to all the
months connected with Islamic rituals. Only the
actual sighting of the new moon will make the
month less than 30 days. (Vol. 1, 280)
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"The one who
believes in … calculations of the
stargazers is out of Shari`ah." |
He also claimed that
there was a consensus among all the Muslim jurists
not to accept astronomical calculations in
confirming or negating the month of Ramadan:
The one who believes
in stages of the moon and calculations of the
stargazers is out of Shari`ah. This is not the
area of ijtihad, as the Qur'an, the
Sunnah, and the consensus of the jurists are
absolutely against it. (Vol. 1, 280)
The reason for starting
the months with actual sighting, according to
Al-Jassas, is to begin the acts of worship with
certainty and not base them upon mere
probabilities (`Umdat al-Qari, Vol. 10,
265).
This is what the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: "Begin
fasting by sighting it and stop fasting by
sighting it. If it is cloudy then complete
counting thirty days of Sha`ban." He
(peace and blessings be upon him) has obligated
us to count 30 days of Sha`ban when it is cloudy
and also count 30 days of Ramadan in case it is
cloudy (on the 29th of Ramadan) before starting
the month of Shawwal. It is required so that we
can start the acts of worship based upon
certainty and stop the acts of worship based
upon certainty. This is what the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) has manifestly
commanded by another authentic saying: "Do
not fast until you see the new moon and do not
break the fast until you see the new moon."
And At-Tirmidhi has narrated on the authority of
Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said "Count
the moon of Sha`ban to determine Ramadan."
(`Umdat al-Qari, Vol. 10, 117)
Al-Jassas represents
the majority view of the classical jurists. The
official position of the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi`i
and Hanbali schools of thought is that
astronomical calculations are not the authentic
way of determining the Islamic months. These
months must be confirmed either by actual sighting
or by completion. In the following pages, we will
see how these classical scholars argued in favor
of this established position.
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Qadi Abu al-Walid
argued that one should make up for the
days one has fasted based upon
calculations |
Ahmad ibn Muhammad
Al-Hamawi, another famous Hanafi jurist, stated
the following:
For us, the condition
for the fast and breaking the fast is sighting
of the crescent, and calculation of the
stargazers cannot be followed in this matter. In
Al-Tahzib, according to the Shafi`i
school, it is also stated that stargazing
calculations cannot be trusted neither in the
beginning nor in ending the month of fasting.
(Vol. 2, 66)
Muhammad ibn `Abdullah
Al-Kharshi presented the Maliki position in the
following words:
The fasting cannot be
observed by following the statement of a
stargazer. Neither the stargazer nor any one
else can fast based upon that because the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has
confined the fasting solely to the sighting of
the witnesses or completing the 30 days. No
other method is prescribed. Therefore, no
attention should be paid to the statement or
calculations of the stargazer regarding the
month whether one believes in the preciseness of
his calculations or not. (Vol. 2, 237)
The Maliki scholar
Muhammad ibn Ahmad Ad-Disuqi elaborated the same
by stating that only sighting or completion of 30
days are prescribed. He added that Imam Malik was
of the opinion that 30 days should be completed
for all the months when it is cloudy and there is
no possibility of sighting the moon (Vol. 1, 509).
Imam Malik himself was
reported to have said that if an imam does not
follow the sighting methodology but prefers the
calculations over that, such an imam is not to be
obeyed or followed in daily prayers (Al-Baji, Vol.
2, 38).
Qadi Abul-Walid argued
that one should make up for the days one has
fasted based upon the calculations and not upon
sighting or completion (Al-Baji Vol. 2, 38).
The
Muslim Ummah Is Unlettered
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An-Nawawi argued
that it would cause people hardship if
they were required to follow the
calculations |
Shihab Ad-Din ibn Ahmad
Ar-Ramli, the known Shafi`i jurist, argued that
The Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) did not depend upon
calculations at all but absolutely negated it by
his statement that "we are an unlettered
nation, we neither write nor calculate."
… Ibn Daqiq Al-`Eid stated that calculations
cannot be the source of confirming the fasting
(of Ramadan). (Vol. 2, 59)
Imam Yahya ibn Sharaf
An-Nawawi in Al-Majmu` also quoted the
above-mentioned hadith and gave almost the same
reasons for rejection of calculations. He added
that
It would cause people
hardship if they were required to follow the
calculations, as calculations are known only to
a few people living mostly in big cities.
Therefore, the majority position is the right
position and whatever else is there is rejected
by the authentic sayings of the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him). (Vol. 6, 276)
Az-Zurqani also argued
the same:
And it is not true
that "estimation" means calculations,
because if people were required to follow
calculations, they would find it hard because
only a few people know about calculations, and
Shari`ah only requires people to follow what has
been known by the majority of them. (152)
`Abdur-Rahim ibn
Al-Hussain Al-`Iraqi, another renowned Shafi`i
scholar, contended that clouds are very often in
the horizon. The Shar`i reason for fasting is the
actual sighting. The majority of jurists connected
the fasting with actual sighting without resorting
to any other method. This was the opinion of
Malik, Shafi`i, Abu Hanifah, and the majority of
scholars in the past and the present (Vol. 4,
113-114).
Calculations
Are Connected With Magic and Stargazing
Editor's note: At
the time of the Prophet and the scholars quoted
here, astronomy and astrology were not distinct
disciplines as they are today. We have used the
word "stargazing" throughout this
discussion rather than interpret the texts as
"astronomy" or "astrology"
according to context.
One of the main reasons
for such a total rejection, in the view of these
scholars, was the close connection between
stargazing (astrology) and magic, which is
forbidden by the Prophet of Islam (peace and
blessings be upon him). Al-Hafiz ibn Hajar
strictly prohibited the use of calculation by
quoting the Prophetic sayings that warn Muslims
about the evils of stargazing such as "no one
would learn any part of stargazing except that he
has learned a part of magic." Caliph `Umar
has been quoted as saying "Learn from
stargazing whatever portion is helpful in guiding
you through the land and ocean and then
stop." Therefore, any part of stargazing
other than the directional symbols and signs, to
Ibn Hajar, was un-Islamic (At-Talkhis, Vol.
2, 360).
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, a
renowned Hanbali authority, was the staunch
opponent of using stargazing calculations to
confirm or negate the Islamic months. He
emphatically argued that calculations could never
lead to a certain method of finding out the
crescent and he, like Al-`Iraqi and Al-Jassas,
also claimed agreement among the scholars about
this matter. Ibn Taymiyyah contended that
The mainstream
scholars of Shari`ah agree that using
calculations in determining the new moon is
forbidden. The wise stargazers also agree that
there is no way to authentically determine the
crescent through calculations. That is why the
expert stargazers do not indulge in calculations
but deny them. Only a group from the posterity,
out of ignorance, has indulged themselves in
that. This is basically changing the deen of
Allah by misleading people and by following the
misguidance of the Jews in this matter. (Vol. 6,
590)
Here Ibn Taymiyyah
seemed to be referring to the Jewish rabbinical
council's decision to adopt astronomical
calculations as the authentic source of confirming
the Jewish lunar months.
At another place he
registered his opposition to the use of
calculations in the following strong words:
Undoubtedly the
calculations are rejected by the Sunnah as well
as consensus of the Companions, as the authentic
hadith says. … Therefore the one who depends
upon the calculation is a misguided innovator,
not only mistaken in the matters of Shari`ah but
also in the matters of logic and stargazing.
(Vol. 25, 207)
Calculations
Are Inaccurate
Ibn Taymiyyah also
argued that knowledge of stargazing was misleading
and in itself was a forbidden act. Its cons
outweighed its pros. He quoted several narrations
of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
to denounce stargazing (Vol. 1, 62).
He substantiated his
point by a practical encounter that he had with
the stargazers of his time. He concluded that the
method of stargazing calculation was based purely
upon falsehood and cheating:
This is how the
stargazers are! I, by logical arguments, proved
the wrong nature of their profession when I
debated their chiefs in Damascus. One of them
told me "by God, we concoct a hundred lies
to be able to come up with one truth."
(Vol. 1, 62)
He further contended
that
The arguments against
this profession and its prohibition in Islam are
too many. It is not a place to go into details of
that. It is sufficient to quote what Al-Muslim
narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him): "One
who asked a stargazer (`arraf) about
something (unseen) will not have his prayers
accepted by Allah Most High for forty days."
The term `arraf denotes the magician, the
stargazer, and the others. (Vol. 1, 63)
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"They based
their calculations on mere conjecture,
mere hunch, and anticipation." |
This group of scholars
suggested a number of punishments for the
individuals who engaged themselves with stargazing
and calculations. For instance, Muhammad ibn Ahmad
Al-`Alish pointed out that nobody, neither the
stargazer himself nor any one else, should fast
according to the calculations. It was forbidden to
approve of a stargazer. The stargazer should be
killed without any chance of repentance if he
openly propagates that the stars are directly
involved in human destiny. He will be treated as
an apostate if he conceals his beliefs but argues
indirectly about the impact of stars on human
life. He should be asked to repent and if he
refuses to do so, he should be killed. He will be
a sinful believer if he takes the stars as signs
indicating the events in the world but believes
that the actual power lies with Allah and not with
the stars (Vol. 2, 113-114).
In view of Ibn Rushd,
another renowned classical jurist, stargazers must
be disciplined (Al-`Alish, Vol. 2, 114).
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar
called them human devils as they based their
calculations on mere conjecture, mere hunch, and
anticipation. He also quoted the above-mentioned
hadith that connects the knowledge of stargazing
with the knowledge of magic (An-Nihaya fi
Gharib al-Athar, Vol. 2, 205).
Summary
of the Majority's Arguments
The main arguments of
this group of scholars against using calculation
as a valid means of determining the Islamic month
can be summarized in the following main points:
1. In the matters of
confirming or negating the Islamic months,
especially the month of Ramadan, sighting of the
new moon is required by Islamic Law, as only
sighting can guarantee certainty. Actual
sighting, in the view of these scholars, seems
to be the goal and not the means. By sighting
they mean the actual sighting with the naked
human eyes. This group of scholars claimed that
there was consensus among all the classical
Muslim scholars that the actual sighting or
completion of 30 days was the only way to
confirm. This classical majority group
reiterated that the Prophetic narrations that
call for estimation or calculation in case of
cloudy weather must be understood in light of
the narrations that require completion of 30
days. That is what they believed was the
consensus. And Ibn Taymiyyah defined the
consensus in the following words:
"Consensus occurs when the Muslim
scholarship agrees upon a ruling of one of the
Islamic rules. No one is permitted to oppose
such a consensus because the Ummah does not
agree upon something inherently wrong"
(Vol. 20, 10). He also argued that "the
reality is that the one who goes against an
established consensus in fact commits an act of
disbelief. It is just like refusing an
established religious text" (Vol. 20, 10).
2. Stargazing
calculations are hypothetical in nature and mere
conjectures. They can never lead us to an
authentic method of determining the beginning or
end of the Islamic lunar months. Some classical
scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah and Al-Jassas
also seemed to claim an agreement among jumhur
(majority of scholars) about rejecting the
calculations all together.
3. Following
calculations causes hardship for common people
as the knowledge of calculations is limited to a
few individuals, most of whom live in big
cities, as argued by An-Nawawi.
4. Dealing with
calculations and movements of celestial bodies
is a profession of magicians and
fortune-tellers, the aspects of divinations
strictly forbidden by the Shari`ah. The Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) forbade that
by saying "No one would learn any part
of stargazing (astrology) except that he has
learned a part of magic" (Abu Dawud).
Abu Dawud also narrated that the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) prohibited `Ali (may
Allah be pleased with him) from keeping the
company of stargazers.
5. The Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) clearly forbade
Muslims to deal with calculations in relation to
the month of Ramadan when he said "we
are unlettered people. We neither write nor
calculate." On the other hand, he
(peace and blessings be upon him) commanded
Muslims to depend upon the actual sighting or to
complete 30 days. Some contended that the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
prohibited the use of calculations knowing that
the Jewish community of
Madinah was using
stargazing calculations to confirm the Jewish
months. Actually the Jewish calendar was fixed
by R. Hillel II in 363 CE, and the Jewish
community of Madinah had access to that
calendar. He (peace and blessings be upon him)
intentionally stopped the Muslims from imitating
the Jews by putting a stop to the use of
calculations in the matter of confirming Muslim
months. "We are an unlettered nation. We
neither write nor calculate. The month is this
way and this way. It means that sometimes it is
twenty-nine days and sometimes thirty days"
(Al-Bukhari).
6. Following
stargazing calculations in the matters of deen
such as the month of Ramadan and Shawwal
would nullify the spirit of the acts of worship
such as fasting. This goes against the clear
commandments of the Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him) as he said, "Do not start
fasting until you see the moon and do not stop
fasting until you see the moon." Therefore,
any Muslim who goes against these emphatic
commandments of the Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him) and starts fasting based upon mere
calculations must make up for the days observed.
7. The Arabic word
for the new moon is hilal. The linguistic
definition of the word hilal requires
that it must be deflecting the light and be
shining and not dark. Shining then is connected
with human sighting. Therefore, we cannot start
the new month until we see the new moon. This
argument is based upon the following linguistic
meanings of the word "hilal."
Ibn Manzur gives the following definition for
"hilal":
Al-hilal is
the white spotlight of the new moon seen by the
people in the beginning of the new month. It is
said that the new moon is called hilal for
the first two nights of the month and then it is
called qamar. It is also said that the
new moon is called hilal for the first
three nights only. It is also said that the new
moon is called hilal until it is a
quarter moon. It is also said that it is called hilal
until its glitter stands out brightly
against the darkness of the night. This cannot
happen until the seventh night. (Lisan
al-`Arab)
Discussion
of the Word Shahida
The following Qur'anic
phrase is usually interpreted to mean witnessing
actual moon sighting: [fa
man shahida minkum ush-shahra falyasumhu]
(Al-Baqarah 2:185). The linguistic meanings of
the word "shahida" are
"presence, knowledge, and announcement
(informing others)." Ahmad ibn Faris, in Maqayis
al-Lughah, wrote that "The meanings of
"shahida" are confined to the
three: presence, knowledge, and announcement. None
of the word's derivatives go beyond these three
meanings" ("shahida").
Linguistically the
above quoted Qur'anic phrase cannot go beyond the
following three meanings:
1. Whoever was
present in the month the Ramadan, then let him
fast (the month).
2. Whoever had the
knowledge of the month of Ramadan, then let him
fast (the month).
3. Whoever received
the knowledge about the month of Ramadan, then
let him fast the month.
In no way or form it
can be translated "Whoever sees the moon of
the month of Ramadan then let him fast it."
It will be against all the established rules of
Arabic language. That is why the Qur'anic exegetes
have translated and understood the meanings of the
phrase as "whoever was present in the month
of Ramadan then let him fast the month."
The Qur'an has used the
same word in all the above three meanings. For
instance, it says" [There
is no god but He: that is the witness (shahida)
of Allah, His angels, and those endued with
knowledge, standing firm on justice. There is no
god but He the Exalted in Power, the Wise"]
(Aal `Imran 3:18). Allah Almighty does
not witness with actual eyes, nor do the angels.
Allah Almighty witnesses (shahida) means
that He "explains or knows". Jalal
Ad-Din As-Suyuti explained these meanings by the
following words: "Shahida here means
that Allah explained to His creatures by the signs
and arguments (that He is One)."
The same word is used
about human faculties such as hearing and seeing.
I am sure they do not have actual physical eyes to
sight things.
[At
length, when they reach the (Fire), their
hearing, their sight, and their skins will bear witness
(shahid) against them, as to (all) their
deeds. They will say to their skins: "Why
bear ye witness (shahid) against
us?" They will say: "Allah hath given
us speech, He Who giveth speech to everything:
He created you for the first time, and unto Him
were ye to return."]
(Fussilat 20-21)
In these verses the
witness of the faculties of hearing and seeing,
and the skins, is explained through the word shahida.
No one can say that these faculties will witness
with their eyes. This means that these faculties
will explain or give knowledge of what the person
did in the worldly life.
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If we accepted the
interpretation of some contemporary
Muslims, it would mean that only those who
actually saw the new moon would have to
fast. |
The following verse
uses the word shahida for truth: [And those
whom they invoke besides Allah have no power of
intercession; only he who bears witness
(shahida) to the Truth, and they know (him)]
(Az-Zukhruf 43:86). Here again the witness of
truth cannot be with naked eyes. The truth is not
a physical entity that witnessing it would require
sighting it. It clearly means "standing by
the truth" or "acknowledging the
truth" wholeheartedly.
The Qur'anic exegetes,
in light of the clear Qur'anic and linguistic
meanings, interpret the above-quoted verse of
Surat Al-Baqarah to mean that "whoever was
present in the month of Ramadan and was not
traveling or sick should fast the month of
Ramadan."
Imam Abu `Abdullah
Al-Qurtubi reported that the famous Companions of
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) like
`Ali, Ibn `Abbas, `A'ishah and others observed
that the meaning of "shahida" is
"to "be present" in the month of
Ramadan:
`Ali ibn Abi Talib,
Ibn `Abbas, Suwayd ibn Ghafalah, and `A'ishah,
four of the Companions, and Successors such as
Abu Mijlaz, Lahiq ibn Humayd and `Ubaydah
As-Salmani have said shahida means
"whoever was present when the month started
and was resident in his city and among his
family, let him complete his fasting … whoever
was present in the month of Ramadan let him
fast." (Vol. 2, 290)
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir
said, "By this verse Allah obligated the
resident and healthy to observe fasting while
giving concession to the sick and traveling
persons" (Vol. 1, 360)
The same meanings of
presence were given by him at a different place.
Jalal Ad-Din As-Suyuti
said shahida means "present"
(37).
Imam An-Nasafi gave the
same meanings.
Imam Ash-Shawkani also
said that the word means "present."
Imam Ar-Razi had the
same meanings for the word "shahida"
(Vol. 2, 250).
There is no second
opinion among the Qur'anic exegetes that the above
phrase means anything but "whoever was
present in the month of Ramadan and not sick or
traveling should fast the month of Ramadan."
The same meanings are conveyed also by the context
in which this phrase occurs in the Qur'an.
Immediately after this phrase the Qur'an says [Whosoever
is sick or traveling should make up for the missed
days.] Imam
Al-Alusi observed that
Linguistically it is
not appropriate to say "whoever saw the
moon let him fast and whoever is sick or
traveling let him make up for when the second
category enters the first category (meaning when
the sick or traveling sees the moon)." The
detailed conjunction "and" demands
difference and variety. … That is why the
majority of the grammarians view ash-shahr as
the subject and see that the word fa means
"as a result" or
"consequently" the person should fast.
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"Which heaven
will cover me and which earth will carry
me … if I end up saying a word in
(explaining) the Qur'an that is against
the intended meanings of Allah Most
High?" |
Al-Alusi showed that
linguistically the phrase cannot violate the two
established meanings. It has to mean either
presence in person or through knowledge. The
meanings will not give a sense of actual sighting
of the moon whether we take the word ash-shahr
as maf`ul fih or maf`ul bih [grammatical
terms].
Ar-Razi also explained
that in either case the meaning will be
"presence" and not "witnessing the
new moon with human eyes" (Vol. 2, 250).
It is a common practice
among the Arabs to say "I witnessed the
Friday Prayers or Hajj." That does not mean
that Friday Prayer or Hajj is something physical
and the person saw it with his own eyes. It
clearly means that he was present in the Friday
Prayers or in the Hajj of such-and-such year.
It is very unfortunate
that some contemporary Muslims try to impose their
opinions upon the text of the Qur'an and do not
let the Qur'an speak to them. They arbitrarily
inflict their understanding of the issue upon the
Qur'an itself and then present it as the authentic
Qur'anic position. This case of actually sighting
the new moon of Ramadan is a good example how some
Muslims intrude on the divine writ by compelling
the Qur'an to say what they think is right and
should be said. It should be the other way round.
Ibn Abi Maleeka
narrated that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with
him) was once asked about interpretation of a word
in the Qur'an. He replied, "Which heaven will
cover me and which earth will carry me and where
will I go and what will I do if I end up saying a
word in (explaining) the Qur'an that is against
the intended meanings of Allah Most High?"
(Al-Qurtubi, Vol. 1, 1)
It was not a very
complicated word about which Abu Bakr (may Allah
be pleased with him) was asked. He was asked about
the meanings of simple words such as fakihah (fruit)
and abba (fodder) in Surat `Abasa (80:31).
He was not sure about the exact meanings in that
context and was afraid to give an interpretation
that might not be one hundred percent Allah's
intended meanings of those words (Al-Qurtubi, Vol.
19, 22)
This is Abu Bakr and
these are simple words. What about changing the
meanings of a Qura'nic verse to fit one's own
understanding or interpretation! May Allah protect
all of us from indulging in such a disastrous
adventure!
If we were to accept
the interpretation of some contemporary Muslims
that the word shahida means "sighting
the moon of Ramadan with naked eyes," then
the question arises whether fasting is obligatory
upon all those who sighted the moon of Ramadan?
What about the sick, the traveler, the children
under the age of puberty, the pregnant women and
the elderly people? Would they be obligated to
fast if they happened to sight the moon of
Ramadan?
In addition to that, it
would mean that only those people who saw the moon
would be required to fast the month of Ramadan if
we interpret the word shahida as
"actual sighting". The corollary would
be that those who did not see the new moon would
not be required to observe fasting. This would be
an absolutely wrong understanding of the Qur'anic
verse. Therefore, it is erroneous to connect shahida
with sighting rather than presence. That is
why Abu As-Su`ud, Al-Kashaff, As-Samarqandi, and
almost all other Qur'anic exegetes clearly
explained the phrase to mean "present."
It is correct that some
classical jurists explained this phrase in light
of the hadiths that call for sighting the moon of
the month of Ramadan such "Fast with
sighting it (moon) and break the fast with
sighting it. Complete thirty days of Sha`ban if it
is cloudy" (Al-Bukhari).
Abu Bakr Al-Jassas
argued that in light of the hadiths we can say
that "sighting of the new moon is basically
being present in the month" (Ahkam
al-Qur'an), but he never claimed that the
verse of Surat Al-Baqarah and the phrase mean only
that. He never claimed that "sighting the new
moon" would be the exact interpretation of
the Qur'anic verse. This was his understanding of
the verse and not the exact literal interpretation
of the verse.
The discussion
continues in Part 2 and Part 3.
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