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Like all other technological inventions and
advancements, Internet technology also can be used for the good or evil;
for the benefit of mankind or for the harm and negative purposes towards
mankind. As human beings, our responsibility is to use this technology
for the betterment of mankind, human relations, serving the needs of the
people, and better understanding between believers of different faiths.
As Muslims, our duty is to use such technology as an effective tool to
enhance Islam and its basic concepts not only for Muslims, but also for
non-Muslims inviting them toward Islam, show them the benefits Islam has
to offer to mankind, and serve the needs of Muslims providing them with
the knowledge about every issue they face through this vast information
highway, called, "INTERNET," or "World-Wide Web
(WWW)."
One specific area that can serve Islam and Muslims is
the knowledge of astronomy, and calculation techniques applied to those
areas of astronomy that serve Islamic needs. Astronomy can serve the
needs of Muslims for their daily prayers, Qibla direction, times for
fasting, and dates for Eidain and Hajj (pilgrimage). All humans have a
need for time keeping systems, for which calendars were developed, based
on the natural time keeping system of the sun and moon. Muslims have a
special need for a time keeping system for their obligatory duties in
order to fulfill the commandments of the creator, Allah (Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala). For the time keeping system He says:
(Qur'an, 10:5): "It is He who made the sun a
radiance and the moon a light and determined their stations that you
might know the number of years and reckoning of time."
(Qur'an, 36:39): "Neither the sun may reach the
moon ? nor night will precede the day...each in special orbit is
swimming around according to its law."
(Qur'an, 55:5): "The sun and moon follow courses
exactly computed."
(Qur'an, 2:189): "They ask you about the crescent
moons, say: they are signs to mark fixed periods of time for the people
and for pilgrimage."
The position of the sun determines the daily prayer
timings, while the position of the moon determines the Islamic calendar
(e.g., month of fasting, Eidain, and Hajj etc.). To fulfill these needs,
I took the initiative to create a web site, "Astronomy for
Islam." with its Home Page being on the address: http://www.erols.com/shaukat.
This site contains several web pages on related subjects, such as Moon
Sighting, Actual Sighting, Islamic Calendar, Prayer Schedule, Qibla
Direction, and Astronomy Links etc.
In addition to these pages, there are some more pages
for frequently asked questions (F A Q's) providing answers on moon
sighting, prayer schedule, and Qibla direction. Furthermore, there are
some more related articles on these subjects for additional information
provided as a hypertext link on the web pages.
New tools such as Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts
and programming are very important and effective ways for a user to get
information based on calculations depending upon users' location
described by latitude, longitude, and time zone. While CGI programming
can help, it is not sufficient to distribute the results of calculations
for high latitudes above and below Arctic Circle, where the sun does not
rise in some season or does not set in other season. At these high
latitudes, most programming algorithms can't accurately calculate sunset
and sunrise times and hence some special attention is required. This can
be achieved by "email," an effective and inexpensive way to
communicate. The need can be specified in an email to some scholars who
have better understanding of the Shari'ah as well as some understanding
of science or vice versa. The email addresses for such scholars could be
provided in the web pages. On the web site mentioned above, the CGI
programming is not implemented yet. However, it is recognized that its
use would enhance and be more effective to serving the needs of Muslims
around the world.
Conclusion
In the modern age of communication, especially through
Internet, we all can benefit from the tons of information available on
the information highway, "Internet." As Muslims, our duty is
to make as much useful information available on the Internet as
possible, present them in effective and interesting ways so that a
browsing individual can keep his/her attention and does not flee away,
and most importantly, keep the pages alive by updating and revising
frequently. Updating and revising for cosmetic purposes is sometimes
needed to keep the attention of the users so that the site does not
appear stale. Stale sites loose users interest and attention. Although
CGI programming is an important and effective tool for users to get
calculations based on users' location described by latitude longitude,
and time zone, it is not sufficient to distribute such information for
high latitudes above and below Arctic Circle. For these high latitudes,
special attention is required by a person who can manually look into the
situation and provide answers to people's needs. This can be achieved by
email, which is an effective and inexpensive way to communicate.
Thus, Internet and email are the tools that Muslims
should not be behind others in using, and should prove that Muslims are
on top of the technological advances serving humanity in general and
Muslims in particular in the 21st century.
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