Category: Lunar Month

The Muslim Ummah will perform Ramadan /Eid on the same date worldwide.

1. Rasul (pbuh) has said in Tirmiji Sharif’s Hadith no. 697,

اَلصَّوْمُ يَـوْمَ تَـصُوْمُوْنَ وَالْـفِطْرُ يَوْمَ تُـفْطِرُوْنَ وَاْلأَضْحٰى  يَوْمَ تُـضَحُّوْنَ –

      Meaning: “Starting of Ramadan will be on that day in which you will keep fasting, Eidul Fitr will be on that day in which you will break your fasting and Eidul Adha will be on that day in which you will sacrifice animals.”

• Rasul (pbuh) has addressed the world Muslim Ummah by the word ‘you’ in this Hadith. There has got no indication in this Hadith about performing Saom/Eid on different days/dates in the world. Otherwise the world ‘Iyyamun’ in place ‘yaoma’ would be used in the Hadith. As such this Hadith tells us to perform Saom/Eid on the same date everywhere in the world. 
• We have heard that Islam will be fully established in the world before coming of the Doom’s day.
• In Sura Nisa, ayat no. 4:159, Allah (swt) has said that, “After rearrival of Isa (Al) to this world everyone will surely bring his faith on him.”
• In Muslim Sharif, EPISODE Iman, Hadith – 297, it has been described that, “Before Qeyamat, oneday the Poll-tax levied on non-Moslim subjects will be abolished. That is, no non-Muslim will remain alive to pay poll-tax.
• Then the entire world will be considered to be one state and Ramadan/Eid will be observed on the same day/date.
• Then, why Muslim Ummah is not observing Ramadan & Eid on the same date now, which has been instructed by Allah (swt)?

One cannot disobey the rulings of Allah (swt).

1. The unit of counting of a year is month, of a month is days and of a day is hours.
2. Allah (swt) has fixed the no. of months 12 in a year.
3. The moon will determine the no. of days as 29/30 in a month as stated in sahi Hadith. [Ref: Bokhari Sharif- 1774, 1779 & Muslim–297]
4. The no. of hours of the day will be determined by the sun.
5. The sun & moon cannot create any hindrance to the functioning of one another. Everybody is engaged by Allah (swt) to perform its own duty. [Ref: Sura Yasin, ayat 36:40]
6. We are in need of a day to start the lunar month. The Sun will tell us when & where the day will start with the help of new moon. Accordingly, everyone will start the month as per his own timing.
7. Juma Salat is not held everywhere on the earth at a time. Similarly, Ramadan & Eid will not be held at a time worldwide.
8. We need only to start Ramadan or hold Eid on the same date.
9. There is no scope for creating bottlenecks. Those who will do it will disobey or reject the law of Allah (swt).

Any Lunar month will be same for the entire world.

1. As ‘Subhe Sadiq’, sunrise, noon, sunset occur everyday in different times (as per Qur’an/Hadith), the timings of everyday Salat & timing of Ramadan keeps changing in different places on the earth.
2. Timings of salat are supposed to be determined by observing positions of sun daily from all places of the earth.
3. Even if there is no instruction in Qur’an/ Hadith to determine this daily change in terms of watches, we are determining time by using Christian calendar without any hesitation.
4. If determination of time with the help of clock is compatible with Shari‘ah, even when we do not see the position of sun with bare eyes, then why determining position of moon by calculation should not be compatible with Shari‘ah?
5. Since the sun cannot be seen simultaneously from all the places of the round earth, similarly, the new-moon also cannot be seen simultaneously from all places of the earth.
6. The duration of diurnal movement of earth is one day. In the same way, the duration of orbital movement of the moon is one month.
7. Day time duration do not change with the variation of sun-rise. In the same way lunar month will not change due to moon-rise variations.
8. Allah (swt) has Said in Sura Baqara, ayat no. 2: 185, that, “Whosoever from among you, will get this month, must observe fasting.” Four issues are very important in this ayat: (a) Allah (swt) has indicated the whole mankind by using the word “you”(in plural) (b) by saying the word “the month” He meant the month of Ramadan, (c) By using the word, “will get,” He meant getting the month through moon-sighting or knowing through information from others or knowing through calculation. (d) By adding the word “Hu”, He has again particularized the month of Ramadan that will have equal number of days everywhere in the world. 
9. As such, there will be equal number of days in one Lunar month and there will be no variation in no. of days or variation of timing beyond 24 hours.

Fasting on Eid day is forbidden or Haram.

1. From the description of Sahih Hadith, we know that fasting on Eid day is Haram. [Ref: Bokhari Sharif – Observing Siam on the day of sacrificial Eid, Hadith – 1866, 1864; Muslim Sharif – fasting on Eid day, Hadith – 2537, 2538; Ibn Majah, P- 124]
2. If Eid is held on 3 consecutive days, then any two of the 3 parties, get involved in this forbidden act.
3. It implies that every Muslim will have to observe Eid on the same date (not at a time & not all together). Otherwise, the 2 parties out of 3 will commit great sin.
4. Who will pay for these mistakes?

Functions of Sun & Moon are totally different.

1. Everyday a new sun rises in the east & sets in the west.
2. On the contrary, a new moon appears in the west every      Month and sets in the same western sky.
3. The moon has got its increase/decrease and new-moon/ full-moon stages. But the sun does not have anything like these. As such the background and functionalities of sun-rise and moon-rise are completely different.
4. To us, the sun looks permanent & fixed. The earth moves on its orbit around the sun in a year. Therefore, the earth is doing ‘Tabe’ to the sun i.e. obeys the sun. Again the earth rotates once in a day on its own axis. Unless this rotation was held, day/night would not have occurred. This is called the diurnal movement of the earth. This minute arrangement has been made by Almighty Allah (swt), for our daily salat & for Ramadan, together with other facilities. Because of rotation of earth, a day is occured by 24 hours. Actually, the earth makes a day. By moving once around the sun on its orbit, the earth adjusts a year. As such, the sun actually makes a year. 
5. And the moon also adjusts a month after rotating around the earth on its orbit once in a month. Every month it gives indication to the mankind about arrival of new month with the help of new-moon. By this way the moon is doing ‘Tabe’ to the earth i.e. obeys the earth. As such, it can be said that the moon makes a month. It means that we are to visualize arrival of 12 months with the starting of 12 new-moons and calculate lunar months accordingly.
6. As such, we cannot compare the sun with the moon. Each has got different job to do. In the same way, a cow cannot be compared with a goat, although both provide us milk & meat. But we cannot use a goat for ploughing, the way a cow can be used. Moreover, the taste and quality of milk & meat is also different.  Both sun & moon determine time for us. But the measurement & duration differ. Their movement & shape are different. So it is foolish to compare one with the other.
7. Allah (swt) has ordered his slaves in Sura Hud (11:114), Sura Bani Israel (17:78,79), Sura Toaha (20:130), Sura Rum (30:17,18), and Sura Dahr (76:25,26) to establish Salat at the time of Fazar before the sun rises (Fazar), from the time the sun is inclined up to the darkness of night (Zohar, Asar, Magrib & Ish’a), before the sun is set (Asar), at the end period of the day time (Fazar, Asar) and in some part of the night (Magrib, Ish’a, Tahajjod). [Relative reference: a) Bukhari, Salat EPISODE, Hadith-491 to 563. b) Muslim, salat EPISODE of 5 times salat, Hadith-1275]
8. Allah (swt) has mentioned about sun-rise & sun-set and day /night in respect of salat. But there is no mention of new sun anywhere. So salat will be offered everywhere in the world as per position of sun.
9. In respect of month, Allah (swt) has clearly mentioned about new-moon. So, the new-moon will ‘start the month’ on the earth and the sun will perform rest of the job.
10. Rasulullah (pbuh (has said to keep fast after seeing the new moon & break it by seeing new moon. He even said, “You do not keep fast unless you see the new moon and do not break it till you see new moon” [Ref: Bokhari  Sharif–1775, 1772 and Muslim–2371, 2366]
11. For the sake of debate, one can say, since there is        instruction in Hadith about new moon, so do we have to see a new moon every day? The moon rises every day except on the day of new–moon. Then how do we keep fast after seeing new-moon & break it after seeing new-moon on the day of new-moon? The blind people will never see the moon. So, do they get clemency for not fasting? In Hadith, there is no instruction to begin the month of Ramadan or end the month by seeing the new-moon. What is the explanation of this? This is all about unnecessary debating. Every month including month of Ramadan is supposed to be started by the new moon. In fact Rusul (pbuh) has instructed to begin the ‘Saom’ i.e. fasting by seeing the new moon.
12. In this Hadith, there is no instruction to keep fast by seeing the new-moon in different countries. Whereas, we are committing this mistake by taking references from various sources. If the above mentioned debates can be termed as unnecessary, then why the job of seeing new-moon in various countries cannot be called unnecessary? If that is done, then the problem related with Lunar month will also get solved.
13. As said in the book, ‘going to china in quest of knowledge’ means going very far for the purpose. In the same way without taking the meaning of new-moon sighting in its literary meaning, if we count the month from the starting of the new-moon, all our differences in opinion will perish.
14. It means that in the world we have to count the lunar month with the starting of one new-moon so, there will be

only one Islamic calendar throughout the whole world.

We have to obey Allah (swt)’s order, Rasul (pbuh)’s instruction and opinion given by 4 Mazhabs & OIC.

1. As I know, the OIC, which was established in 1969 AD, had held 33 meetings of the Foreign Ministers. Of them, in the 13^th, 14^th, 18^th, 21^st, 24^th, 25^th, 26^th, 32^nd and 33^rd meetings, discussions were made on “Unified Hijri Calendar for the beginning of the Lunar months & unification of Islamic Holidays” after discussion.
2. Moreover, out of 12 Islamic Summit Conferences held so far, in 4 meetings including 8^th, 9^th & 10^th, discussion & decision have been made on the above issue.
3. The part organization of OIC i.e. Islamic Feqh Academy has given the following decisions back in 1986 –

First: If sighting of the crescent is established in one country, all Muslims must abide by it. The difference in horizon is not relevant because the ordinance for starting and ending the fasting is universal.

Second:   It is mandatory to accept the sighting. However, one may get assistance from astronomical calculation and observatories with due consideration to the sayings of the Prophet (Pbuh) and scientific facts. [Ref: Last pages of Chapter three]

• But such a decision could not be implemented effectively due to lack of a favourable response from the Heads of states of Islamic world.
• Some inexperienced Alems of these countries are also greatly responsible for this. Because, they are incapable to analyze Allah (swt)’s desire & Rasul (pbuh)‘s instruction in the light of science. They prefer to follow old sayings. To them, I have a question. While you taught Alif, Be, Te, Se in Bangladesh before independence, then why do you teach Alif, Ba, Ta, Sa now? It means that the previous system was wrong. As such it needed correction.
• Many Ulama of this sub-continent used to say that, (a) it is forbidden to read English, (b) to offer prayer using the mike is forbidden, (c) to view TV is Haraam. Now they do not say so. They even hesitate to curse western democracy and women leadership.
• If somebody tells about uniform starting of lunar month

i.e. new moon, they argue with time differences due to sun-rise variation. They mess up the moon with the sun without understanding their differences in movement.

• They do not want to understand that salat is related only with the Sun and not at all with the moon. The Arabic month starts & ends with the new moon, while sun-rise is needed for counting days only. The relationship of sun & moon has been narrated to us by Almighty Allah (swt) in various suras of the Holy Qur’an, especially in 10:5, 13:2, 21:33, 35:13 (part), 36:38, 39:40 ayats. We cannot drag the sun in the affairs of the moon. Each has different function.
• I feel sorry for those who, are disregarding the sayings of Allah (swt) to the mankind (Annaas), those who are not following the instructions of Rasul (pbuh (to the Muslim Ummah, those who are ignoring the opinion of famous 3 Imams of 4 Madhabs and finally for those who are opposing the decision of OIC. Are they not helping destruction of Islam by keeping the entire Muslim Ummah into various decisions and confusions?
• The non-Muslims trickle such decisions among the Muslims and relish it by keeping it alive. So they are not allowing their friendly Muslim countries to observe Ramadan/Eid on the same date.

90% opinion of 4 Madhabs is that the boundary of a country is not the pre-condition for new-moon sighting.

1. 3 Imams including Abu Hanifa® from 4 Madhabs have said that, boundary of any country is not the pre-condition for sighting a new-moon. Even they said, fasting will become wajeb in the East, if the new-moon is sighted in the West. [Ref: Al-Helal, written by Dr. Abdullah Al-Maaruf–1988, pages – 2, 3, 4]
2. The 4^th Imam Shafeyi (Ra) had supported it. Then he said,

on the basis of area, new-moon can be sighted. [Ref: Dr. Abdullah Al Maaruf’s Al Helal – 1988, pages 5, 6]

• So, 90% opinion of 4 Mazhabs goes in favour of observing Ramadan/Eid & other religious events on the same date.
• More than 95% Muslims of Bangladesh are the followers of Hanafi Madhab. As such, it is more logical for us to follow the decision of majority Imams including Abu Hanifa®.
• Surprisingly, it is not understood why Bangladesh became follower of Shafeyi Mazhab (Partial) in this respect?
• So, leaving aside observing Ramadan/Eid on the basis of country/area, the entire Muslim Ummah should observe Ramadan/Eid on the same date, after sighting the first new-moon anywhere in the world.