Moon Sighting: Hijra Committee prepares a scientific lunar calendar
Hijri Committee
Ramadan begins and ends with confusion every year, this year is no
exception
Submitted by admin <http://twocircles.net/user/admin> on 21 July 2012
-
10:47am
- Articles <http://twocircles.net/news/articles>
- Indian Muslim <http://twocircles.net/news/indian-muslim>
*Ramadan fast starts Saturday in India, except for those who start on
Sunday
*
*By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net*
The Islamic principle seems to be simple enough – look for the new
moon but
if you cannot see it then assume previous month to be of 30 days- but
Muslims have managed to make it a complicated affair.
It was half-past midnight that news came that Mumbai Hilal Committee
headed
by Mufti Azizur Rahman decided that moonsighting can not be confirmed
and
hence Shaban will be for 30 days and hence first Ramadan fast will be
on
Sunday July 22nd. Delay in announcing the decision led many Muslims up
at
night on Friday wondering if they are going to be fasting next day.
*Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali using modern equipment to sight the moon
but
he will not accept calculations. *
Earlier in the evening, in Lucknow, Shia Chand Committee’s president
Maulana Saif Abbas Naqvi announced that moon was not sighted and hence
fasting will be on Sunday. Markazi Chand Committee of Firangi Mahal,
Lucknow also announced around 9pm that there are no reports of moon
sighting anywhere and hence first fasting will be on Sunday. But two
hours
later they changed their decision and announced that they have
received
repots of sighting in different parts of country and hence Ramadan
begins
sundown on Friday and first fasting day will be Saturday.
It is not clear who saw the crescent of Ramdan and where but it seems
that
first day of Ramadan is Saturday for most of Indian Muslims. Reports
of
Saturday fasting came from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, MP,
Bihar,
UP, Delhi, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra. Those that are not
starting
their fast on Saturday are: Idara-e-Shariah of Bihar; Hilal Committee
of
Mumbai; Mufi Mukarram of Fatehpuri Masjid, Delhi, Shias in Hyderabad.
Late last night young Indian Muslims turned to the internet –mostly
facebook & twitter- to find out the latest information. Masjids in
many
towns used their public-address system to announce the beginning of
Ramadan, in many cases announcements were made way past midnight.
Confusion about different dates of Ramadan and Eid in the same city
causes
much tension among Muslims. Prompting Mumbai-resident Suhaill Kazi to
ask
the question on twitter, “What to do? Keep extra roza or go w/local? I
hate
this. Every single yr we have some grp not accepting other's witness.”
There has been attempt to use calculation and calendars to remove
uncertainties about confusion over moon-sighting. This year, Vice-
President
of All India Muslim Personal Law Board and prominent Shia Cleric, Dr
Kalbe
Sadiq made the announcement on July 16th about the beginning and end
of
Ramadan. He had announced that first Roza will be Saturday, July 21st
and
Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on 20th of August.
Sadiq has championed using modern methods for few years now. Three
years
ago he said, "today, when science has progressed so much, the least we
could do is to rely on astronomical facts and confirm the date of the
new
moon well in advance; that would leave no scope for the confusion that
is
often created on account of the actual visibility in one city and
non-sighting in another."
A group of Muslim scientists in Kerala are trying to bring more
science
into the making of Islamic calendar. Based in Kozhikode, Hijra
Committee of
India is building the scientific argument for an Islamic calendar
based on
astronomical sciences.
*A woman raises her hands in prayers at Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah in
New
Delhi on the eve of the first day of Ramadan 1433. [Photo by Natisha
Mallick for TwoCircles.net]*
Talking to TwoCircles.net in May, Abdul Shukoor T of Hijra Committee
says:
“One can’t see hilal on the new moon day as the hilal is visible
before the
naked eyes only after sun sets in the west on the first day of a lunar
month. So it is like the ones who are firm on their decision that they
will
start a new month only after seeing the hilal will go wrong as they
will
start counting the second day of the lunar month as first because they
baselessly consider the setting stage of the first day moon as a
rising
one, hoping that the next day is the first of a lunar month whereas
scientifically too the fact is that it is impossible to see new moon
on the
night prior to the first day”.
He called it “illogical” to go look for crescent (hilal) one day a
month,
instead a more scientific approach will be to observe the phases of
the
moon on a regular basis. Hijra Committee also challenge organizations
that
claim to view the hilal when it is scientifically impossible to see
it.
As the frustration grows over delay in announcements and disagreement
between different Muslim organizations, many will turn to more
scientifically generated Islamic calendar to plan their start and end
of
Ramadan. But ulema presiding over hilal committees hold the trump card
as
they run the masjids that organizes the tarawih (night prayers) and
Eid
prayers forcing everyone to follow their announcements, even if it
doesn’t
make sense.
Links:
http://www.hijracalendar.com/
http://twocircles.net/Special%20Reports/ramadan_1433.html
http://twocircles.net/2012may16/moon_sighting_hijra_committee_prepare...
Moon Sighting: Hijra Committee prepares a scientific lunar calendar
Submitted by admin4 <http://twocircles.net/user/admin4> on 16 May 2012
-
1:42pm
- Indian Muslim <http://twocircles.net/news/indian-muslim>
*By Abdul Basith MA, TwoCircles.net,*
Kozhikode: Fixing the dates for Ramzan and Eid has remained a topic of
confusion and sometimes hot argument among Muslims across the world.
Certain leaders of Muslim organisations, Ulema and Qazis own the
‘power’ to
decide up on the starting of a lunar month and there were several
instances
when some among them went wrong and the community didn’t have a
unified
Ramzan or Eid even within a region.
It would be embarrassing for the Muslim community to be unaware of the
Islamic calendar’s prospects and possibilities like the teachings of
Quran
and Islamic history. The community has become victim to the confusions
created by the community’s factional leaders.
*Clerics sighting moon in Lucknow on August 30 2011*
Christian calendars and other calendars prevalent now are erroneous
and
were subjected to too many corrections in the past. Islam is complete
and
it has world’s most effective and accurate calendar based on the
different
phases of a moon’s cycle.
The method the Muslim organisations have been adopting since times to
decide on the starting of a month is to go in search of the hilal
(moon)
towards the end of a month, i.e. on 29th they will go in search of a
hilal
and if they went unsuccessful in finding it, they will complete 30
days for
that month.
*Moon sighting on last day of month is illogical*
Abdul Shukoor T of Kozhikode office of Hijra Committee says: “One
can’t see
hilal on the new moon day as the hilal is visible before the naked
eyes
only after sun sets in the west on the first day of a lunar month. So
it is
like the ones who are firm on their decision that they will start a
new
month only after seeing the hilal will go wrong as they will start
counting
the second day of the lunar month as first because they baselessly
consider
the setting stage of the first day moon as a rising one, hoping that
the
next day is the first of a lunar month whereas scientifically too the
fact
is that it is impossible to see new moon on the night prior to the
first
day”.
*Quran asks to observe different phases of moon to set date*
He quoted Quran verses [2:189] which tells that it is ‘Ahilla’ [plural
denoting different stages of hilal] which one has to observe to
finalise
the dates of a lunar calendar instead of going in search of a single
day’s
‘hilal’, which is almost impossible to find on the night before the
first
day of a lunar month. He says that in hadees too the Prophet [SAW]
used the
plural form instead of hilal.
*The scientific lunar calendar of Hijra Committee*
So the method which these Muslims organisations have been following
should
be called illogical in view of the scientific advancements and
opportunities available to prepare an ideal lunar calendar based on
scientific observation of the moon’s phases and calculations based on
it.
The community’s hunt for hilal on the new moon day is equal to going
in
search of a black cat in the darkness. What they should do is rather
different as in order to get precise on the dates of a lunar calendar
they
should closely observe the different phases of the moon admitting that
the
moon’s phase which they see after sunset is meant exclusively for that
day
which is about to set. Thus an effective, precise, scientifically
proved
lunar calendar can be prepared and we are successful in doing so, says
the
Hijra committee.
The irony is that the Kerala Hilal Committee [Mujahid], the Sunni's
[both
factions] have reported of being witness to the hilal when the
difference
of sunset-moonset was 10 minutes, 4 minutes and even 2 minutes; when
science says that one can see the hilal by naked eye only when this
difference is a minimum of 48 minutes. The Hijra committee notes that
their
lie and miscalculations deprive majority of Muslims in Kerala, on many
occasions, the fast of the first day of Ramzan.
If a month has 30 days there will be 29 phases for the moon and if it
has
29 days, phases which the moon undergoes will be 28. The last day of
the
lunar month, moon gets covered because the sun and the moon reaches
the
same line [faingumma] and the next day after which the moon goes
invisible
is the first day of a lunar month, Hijra committee asks if any of
these
Muslim scholars, religious faction leaders are capable of challenging
this
fact?
Hijra committee says that if one has to go in search of the Hilal to
announce the start of a month they should go for the hilal at the time
of
“Urj oonil Qadeem” [at around fajr], ie the last visible phase
described by
Almighty Allah in Quran 36:39.This is the only way we could find a
hilal
and assess the first day of a month other than the setting one which
we
find by maghrib [which is already at least 12 hours late since the
start of
a lunar month].
Abdul Salam Sullami, a Hadith scholar of Kerala Madavoor Mujahid
faction
has written a book named ‘Chandra Masa Nirnayam, Kanakkum Kazhchayum’
[lunar month determination, vision and calculation] published by Hijra
committee of India. He asks Muslims to proclaim their freedom from
their
organisational tie ups at least on this issue and seeks them to raise
questions before their factional leaders on whether they would accept
the
starting of a month announced at Mecca if the moon rise is at the same
time
in both the regions.
Last time on Eid-ul-Fitr the moon rise was at the same time in both
these
regions, still the religious faction leaders here in Kerala were
initially
reluctant to admit the Eid announced at Mecca saying that there must
be
faithful eyewitness statements on the appearance of Hilal from our own
vicinity. They are not strict on whether the hilal must be witnessed
on a
specific Mahal basis or village wise and are not hesitant to proclaim
the
starting of a new month, if some body whom they believes is credible
stands
witness to the hilal, even if he is from a far away region where the
moon’s
rising time is different. What is it that takes them back from
admitting
the new month announced from Mecca when it is the same hilal that
appears
for the whole man kind across the earth at a time?, asks the Madavoor
faction Hadith Scholar.
If we admit to the argument that moon’s rising time must be taken into
consideration for different regions specifically, then the Almighty
will
have to send the new moon twice or thrice in two or three days for
each
region to announce their Eid and Ramzan and the result will be like
when
Lailathul Qadr happens at Kochi and a few countries abroad; Kozhikode,
Kannur and Kasargod having a different moon rising will be blessed
with
Lailathul Qadr only the next day night, the arguments of a few Muslim
organisational leaders in Kerala are these much illogical!, said Abdul
Salam Sullami.
When asked to comment on this issue, Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen [KNM]
secretary and Hilal committee Chairman AP Abdul Qadar Maulavi was
reluctant
to give his opinion on these questions as he says every thing is well
described in the Almanar calendar published by the Hilal committee and
he
says whatever they have to say it is there in the calendar published
by
them. He said he has nothing more to say on this regard through phone.
*Sunnis reject Hijra Committee’s view*
The Tirurangadi Wali-Qazi of the EK [Samastha] faction of Sunnis,
Abdullah
Maqdoom said that in Islam more than those mere calculations, it is
the
Prophet’s [SAW] hadees that matters. He quoted the hadees whereby the
Prophet [SAW] asks the community to look for the hilal and if it not
found
on the 29th due to the presence of clouds the hadees asks to complete
thirty days of fast. This should be our basis and not mathematical
calculations, he said. “We have seen scientists predicting rain and
there
are times where they go wrong, same way it is the Almighty who will
have to
decide on the appearance of the Hilal and the starting of a month. Our
duty
is to trace it on a credible basis and to exactly follow the
instructions
of our Prophet Muhammed [SAW]”.
*Prophet asks to sight moon on 29th*
He was reluctant to admit the argument that unlike rain, Almighty has
set
exact timings, orbits, rising and setting areas for the moon and the
sun,
which could well be explained and predicted on a scientific basis. He
further added that these types of questions need to be answered based
on
different Mas’ala in the Shariah and requires careful treatment rather
than
mere scientific calculations and reasoning ability.
P Hassan Musaliar, the Wayanad district Valiya Khazi of the AP
[Kanthapuram] faction of Sunni’s too was of the opinion that it is the
clearly stated hadees which has to be followed instead of calculations
and
scientific explanations. There is no case of moon’s rising time being
almost identical in Kerala and Saudi Arabia and so even if hilal is
announced there, we will have to wait and find whether it appears here
or
not, based on which we will be deciding whether to complete 30 days or
not
and this is what the religion teaches, he said.
*Moon Sighting in Mecca should be accepted by Muslims across the
globe*
[KNM] Madavoor Mujahid, Secretary CP Muhammed Sullami agreed to the
Hijra
committee version of lunar calendar and he too emphasised on the fact
that
if the hilal is announced at Mecca that is enough evidence to announce
the
start of a month any where in this world. He said that the months so
fixed
by Almighty Allah will start on the same day of the week and end on
the
same day of the week, throughout the world.
The special situation here in Kerala and most parts of the country is
that
the different Muslim organisations since times have been traditionally
following the custom of looking for the Hilal and now a situation has
reached where we too are forced to move on with the flow and take a
practical approach which is rather forced. Though we now recognise
that
there are options like scientifically calculating and setting an
accurate
lunar calendar, as how the Hijra committee did, this will lead to
differences as we are looking forward to a unified Ramzan and Eid
along
with all other Muslim organisations in Kerala. The only way to change
the
situation and to make these religious factions in Kerala accept such a
unified scientific lunar calendar is to bring about a world wide
consent on
this regard, said the KNM Madavoor Salafi faction secretary.
Hijra Committee has taken care to inform Kerala Nadvathul Mujaahideen
[KNM]- both factions, as well as Kerala Hilaal Committee that the
Hijri
dates published by them for this year are not according to the
Manaazil
[phases] of the moon. KNM and Hilal Committee uses the difference of
sun
set and moon set timings of Kerala. Hijra committee says this would
not
give the true lunar months, because if this difference is 2 minutes in
Calicut, it may be Minus 2 minutes in Trivandrum and hence, the
Mujahid
factions will be this time compelled to have Eid on two different
days,
warns the Hijra Committee.
They accused that in the disguise of unity, both the Mujahid factions
are
joining hands with the Sunnis and accept whatever date the Sunni Qazis
decide.
Hijra committee complains that “both this Salafi and Sunni factions
are
alike when it comes to at least taking a look at what we are saying
since
times. With even the Mujahid and JIH factions turning a blind eye
towards
us, the Sunnis are far comfortable without even making our voice heard
before the public. So it is high time the community should start
discussing
our suggestions and viewpoints and should bring about in-depth
thoughts on
this topic”.
Link to the Hijra Committee, Hijra Calendar 1433:http://
www.hijracalendar.com/HijraCalender1433.pdf
Link to the Hijra Calendar website:http://www.hijracalendar.com/
Related links in TwoCircles.net:http://twocircles.net/node/167892
http://twocircles.net/node/164539
http://twocircles.net/2010aug11/chaos_deciding_ramadan_and_eid_dates....
http://twocircles.net/2009jul26/bihar_ngo_initiative_muslim_unity_throug...<http://twocircles.net/2009jul26/bihar_ngo_initiative_muslim_unity_thr...>
Hijri Committee
On Thu, Sep 13, 2012 at 9:51 AM, Mohammed Zubair <zuba...@gmail.com> wrote:
Ramadan begins and ends with confusion every year, this year is no exception
Ramadan fast starts Saturday in India, except for those who start on Sunday
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
The Islamic principle seems to be simple enough – look for the new moon but if you cannot see it then assume previous month to be of 30 days- but Muslims have managed to make it a complicated affair.
It was half-past midnight that news came that Mumbai Hilal Committee headed by Mufti Azizur Rahman decided that moonsighting can not be confirmed and hence Shaban will be for 30 days and hence first Ramadan fast will be on Sunday July 22nd. Delay in announcing the decision led many Muslims up at night on Friday wondering if they are going to be fasting next day.
Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali using modern equipment to sight the moon but he will not accept calculations.
Earlier in the evening, in Lucknow, Shia Chand Committee’s president Maulana Saif Abbas Naqvi announced that moon was not sighted and hence fasting will be on Sunday. Markazi Chand Committee of Firangi Mahal, Lucknow also announced around 9pm that there are no reports of moon sighting anywhere and hence first fasting will be on Sunday. But two hours later they changed their decision and announced that they have received repots of sighting in different parts of country and hence Ramadan begins sundown on Friday and first fasting day will be Saturday.
It is not clear who saw the crescent of Ramdan and where but it seems that first day of Ramadan is Saturday for most of Indian Muslims. Reports of Saturday fasting came from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, MP, Bihar, UP, Delhi, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra. Those that are not starting their fast on Saturday are: Idara-e-Shariah of Bihar; Hilal Committee of Mumbai; Mufi Mukarram of Fatehpuri Masjid, Delhi, Shias in Hyderabad.
Late last night young Indian Muslims turned to the internet –mostly facebook & twitter- to find out the latest information. Masjids in many towns used their public-address system to announce the beginning of Ramadan, in many cases announcements were made way past midnight.
Confusion about different dates of Ramadan and Eid in the same city causes much tension among Muslims. Prompting Mumbai-resident Suhaill Kazi to ask the question on twitter, “What to do? Keep extra roza or go w/local? I hate this. Every single yr we have some grp not accepting other's witness.”
There has been attempt to use calculation and calendars to remove uncertainties about confusion over moon-sighting. This year, Vice-President of All India Muslim Personal Law Board and prominent Shia Cleric, Dr Kalbe Sadiq made the announcement on July 16th about the beginning and end of Ramadan. He had announced that first Roza will be Saturday, July 21st and Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on 20th of August.
Sadiq has championed using modern methods for few years now. Three years ago he said, "today, when science has progressed so much, the least we could do is to rely on astronomical facts and confirm the date of the new moon well in advance; that would leave no scope for the confusion that is often created on account of the actual visibility in one city and non-sighting in another."
A group of Muslim scientists in Kerala are trying to bring more science into the making of Islamic calendar. Based in Kozhikode, Hijra Committee of India is building the scientific argument for an Islamic calendar based on astronomical sciences.
A woman raises her hands in prayers at Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah in New Delhi on the eve of the first day of Ramadan 1433. [Photo by Natisha Mallick for TwoCircles.net]
Talking to TwoCircles.net in May, Abdul Shukoor T of Hijra Committee says: “One can’t see hilal on the new moon day as the hilal is visible before the naked eyes only after sun sets in the west on the first day of a lunar month. So it is like the ones who are firm on their decision that they will start a new month only after seeing the hilal will go wrong as they will start counting the second day of the lunar month as first because they baselessly consider the setting stage of the first day moon as a rising one, hoping that the next day is the first of a lunar month whereas scientifically too the fact is that it is impossible to see new moon on the night prior to the first day”.
He called it “illogical” to go look for crescent (hilal) one day a month, instead a more scientific approach will be to observe the phases of the moon on a regular basis. Hijra Committee also challenge organizations that claim to view the hilal when it is scientifically impossible to see it.
As the frustration grows over delay in announcements and disagreement between different Muslim organizations, many will turn to more scientifically generated Islamic calendar to plan their start and end of Ramadan. But ulema presiding over hilal committees hold the trump card as they run the masjids that organizes the tarawih (night prayers) and Eid prayers forcing everyone to follow their announcements, even if it doesn’t make sense.
Links:
Moon Sighting: Hijra Committee prepares a scientific lunar calendar
Kozhikode: Fixing the dates for Ramzan and Eid has remained a topic of confusion and sometimes hot argument among Muslims across the world. Certain leaders of Muslim organisations, Ulema and Qazis own the ‘power’ to decide up on the starting of a lunar month and there were several instances when some among them went wrong and the community didn’t have a unified Ramzan or Eid even within a region.
It would be embarrassing for the Muslim community to be unaware of the Islamic calendar’s prospects and possibilities like the teachings of Quran and Islamic history. The community has become victim to the confusions created by the community’s factional leaders.
Clerics sighting moon in Lucknow on August 30 2011
Christian calendars and other calendars prevalent now are erroneous and were subjected to too many corrections in the past. Islam is complete and it has world’s most effective and accurate calendar based on the different phases of a moon’s cycle.
The method the Muslim organisations have been adopting since times to decide on the starting of a month is to go in search of the hilal (moon) towards the end of a month, i.e. on 29th they will go in search of a hilal and if they went unsuccessful in finding it, they will complete 30 days for that month.
Moon sighting on last day of month is illogical
Abdul Shukoor T of Kozhikode office of Hijra Committee says: “One can’t see hilal on the new moon day as the hilal is visible before the naked eyes only after sun sets in the west on the first day of a lunar month. So it is like the ones who are firm on their decision that they will start a new month only after seeing the hilal will go wrong as they will start counting the second day of the lunar month as first because they baselessly consider the setting stage of the first day moon as a rising one, hoping that the next day is the first of a lunar month whereas scientifically too the fact is that it is impossible to see new moon on the night prior to the first day”.
Quran asks to observe different phases of moon to set date
He quoted Quran verses [2:189] which tells that it is ‘Ahilla’ [plural denoting different stages of hilal] which one has to observe to finalise the dates of a lunar calendar instead of going in search of a single day’s ‘hilal’, which is almost impossible to find on the night before the first day of a lunar month. He says that in hadees too the Prophet [SAW] used the plural form instead of hilal.
The scientific lunar calendar of Hijra Committee
So the method which these Muslims organisations have been following should be called illogical in view of the scientific advancements and opportunities available to prepare an ideal lunar calendar based on scientific observation of the moon’s phases and calculations based on it. The community’s hunt for hilal on the new moon day is equal to going in search of a black cat in the darkness. What they should do is rather different as in order to get precise on the dates of a lunar calendar they should closely observe the different phases of the moon admitting that the moon’s phase which they see after sunset is meant exclusively for that day which is about to set. Thus an effective, precise, scientifically proved lunar calendar can be prepared and we are successful in doing so, says the Hijra committee.
The irony is that the Kerala Hilal Committee [Mujahid], the Sunni's [both factions] have reported of being witness to the hilal when the difference of sunset-moonset was 10 minutes, 4 minutes and even 2 minutes; when science says that one can see the hilal by naked eye only when this difference is a minimum of 48 minutes. The Hijra committee notes that their lie and miscalculations deprive majority of Muslims in Kerala, on many occasions, the fast of the first day of Ramzan.
If a month has 30 days there will be 29 phases for the moon and if it has 29 days, phases which the moon undergoes will be 28. The last day of the lunar month, moon gets covered because the sun and the moon reaches the same line [faingumma] and the next day after which the moon goes invisible is the first day of a lunar month, Hijra committee asks if any of these Muslim scholars, religious faction leaders are capable of challenging this fact?
Hijra committee says that if one has to go in search of the Hilal to announce the start of a month they should go for the hilal at the time of “Urj oonil Qadeem” [at around fajr], ie the last visible phase described by Almighty Allah in Quran 36:39.This is the only way we could find a hilal and assess the first day of a month other than the setting one which we find by maghrib [which is already at least 12 hours late since the start of a lunar month].
Abdul Salam Sullami, a Hadith scholar of Kerala Madavoor Mujahid faction has written a book named ‘Chandra Masa Nirnayam, Kanakkum Kazhchayum’ [lunar month determination, vision and calculation] published by Hijra committee of India. He asks Muslims to proclaim their freedom from their organisational tie ups at least on this issue and seeks them to raise questions before their factional leaders on whether they would accept the starting of a month announced at Mecca if the moon rise is at the same time in both the regions.
Last time on Eid-ul-Fitr the moon rise was at the same time in both these regions, still the religious faction leaders here in Kerala were initially reluctant to admit the Eid announced at Mecca saying that there must be faithful eyewitness statements on the appearance of Hilal from our own vicinity. They are not strict on whether the hilal must be witnessed on a specific Mahal basis or village wise and are not hesitant to proclaim the starting of a new month, if some body whom they believes is credible stands witness to the hilal, even if he is from a far away region where the moon’s rising time is different. What is it that takes them back from admitting the new month announced from Mecca when it is the same hilal that appears for the whole man kind across the earth at a time?, asks the Madavoor faction Hadith Scholar.
If we admit to the argument that moon’s rising time must be taken into consideration for different regions specifically, then the Almighty will have to send the new moon twice or thrice in two or three days for each region to announce their Eid and Ramzan and the result will be like when Lailathul Qadr happens at Kochi and a few countries abroad; Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod having a different moon rising will be blessed with Lailathul Qadr only the next day night, the arguments of a few Muslim organisational leaders in Kerala are these much illogical!, said Abdul Salam Sullami.
When asked to comment on this issue, Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen [KNM] secretary and Hilal committee Chairman AP Abdul Qadar Maulavi was reluctant to give his opinion on these questions as he says every thing is well described in the Almanar calendar published by the Hilal committee and he says whatever they have to say it is there in the calendar published by them. He said he has nothing more to say on this regard through phone.
Sunnis reject Hijra Committee’s view
The Tirurangadi Wali-Qazi of the EK [Samastha] faction of Sunnis, Abdullah Maqdoom said that in Islam more than those mere calculations, it is the Prophet’s [SAW] hadees that matters. He quoted the hadees whereby the Prophet [SAW] asks the community to look for the hilal and if it not found on the 29th due to the presence of clouds the hadees asks to complete thirty days of fast. This should be our basis and not mathematical calculations, he said. “We have seen scientists predicting rain and there are times where they go wrong, same way it is the Almighty who will have to decide on the appearance of the Hilal and the starting of a month. Our duty is to trace it on a credible basis and to exactly follow the instructions of our Prophet Muhammed [SAW]”.
Prophet asks to sight moon on 29th
He was reluctant to admit the argument that unlike rain, Almighty has set exact timings, orbits, rising and setting areas for the moon and the sun, which could well be explained and predicted on a scientific basis. He further added that these types of questions need to be answered based on different Mas’ala in the Shariah and requires careful treatment rather than mere scientific calculations and reasoning ability.
P Hassan Musaliar, the Wayanad district Valiya Khazi of the AP [Kanthapuram] faction of Sunni’s too was of the opinion that it is the clearly stated hadees which has to be followed instead of calculations and scientific explanations. There is no case of moon’s rising time being almost identical in Kerala and Saudi Arabia and so even if hilal is announced there, we will have to wait and find whether it appears here or not, based on which we will be deciding whether to complete 30 days or not and this is what the religion teaches, he said.
Moon Sighting in Mecca should be accepted by Muslims across the globe
[KNM] Madavoor Mujahid, Secretary CP Muhammed Sullami agreed to the Hijra committee version of lunar calendar and he too emphasised on the fact that if the hilal is announced at Mecca that is enough evidence to announce the start of a month any where in this world. He said that the months so fixed by Almighty Allah will start on the same day of the week and end on the same day of the week, throughout the world.
The special situation here in Kerala and most parts of the country is that the different Muslim organisations since times have been traditionally following the custom of looking for the Hilal and now a situation has reached where we too are forced to move on with the flow and take a practical approach which is rather forced. Though we now recognise that there are options like scientifically calculating and setting an accurate lunar calendar, as how the Hijra committee did, this will lead to differences as we are looking forward to a unified Ramzan and Eid along with all other Muslim organisations in Kerala. The only way to change the situation and to make these religious factions in Kerala accept such a unified scientific lunar calendar is to bring about a world wide consent on this regard, said the KNM Madavoor Salafi faction secretary.
Hijra Committee has taken care to inform Kerala Nadvathul Mujaahideen [KNM]- both factions, as well as Kerala Hilaal Committee that the Hijri dates published by them for this year are not according to the Manaazil [phases] of the moon. KNM and Hilal Committee uses the difference of sun set and moon set timings of Kerala. Hijra committee says this would not give the true lunar months, because if this difference is 2 minutes in Calicut, it may be Minus 2 minutes in Trivandrum and hence, the Mujahid factions will be this time compelled to have Eid on two different days, warns the Hijra Committee.
They accused that in the disguise of unity, both the Mujahid factions are joining hands with the Sunnis and accept whatever date the Sunni Qazis decide.
Hijra committee complains that “both this Salafi and Sunni factions are alike when it comes to at least taking a look at what we are saying since times. With even the Mujahid and JIH factions turning a blind eye towards us, the Sunnis are far comfortable without even making our voice heard before the public. So it is high time the community should start discussing our suggestions and viewpoints and should bring about in-depth thoughts on this topic”.
Link to the Hijra Committee, Hijra Calendar 1433: http://www.hijracalendar.com/HijraCalender1433.pdf
Link to the Hijra Calendar website:
http://www.hijracalendar.com/Related links in TwoCircles.net:
http://twocircles.net/node/167892