In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful
The New Moon
1. Muslims generally, all over the world, follow the Gregorian calendar.
So they come to bother about sighting the new moon only at the onset
of the month of Ramadhaan, or for determining the Eidain
days.
2. But here, as in many many other matters, the Muslim Ummah
has fallen into unseemly controversies, rendering the Islamic calendar
an object of mockery! That too when the Creator has graced them with the
Qur'aan, the divine Book of Guidance divinely guaranteed against all
pollution, adulteration and corruption!! But, as our beloved Prophet (may
peace and Allah's blessings be upon him) would cry out in the Hereafter,
his Ummah has 'indeed abandoned this Qur'aan as a thing
of no importance' (Refer Q: 25.30)
3. Yes! We, the Prophet's Ummah, do sometimes refer to the divine
Book for answers to problems facing us. But we do so half-heartedly!
We are not absolutely sure that we would find the answers there!
4. In one such half-hearted attempt at finding the answer to the problem
under discussion in this article, we discover the Qur'aanic verse 2.185.
"Month of Ramadhaan! That month in which was sent down the Qur'aan
as Guidance for Mankind and with clear evidences for the guidance and
for the distinction made between right and wrong! Whoever then amongst
you witnesses the month, he/she should fast therein! ....", so runs the
beginning part of the said verse. And in our not-too-sincere an effort at
finding the guidance as promised therein, we grab at the phrase 'witnesses
the month', as a drowning man would catch at a straw!
5. And we say, "Eureka!" We interpret the phrase, 'witnesses the month'
to mean 'witnesses the new moon heralding the month'. We forget that
by thus interpolating our own imperfect words, we are casting doubts (nauzubillah)
that the Qur'aan contains the perfect words of the Perfect Author!
6. And we thus conclude that for terminating any lunar month, at any
particular place 'A', at 29 days, factual witnessing of the new moon,
at that particular place 'A' itself, is necessary. We thus have the phenomenon
of our Eidain being observed not only on more than two different
days in different parts of the world, but also on different days at the
same place! And, we remain blissfully unaware that calendars based on such
a principle would be unfit and inadequate for international transactions
and dealings.
7. Aren't we aware that the interpretation we have given to verse 2.185
is rather a stretched one? We indeed are! But then we had to find some
Qur'aanic support for a hadheeth we're accustomed to believe in,
more passionately.
8. English translation of one version of the hadheeth in question
goes as follows: "The Prophet (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam) said: 'If
you sight it (the new moon of Ramadaan), then fast and if you sight it
(the new moon of Shawaal), then end the fast. And if it is obscured from
you, then complete thirty days (of Sha'baan)'". There may be different
versions of the hadheeth in different books of ahaadheeth,
but the point to be noted in all the versions is that the Prophet had laid
emphasis on the sighting of the new moon for ending the month (either Shaabaan
or Ramadhaan) on 29th day.
9. Anything in the ahaadheeth, as reportedly said by the Prophet,
is absolutely sacrosanct for us. So we twist the meaning of verse 2.185
to bring it in tune with the hadheeth quoted above. Never mind the
fact that the hadheeth got recorded in writing centuries after the
death of the Prophet. We give scant thought to the prospect that the
hadheeth could have been contaminated with the personal words of,
not one, but a chain of narrators, in the centuries-long meantime!
10. But had we been a little more sincere in our belief that the Qur'aan
is the perfect Book from the Perfect Creator, we would not have been disappointed
for long. Just 3 verses away from verse 2.185 is verse 2.189. It reads,
"They ask you about the new moons. Say, 'These are fixed points of Time
for Mankind and for the Pilgrimage.' ..." Let us now sincerely and deeply
ponder over this divine statement.
11. Verse 2.189 specifically mentions the new moon. It is obviously
therefore more relevant to the issue in hand than verse 2.185. And yet
we have ignored verse 2.189. Reasons? We don't know; and even if we know,
we don't wish to give expression to those reasons.
12. It is also interesting to note that the new moons are spoken of
as points in time - points to demarcate fixed periods of time - for
the entire Mankind. The periods of time so determined should be so
as to be applicable to all the nations on earth. Our Wise Lord therefore
did purposely not put the condition of sighting the new moon for
the determination of those points in time. The Creator of all things in
the Universe knew that the new moon is a celestial phenomenon that occurs
when the moon just slips off the straight line, in between the earth and
the Sun. HE knew that this phenomenon occurs exactly at a predetermined
point in time. And He knew that in course of time He would be pleased to
impart this knowledge to Mankind.
13. But this knowledge was not given to the people among whom the Prophet
lived. He (the Prophet) had no alternative then but to tell his people
to sight the new moon to determine whether any particular lunar month would
end on its 29th day!
14. But we, whom Allah has given the knowledge, fail to understand
this apparent dichotomy between what the Prophet reportedly said and what
Allah, through the Qur'aan, says. We fail to understand that the hadheeth
was time-specific, while the Qur'aan was meant to cover all times till
the Last Day. We fail to understand that the Muslim community during the
time of the Prophet had not spread to all parts around the earth as it is
spread today.
15. We do accept the sunset and sunrise timings at a given place without
actually sighting the sun set or rise. Even for the purposes of our prayers!
Likewise we should have no reservations in our minds on accepting the scientifically
determined new moon timings. Based on these fixed timings, a common Islamic
lunar calendar for international use can be drawn up by Muslims of all nations
sitting together in a conference.
16. The All-knowing Allah has left enough scope for such a conference
to use its discretion to work out the detailed procedure for arriving at
the common calendar after proper and meticulous studies. The conference
could consider adapting the methodology adopted for the Gregorian calendar
to the special needs of a lunar calendar. The Qur'aan would require the conference
only to base their deliberations, taking the fixed new moon timings as the
reference points.