*Moonsighting: The Beautiful
Sunnah Revival*
I remember when I was a
little girl, we would go up to the roof of our house on the 29th of Sha’baan
and try to look for the new moon of Ramadan.
It brings backs fond
memories to the mind, and I can’t help but smile at the happiness and
excitement that I felt as a child, trying to sight the new moon, perching on
tiptoes, competing with my brother to spot it before he could!
Will we begin fasting
tomorrow?
Will it be Ramadan?
And when we did actually
see it, the delight…indescribable,
the giggles…uncontrollable!
Sighting the moon was
such a sweet joyful experience and it was part of the whole spirit of Ramadan.
It only added to the
sacred beauty and sanctity of the blessed month, and to our worship [Ibaadah]
and submission to Almighty Allaah.
And now, many years
later, as another Ramadan approaches us, I look forward to another chance to
look for the moon, this time with my kids, teaching them the importance of this
Sunnah, sharing with them their innocent joy and excitement…their delight at
seeing the bright crescent that brings glad tidings of a blessed month full of
mercy and barakah.
And why shouldn’t it be
so?
Yet nowadays, people have
abandoned this beautiful Sunnah and have resorted to calculations, without even
attempting to sight the moon.
They just sit at home,
rely on a calendar, and start their fasting based on calculations.
They forget that, to
search for the new moon is an ACT OF IBAADAH and a means of EARNING REWARD from
Allaah.
The Order from Almighty
Allaah is to SEE the new moon.
Allaah Has commanded us
to SEE the moon and then to start fasting.
He said:
فَمَن
شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ
“So, whoever among you
sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan), he must
observe sawm (fast) that month…”
[ Quran- A-Baqarah 2:185]
Here Allaah uses the
word شَهِدَ which means to SEE something with the eye.
It is the SUNNAH of our
beloved Prophet [Sallal Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam]
The Sunnah is ‘seeing’
and not mere 'knowledge' of moon’s existence above the horizon.
There is a major
difference between the 'birth' of the moon and actually 'seeing' it.
The moon might be 'born'
but it is not always possible to immediately 'see' it.
It may NOT be visible to
the human eye.
We need to realize that
the month of Ramadan does not begin with the 'birth' of the moon.
It does not even begin
when it becomes 'possible' to sight the moon.
The month of Ramadan
begins according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah [Sallal
Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam], with the actual
SIGHTING of the moon.
This means a human EYE
has to ‘see’ the crescent of Ramadan.
There are many, many
Ahaadees encouraging us to ‘look’ (with our eyes) for the new moon.
🌿 The Prophet [Sallal Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] said:
“Do not fast until you
‘SEE’ the new moon, and do not stop fasting until you ‘SEE’ it, and if it is
concealed by clouds then count out (the thirty days of Sha’baan ) for it.”
(Bukhaari, Muslim).
Reflect on the words of
the Prophet [Sallal Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam].
What is he telling us to
do?
He is clearly telling us
to start and stop fasting when we sight the moon and then he's saying something
really important.
He's telling us "if
it is concealed by clouds".
That means that he is
well aware of the fact that the moon might be behind the clouds.
So, it is 'born'.
It is there behind the
clouds.
It is present.
Yet if we cannot SEE it,
we are not supposed to start fasting, even if it is there behind the clouds.
Nothing could be clearer
than that!
Hazrat Aaishah (Radiyal
Laah Anha) said:
"The Prophet [Sallal
Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] used to count the days in
Sha’baan more carefully than at any other time, then he would fast when he
SIGHTED (the new moon) of Ramadan."
(Al-Daaraqutni--Saheeh).
The Sahaabah would
actually SIGHT the moon:
🔹Fadl said:
“I SAW the new moon (of Ramadan)
on Friday. I then came back to Madinah at the end of the month.
Hazrat Abdul laah ibn
Abbas asked me (about the new moon of Ramadan) and said: When did you SEE it?
I said: We SAW it on
Friday night.
He said: (Did) you SEE it
yourself?
I said: Yes, and the
people also SAW it, so they observed fast and Mu’awiyah also observed fast.”
(Saheeh Muslim)
🔹And Hazrat Anas ibn Maalik [Radiyal Laah Anhu] said:
"We were with ‘Umar between
Makkah and Madinah and we LOOKED for the new moon. I was a man who had keen
eyesight and I SIGHTED it..."
Now if something is a
clear Order of Allaah, an established Sunnah of the Prophet [Sallal
Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] and an undisputed
practice of the Sahaabah, why would anyone want to go against it or do
otherwise?
Yet there are people who
resort to calculating the beginning or end of an Islaamic month.
Almighty Allaah knew
exactly what progress would be made in astronomy and other sciences over the
years.
He knew that there would
come a time when it would be easy to calculate the birth of the moon.
Yet, in spite of that, He
ordered us with His Infinite Knowledge and Wisdom, to 'see' the new moon and He
instructed His Messenger [Sallal Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] to teach his Ummah the same.
🔺Argument:
“But there were no
calculations back then. So can I resort to calculations now?”
Now someone might say
that at the time of the Prophet [Sallal Laahu Alaieh Wa
Sallam] there were no
calculations, but now that we do, what's the harm in it?
But the fact of the
matter is that astronomical calculations DID exist at the time of the Prophet [Sallal
Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] and even way before that.
Astronomy and its
calculations have been around for literally thousands of years before the
Prophet [Sallal Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] 's time, some even say as early as around 2000 BC.
Yet he [Sallal Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] specifically told us NOT to calculate the birth of the moon; rather he told us to try and see it.
He [Sallal Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] said:
“We are an *unlettered*
nation, we do not *write or calculate*.
The month is such-and-such” and he gestured with his hands three times, and held down his thumb the third time, then he said, “or the month is such-and-such” and he gestured with all of his fingers, meaning that the month may be twenty-nine days, or it may be thirty.”
(Al-Bukhaari, Muslim)
In this hadees, when the
Prophet [Sallal Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] is saying that "we do not write or calculate", he is
telling us to stay away from calculating the birth of the new moon and that
there is no need to resort to astronomical calculations.
He [Sallal
Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] is not telling us to be
ignorant or uneducated.
He is also not saying
that Muslims shouldn't calculate other things.
Actually, if you think
about it, Islaam is the religion of knowledge.
In order for us to be
good practicing Muslims, we have to CALCULATE.
Don't we calculate Zakaat
every year?
Doesn't inheritance and
the distribution of property after someone dies require calculations?
This hadees is
specifically telling us to stay away from ‘calculations’ of the “new moon”.
🔹 Ibn Taymiyah said:
"It is a basic fact
of Islaam that we must SIGHT the crescent moon with regard to fasting, Hajj, ‘iddah,
and other rulings that are connected to the lunar calendar.
There are many texts from
the Prophet which indicate that, and the Muslims are unanimously agreed on
that.
NO difference of opinion
was known concerning that in the past or in modern times, apart from some
fuqaha’ after the third century AH, who claimed that if the new moon is covered
by clouds, it is permissible for an astronomer to follow calculations himself,
so that if his calculations indicate that the moon could have been sighted, he
may fast, otherwise he should not.
This view, even though it
is subject to the condition that there be clouds and it applies only to the
astronomer, it is an ODD VIEW that is outweighed by the consensus on the
opposite view. With regard to following calculations when the sky is clear or
applying the results of the calculations to the general public, this is
something that No Muslim has EVER suggested.
The scholars were
unanimously agreed that it is not permissible to rely on calculations for
proving the beginning and end of the fast and so on.
Al-Haafiz narrated in
al-Fath (4/127) that al-Baaji said:
"The CONSENSUS of
the Salaf is that calculations should not be relied on, and their consensus is
PROOF for those who come after them."
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa)
🔹The Council of Senior Scholars issued an important statement on
this topic:
"The Council has
studied the issue of proving the new moon by means of calculation, and what has
been narrated in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and they have studied the comments of
the scholars on this matter.
They have decided UNANIMOUSLY that astronomical calculations carry no weight in determining the new moon with regard to Islamic matters, because the Holy Prophet [Sallal Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] said,
“Fast when you see it and stop fasting when you see it.”
And he said:
“Do not fast until you
see it, and do not stop fasting until you see it.”
And because of other
evidence to that effect."
(Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah, 10/102)
Can we use a TELESCOPE to
spot the moon?
It is permissible to use telescopes etc. to sight the moon, because the telescope is just an aid to assist the human EYE, and it is different from calculating the time of the birth of the moon.
Shaikh Ibn Uthaymeen said:
“With regard to using a
telescope to see the crescent, there is nothing wrong with it, but it is not
necessary, because the apparent meaning of the Sunnah is that we should rely
upon ordinary sighting and not anything else. But if it is used and the moon is
sighted by a trustworthy person, then this sighting may be acted upon.
In the past, the people
used that because they used to climb up the minarets on the night before the
30th of Sha’baan and the night before the 30th of Ramadan and look for it by
means of a telescope.”
(Fataawa ‘Ulama’ al-Balad al-Haraam p. 192, 193)
🔹Sighting the new moon of Ramadan is a Farz Kifaayah
The majority of scholars
are of the view that sighting the new moon of Ramadan on the first night of the
month is a Farz Kifaayah
(Communal obligation).
This means that if
everyone abandons 'looking' for the moon, then we are all sinful.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
said:
"It is obligatory to
witness the new moon for establishing certain acts of worship.
If these acts are
obligatory, such as fasting Ramadan and Hajj, then witnessing the new moon also
becomes obligatory on at least a part of the Muslim Ummah (Fardh Kifaayah).
That is because, “what is
necessary to fulfill the requirements of an obligation is an obligation
itself.”
🌿The Sunnah Dua upon seeing the new moon:
The Prophet [Sallal
Laahu Alaieh Wa Sallam] even taught us the dua to
read when we see the new moon.
He used to say:
اللهُ
أَكْـبَر، اللّهُمَّ أَهِلَّـهُ عَلَيْـنا بِالأمْـنِ وَالإيمـان، والسَّلامَـةِ
والإسْلام، وَالتَّـوْفيـقِ لِما تُحِـبُّ رَبَّنـا وَتَـرْضـى، رَبُّنـا
وَرَبُّكَ الله
Allaah Hu Akbar. Allaah Humma
Ahlilhu ‘Alayna Bi’l-Yumni Wa’l-Eemaan Wa’l-Salaamah Wa’l-Islaam. Rabbiy Wa
Rabbuka Allaah
Allaah Is the Greatest.
O Allaah, make the new
moon rise on us with blessing, faith, safety and Islam. My Lord and Your Lord
is Allaah).”
(At-Tirmidhi - saheeh by
al-Albaani)
So, make an effort
tonight to sight the Ramadan moon with full attention and eagerness and say
this prayer if you see it.
And Allaah knows best.
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