{ முகநூல் கருத்துக்கள்}{ட்விட்டர் கருத்துக்கள்}

Every year - almost without fail - the issue of sighting of the Moon to begin and end the month of Ramadhan - divides the Muslim community across the World - including Kayalpatnam. The argument broadly falls into two categories: Should there be a physical sighting of the Moon or can we go by astronomical calculations that prove a Crescent would be visible given there is no cloud cover?

Within these two viewpoints, there also exists many variant views. For example, many who insist on physical sighting of the Moon cannot agree on the coverage area. Is it acceptable to take into account sightings of the Moon in a far off place like Colombo, Kerala or Saudi Arabia, if you are in Kayalpatnam? Some say yes, others not.

Within the section of the community that accepts calculations should be OK, there are differences over the starting point: Is the Crescent born the moment after Conjunction (New Moon), is it after 7 or so hours after Conjunction (when it is estimated a telescope from Earth could show the Crescent) or is it 15-22 hours after Conjunction (when it should be visible to naked eyes)?

Putting these arguments aside for a while, if we analyse, we would acknowledge that the issue is really our quest to fix the precise moments when some natural phenomenons occur - above anything else.

Take the issue of Sunrise and Sunset - which is a routine and daily occurence in most parts of the world. Even 200 years ago, Sunrise was talked of as something that happened early in the morning and Sunset was talked of as something that happened late in the evening. With the invention of the 24 hour clock (system) within the last few decades, we are more precise with our observations. Instead of a generalised early in the morning, we now are able to be precise and say Sun rises at 6:05 am (in Kayalpatnam on October 11th). Also, with the Sunset - instead of a generalised late in the evening, we now are able to say 6:03 pm (in Kayalpatnam on October 11th). This should be a food for our thought.

A muslim's daily prayers are determined by the position of the Sun over the Sky. The character of Salath is that it demands a practising Muslim to turn to God - to pray - at least five times a day, during different times of the day - in the course of his or her daily life. [The fact that all the muslims - all over the world - do not observe Fajr for example at the same time is used in arguments over the Hijri Calendar/Moon Sighting issue - which if one understands the principles behind Salath - is not logical].

From the Hadith, we learn Fajr is when the twilight begins to appear on the eastern horizon, Luhr is when the Sun begins to pass overhead and the shadow begins to fall on the other side, Asr begins when the length of the shadow of the object in standing equals the height of the object itself, Maghrib is after Sunset and Isha is when the twilight on the western horizon disappears. This is how a Muslim is directed to learn about his Salath times. Today - whether it is a cloudy day or a rainy day, with a watch in their hand, Muslims can perform their Salath on time - absolutely on time - without insisting on calculating the shadow's length etc. This accuracy was not even available during the Prophet's time!

Why does the Muslim community that has happily accepted the astronomical calculation with regard to daily prayers - by and large refuses to do the same when it comes to Hijri Calendar?

Allah says in the Quran - Chapter 10 (Surah Yunus), Verse 5: It is He Who made the Sun to be a shining glory and the Moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time)...

It is clear from this verse (and there are few other similar verses in the Quran) that God directs us to know our time and our calendar from the movements of the Sun and the Moon. Whereas there is no dispute with regard to accepting the time (through the Sun's movement over the horizon), the problems arise with our understanding of the concept of Calendar.

Calendar is something which helps us to plan a few things, agree on certain events (like marriages, travel) in advance. When somebody says they would be arriving at Trivandrum airport on Shabaan 22, there should be no confusion - what Shabaan 22: whether it is the Shabaan 22 of UAE, Shabaan 22 of Kerala or Shabaan 22 of Kayalpatnam. This clarity is the purpose of a Calendar. If a calendar cannot give this clarity, of what use it is? Take the Western Calendar (Gregorian Calendar to be more precise). We realise - even if it is October 11 in India, at the very same moment, it could be October 12 in Australia. There is no confusion at all. We all are able to picture this and understand that this is due to the facts that the earth is a sphere, is rotating on its axis and there is also an imaginary line somewhere between the Americas and Japan/Australia.

We must also recognise, during the Prophet's days, with communication being very primitive, within a single world, many worlds existed. Hence calendar in one region being different from calendar in another region was no issue. One cannot say the same now.

Most in the muslim community cite the hadith: Do not fast unless you sight the crescent, and do not break your fast till you sight the (following) crescent (Al-Bukhari, Vol. 3:130) - to justify their insistance for the physical sighting of the Moon to begin fast in Ramadhan. Yet - one can easily surmise from the life of the Prophet, apart from the indication for the beginning of the month, the shape or appearance of Crescent itself has no religious significance to monotheistic Islam. Many also miss the point that Ramadhan is just one of the 12 months in the Islamic calendar. This month has been termed Holy by God for us to fast. The significance thus is in the month only, not in actually sighting the Moon. The subtle difference in this needs to be understood. One must remember, during the Prophet's time, the only accurate way in which beginning of a month could be known was the sight of the Crescent

Astronomically, the Moon takes about 705 hours to go around the Earth. This roughly works out to to 29 days. New Moon (close to which the Crescent becomes visible on Earth) occurs when the Moon crosses the imaginary straightline that connects the Sun and the Earth. New Moon - thus is a passing moment lasting only seconds and is called the Conjunction by the astronomers. [New Moon can occur at different times of the day and the part of the Earth facing the Sun and the Moon would also very month after month).

During the Prophet's time, there were no tools by which a Muslim can understand that a month has indeed born - at the precise moment it was born. He or she would have to wait certain number of hours for the necessary angle to be formed between the Sun, the Moon and the Earth - so that the Moon (whose back is facing the Sun at the New Moon moment) starts reflecting the rays it receives from the Sun to Earth. This is the Crescent. For it to be visible to naked eye on Earth, the Crescent has to be sufficiently thick. This takes time - in fact several hours. With our knowledge of astronomy, this manual task to observe the Crescent physically - and wait for it to grow to a random thickness - even today - is hard to justify.

The Quranic verse cited above clearly states the Sun and the Moon are there to give us the time and the Calendar (in addition to other roles they perform). Yet - by our insistance on localised observation of the Moon (citywise, statewise, regionwise), we have effectively made the Hijri Calendar a symbolic adornment, rather than something of use in our day-to-day life.

One cannot deny this is a deeply entrenched belief and to some a very emotive one. Hence we must accept it would take many years for the entire muslim community to come to terms with the breadth of the issues this disjointed implementation of Hijri calendar poses. Until then, we must continue putting forth the facts that surround this very important issue.