tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8048953.post2790907913884282343..comments2023-06-19T13:55:49.396+01:00Comments on Radio Shak: Fly Me To The MoonShakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13657830810835591711noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8048953.post-10776214491803916582012-07-19T16:49:51.954+01:002012-07-19T16:49:51.954+01:00Salaams,
Two comments:
1. The knowledge of astron...Salaams,<br />Two comments: <br />1. The knowledge of astronomy to compute the exact birth of the moon etc was already around during the time of the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and in fact, several civilizations in the hundreds of years prior (including the Jews) were already using such "universal" computations to compute their calendar. So if you look at the seerah in light of this *fact*, then your assertion that the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam would do something different now then what they did then doesn't seem to hold any water because they could have already done that *then* if they wanted to and Allah could have prescribed it then as our methodology, but He didn't.<br /><br />2. The statement "witnessing the visible births on different days" reveals exactly the confusion many people fall into. Think for a moment - what do you mean by "day" here? What defines a "day"? The problem is we are all so used to think of a "day" (i.e the 24 hours during which the Gregorian date is the same) as that Western concept based on the Gregorian calendar and the artificially created time zones, international date line, etc. Now, I'm not saying there's anything intrinsically wrong or impermissible about using that method of time/calendar for various purposes, but when it comes to our deeni (religious) matters, the definition of a "day" and "date" is explicitly defined for us already. And if everyone were to follow the moonsighting properly, then *everyone* would in fact be sighting the moon on the same *Islamic* day/date (although it will necessarily span two Western days/dates). This is because the international date line is, again, arbitrarily fixed; whereas when you follow the criterion of the moon, the "date line" so to speak, moves every month and also is not a straight line down one of the longitudinal lines on the earth. And the issue of two localities close to each other seeming to be a whole day apart is just a natural phenomenon and nothing to get upset about. What they did with the IDL (international date line) is draw it in the middle of the ocean so no one really notices it. But if there are some islands out there, one on each side of the IDL, then you would see that they are always one day apart in their dates because that's where the dividing line falls. <br /><br />So, in summary, while you claim to be addressing this from a "scientific" perspective, in fact, your approach is faulty because you're not recognizing some basic assumptions that you're making that are completely artificial and have nothing to do with the natural cycle of the moon. In fact, those who are calling for return to local/regional moonsighting have the soundest scientific basis *as well as* the soundest scriptural and religious basis. And Allah knows best.Nadeem Abdul Hamidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08519496400493216856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8048953.post-82239990922288627392010-12-14T23:13:40.554+00:002010-12-14T23:13:40.554+00:00Anon,
1&2 only hold by your reckoning (or if ...Anon,<br /><br />1&2 only hold by your reckoning (or if you like, the reckoning that you've chosen to follow). I don't think either of these principles are universal, so I'm going to have to reject both assertions as fact. Sorry.<br /><br />As for "event for a place", it's the definition of "place" that I'm actually discussing here. The example of sahaaba is well known, but I guess the counterargument is to say that if we have the technical ability to measure these things, then it's irrelevant what we've been advised to do to resolve differences due to a lack of this ability.<br /><br />To demonstrate that last point, you distinguish between cities and countries in acceptability of difference, yet the only difference between the the two is an arbitrary line drawn on a map by some bloke. I think any opinion on this should transcend accidental decisions like borders.<br /><br />I'm not suggesting that India start their month the exact same minute as Makkah, but instead calculate it locally based on a global event (which it turns out only has an incidental relationship with each other part of the world). In that sense, I'm suggesting that we consider the phases of the moon as a continuous event precisely so that we can do what you advise. The converse (which is what some are doing at the moment) would be to not accept the sun has risen just because we happen to be in a cave - or to think sunset has occurred as soon as the sun disappears behind a tall mountain.<br /><br />And finally, I'm with you on differing - I'm not sure if you followed the link toward the end of my post, but I think that being able to agree to disagree is much more important (and possibly easier to achieve) than establishing a UID.Shakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13657830810835591711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8048953.post-35183298387969839282010-12-14T17:32:18.119+00:002010-12-14T17:32:18.119+00:001 - by asking "what would the prophet s.a.w.s...1 - by asking "what would the prophet s.a.w.s do today" & then answering it, you're assuming that YOU or WE can think like him. That's a big no-no & isn't even reserved for the best of scholars.<br /><br />2 - By saying that you won't quote from the hadith, you are negating the very essence of what we need to follow - the qur'an & the sunnah.<br /><br />People cannot agree on a single UID because of the fact that the true birth itself isn't a fixed event for a place. Everything will eventually go out of sync anyway & lead to the situation we have today - which, among other things, is a lack of understanding of the 'etiquettes of differing'.<br /><br />The ahadith tell us that - the day you sight the moon, is when you start fasting. It is known that at the time of the sahaaba, ramadhan was started on two different days depending on which area sighted the moon. And this was perfectly acceptable. So, two different start dates or dates for events are perfectly fine. It would be better if there aren't two Eids in the same country or city, but across countries, it is fine.<br /><br />By a similar analogy, if the times for prayer can be different for different countries, why not the start date? I mean, people in India don't say, "its Faj'r in mecca now, so lets do Faj'r"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8048953.post-48995001504069726022010-08-18T18:46:43.496+01:002010-08-18T18:46:43.496+01:00What makes you so sure? Do you think he wouldn'...What makes you so sure? Do you think he wouldn't use prayer timetables and microphones now just because he never did back then either?Shakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13657830810835591711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8048953.post-8049490976644484032010-08-18T08:34:52.952+01:002010-08-18T08:34:52.952+01:00But those were his opinions and thoughts, so he ob...But those were his opinions and thoughts, so he obviously would. That is what I meant.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07678747201319313504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8048953.post-66920562240888310932010-08-17T09:51:30.872+01:002010-08-17T09:51:30.872+01:00Humaira - If the Prophet were here, he wouldn'...Humaira - If the Prophet were here, he wouldn't need to follow the hadith.That Mash Guyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16569586702257402565noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8048953.post-11791356353793880012010-08-16T19:07:38.513+01:002010-08-16T19:07:38.513+01:00But that depends on whether moonsighting was just ...But that depends on whether moonsighting was just 'cos there was nothing else with which to measure lunar cycles. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know how important it is here, but the precedent has been set seeing as how we've resolved away lots of impractical measures already in other areas.Shakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13657830810835591711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8048953.post-60423447386395814682010-08-16T12:15:04.598+01:002010-08-16T12:15:04.598+01:00Summary please.
Just kidding, cool post :)
IMO ...Summary please. <br /><br />Just kidding, cool post :)<br /><br />IMO too, if the Prophet PBUH was around, he would choose the third strategy, since it also requires moon sighting to establish the date and therefore follows the Quran pak and Ahadith. It was very important in the Prophet's time to have to look for the new crescent and it shouldn't be forgone completely now for the sake of unity.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07678747201319313504noreply@blogger.com