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From: skhan@uwovax.uwo.ca (S. KHAN)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: MOON SIGHTING QUESTIONS AND RESPONSE
Message-ID: <1991Apr17.205157.3402@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 17 Apr 91 20:51:57 GMT
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In response to my earlier note on WHEN IS EID DAY, I have received 
the following from a netter. I failed to recognize his/her name
from the e-mail. I hope the answer could be beneficial for others,
as well, so I have decided to post it in the net.


Date:         Wed, 17 Apr 91 11:16:29 EST
From:         ONA100C@oduvm.cc.odu.edu
Subject:      Re: WHEN IS EID DAY?
To:           skhan@uwovax.uwo.ca

DEAR Mr SKHAN ,WE AS MOSLIMS DO NOT FAST IN RAMADAN BECAUSE WE LIKE IT MORE 
THAN ANY OTHER MONTH,INSTEAD WE FAST BECAUSE ALLAH ORDERED US TO FAST IN 
RAMADAN.  ALSO DO NOT FORGET THAT ALLAH HAS SPECIFIED AND TOLD US HOW TO 
DETECT THE MONTH OF RAMADAN OR SHAWWAL; WHEN THE PROPHET SAID CLEARLY THAT 
WE SHOULD AND I REPEAT SHOULD DETECT THE MONTH OF RAMADAN OR SHAWWAL BY THE 
MEANS OF SIGHTING ONLY AND HE DID NOT SAY CALCULATE IT OR PREDICT IT.YOU 
MIGHT SAY THERE WAS NO COMPUTERS AT HIS TIME OR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY ,AND 
I SAY ISLAM IS APPLICABLE IN ALL PLACES AND AT ALL TIMES.  AND DO NOT FORGET 
THE BASIC IDEA BEHIND ALL OF THAT WHICH IS THAT WE FAST FOR ALLAH WHENEVER 
HE WANTS OR TELLS US TO FAST WHETHER SCIENTIFICALLY IT WAS ACTUALLY RAMADAN 
OR NOT. SO,ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS TO DETECT THE CRESCENT BY TRYING TO SIGHT IT,
AND IF ANY RELIABLE MOSLIM IN ANY PLACE AROUND THE WORLD CLAIMS THAT HE HAS 
SEEN THE CRESCENT, WE SHOULD BELIEVE HIM AND FOLLOW HIM WHETHER IT WAS 
ACTUALLY (SCIENTIFICALLY) RAMADAN OR NOT.  FINALLY I HOPE YOU REPLY AND TELL 
ME YOUR POINT OF VIEW . ASSALAM ALAIKUM


Dear Muslims;

Thanks for sending me the note. I am pleased to tell you that I try my
best to see the crescent from boyhood. But don't tell me to look into the 
sky on the 27th day of any month to see the moon. If we can not see it
(even if actually the crescent is in the sky) and we want to follow
the sunnah, then we must complete 30 days of the month before starting
a new month. Don't be in hurry to accept an unrealistic claim of some
one.

Please note the following points:

1. Do we brake our fast after actually observing yourself the sun set?
Or by taking the witness of any other Muslim?

2. Do we ever stop eating suhur after trying to distinguish the difference
between the white and black thread?

3. Do we face towards KABA by your intuitional assessment of its direction
at the time of prayers?

4. If you recommend to accept the claim of moon sighting of any Muslim
anywhere in the world as the beginning of Islamic month through out the
globe, then how do you take care of time difference in various places?
Why did't the sahaba's accepted the claims of moon sighting at Syria in Medina?

5. Do we pray morning prayer at the same time through out the world?

The answers to the above questions reveal the fact that there is 
time differences at different places and that we depend on the
reliable knowledge (calculations) to do our worshiping.

Please note that there are numerous verses in the Qur'an that affirms
that the creation of the earth and other bodies in the universe are
calculated (husban) and each has fixed destiny (taqdir). Day and night,
sun and moon has a fixed cycle. Please refer to Mourice Buchaile's book :
The Bible, the Qur'an and the Science, for detail.

Muslims are asked to seek knowledge (not only calculation) even for
that needs to go to China.
Over the centuries people have observed the motion and cycles of the
moon and sun. The prayer time table or the direction of kaba compass are
the results of astronomical calculation. If we can follow them five times
a day without raising any question, why should we be mad for to accept the 
same principle (based on the Qur'an) to determine the Islamic months?

I know about the sahada. But, question is should we believe the 
claims of observing a non-existent moon? Or a moon that is too immatured
to be visible? You may have known the unbelievable news of 28 days of fasting
in Ramadan. This is due to such claim. If there is a crescent in the 
sky and if one person can see it, what is wrong with the other people?
What about the millions to the west of that person? Why should one see 
the crescent for one second only? Why should it not be on the correct
position and direction? Lots of questions can be asked about it.

I don't know any of the Muslim astronomers tells us not to try to see
the crescent. I must agree with them. At the sametime if we have 
reliable guidance about the occurance and earliest visibility of the
the crescent based on science, what prevents us to utilize that to
make our task easier?

I hope I have addressed your concerns in a nutshell.

For further information one may contact Dr. Omar Afzal, Cornell Univesity,
Ithaca, NY. He heads the Committee for the Observations of the Crescent.


Shahjahan Khan Mukul