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We realize time because
we live. And we measure
our time through two
objects of nature, the
sun and the moon. We
mark one day from the
non-stop flow of Time
with sunrise. Every
time the sun rises only
to mark the end of one
day and the beginning of
another. A Day is
further divided into
nights and days, hours,
minutes and seconds. The
natural division of a
day as indicated in the
Qur’aan is through the
declinations of the
sun. |
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Subuh, pre-sunrise prayer, is the first
prayer, thus we do not have to define a
day in any other terms once more nor is
there any problem in finding out when it
starts and ends. When does the day
begin? Our five time prayers tell us
this. The first prayer is Subuh. Thus
the day begins at Subuh Sadik. The day
neither begins with sunrise as was
believed by most till the introduction
of the International Date Line, nor at
sunset. Obviously the last prayer of the
day is Esha.
The week begins on Sunday even according
to the Islamic Calendar. After the Hijra
when the Islamic Calendar came into
being, Sunday continues to be the first
day.
According to Arabic grammar while
listing nouns the masculine is said
first and then the feminine. Thus we
have the expression ‘Lail wa Nahar’
night and day. This does not mean that
night comes before the day. In fact one
Ayath of the Qur’aan states
categorically ‘Valallaylu
saabiqunnahaari’ (36:40) “the night is
not the forerunner of the day”. This
strengthens the argument that the day
begins with the daybreak.
The seven days of a week too receive
sanction in the Traditions. We need not
re-fix it. The Monday morning sun rises
to give birth to a new week and after
the passing of seven days, the sun rises
the following Monday to mark the end of
one week and the beginning of another.
No natural phenomenon marks the
beginning or end of a week. The next
higher unit of time is the month. The
movement of the moon marks the birth of
a month. After the brief conjunction or
Amavasai a part of the moon is visible
to a part of the Earth. It may be day to
others and so they cannot see the
short-lived crescent or their land may
not come under the visibility angle.
However, the fact remains that the month
is born. The crescent waxes and becomes
a full moon. Then it wanes till it
disappears totally. The plain of
rotation of the moon, which is five
degrees slanted, does not allow the
shadow of the moon fall on Earth at
every conjunction or Amavasai. And when
the three come in a line and on the same
plane the shadow of the moon falls on
the earth and an eclipse occurs.
Conjunction marks the end of one month
and gives birth to a new one. Similarly
the time taken for the earth to go one
full circle around the sun is one Solar
year. In lunar terms, the end of twelve
months marks the beginning of a Lunar
year. A Solar year has 365.2422 days. A
Lunar year has 354.3671 days. However
the Qur’aan does not approve of
measuring the year depending on the sun.
The Qur’aan orders mankind to use the
Lunar year, which is free of errors,
which will be explained in due course.
The point very casually made first,
i.e., “After the brief conjunction,
eclipse or Amavasai a part of the moon
is visible to a part of the Earth” is
what is explained through this book.
There is much darkness around this fact.
There is less light and more heat
generated in this area. It is hoped that
this book will throw some light for
people willing to see the truth.
As the beginning of a month depends upon
days and birth of the crescent, it is
important that we know the day on which
the crescent would be born. According to
a popular Tradition the Muslims have
been asked to look for the crescent and
confirm its presence on the western
horizon before starting the fast of the
month of Ramadan and before ending it.
While some understand “see” [Ru’yah]
literally to mean see it with the eyes,
some others take it metaphorically to
mean, “Know”. The Author is a strong
advocate of the latter interpretation.
He quotes many traditions to
substantiate his stand. His argument
that the exact time of the birth of the
crescent can be calculated well in
advance lends validity to his
interpretation. In fact, he has been
calculating the movement of the moon
before every month of Ramadan, Idul
fithr and Idul Adha. He has worked out a
calendar for many years backwards and
forwards. Through this achievement he
has not only given a very practical
interpretation to a very basic Tradition
on the lunar calendar but also impressed
upon the educated the importance of
learning this science. For those who do
not have time and means to learn this he
gives a series of simple formulae to
confirm the dates of the lunar
calendar.
The time of the moonset and sunset is
given in leading newspapers. In order to
find out the date of the Lunar month we
will have to deduct the time of the
sunset from that of the moonset and
divide the remainder by forty-eight.
There are also simple ways of doing this
by looking at the shape of the moon and
its position on the sky at a particular
time. The author argues that at least
the Ulema should learn this in order to
lead the community in the right path.
Today nearly everyone is ignorant of a
science, which our forefathers had
mastered. He gives us simple rules like
the lunar calendar cannot have 30 days
consecutively more than thrice except as
a freak and 29 days more than twice. By
applying these we can avoid mistakes in
our Hilal observations.
The point that is to be highlighted is
that we neither know the science of the
lunar calendar nor are we conscious of
this ignorance. Far from making an
effort to learn this science we pretend
to know it. The disease that we are
ignorant of our ignorance is to be
remedied through this book. It is only
when we know the scope of this subject
that we realize how little we know.
This in-turn would either make us
interested in this subject or at least
dissuade us from taking our own stand
based on our smatterings when we are
faced with the situation of having to
fix a date.
The question of deciding or rather
knowing the right date is very important
in Islam because a series of duties
become incumbent on Muslims on certain
months and dates. What is regularly
done in a month or even a date is not
done on other months and dates. The
most common example for this is eating
and fasting. It is only after knowing
when the month of Ramadan begins does a
Muslim stop eating during the day.
The celebration of Eid ul Fitre too is
linked with the appearing of the
crescent of the Shavval, the tenth month
of the Islamic calendar. One should not
fast on the first day of this month but
celebrate Eid instead. Similarly one
should not fast on the day previous to
the first day of Ramadhan, i.e., on the
last day of Sha’baan. These days are
the bones of contention in the Islamic
world. When the month is calculated
right, there is great confusion among
the Muslims. Missing a day in a month
would amount to a day’s difference for
months together in a calendar.
The Lunar calendars published in India
and the same published in Saudi Arabia
give at least three different dates for
a day anytime in a year. While this
difference, which is not ignorable, does
not attract the attention of the common
man and thereby does not affect his
religious life during most months, it
becomes the topic of discussion for the
entire Islamic world at least twice,
once during the beginning of the month
of fasting and once more during the
celebration of Idul Fitr. The problem
is equally serious on the eve of the
month of Haj, Dulhaj the last month of
the Islamic calendar. However, as mere
celebration of Idul Adha is involved to
most of the people the difference in the
Day of celebration throughout the world
do not strike them as significant
because all of them celebrate on the
same date. This is because they do not
know the significance of Day and Date.
The author takes strong objections to
the confusion in dates created by false
Hijra calendars. The argument that the
crescent of the first day should be
physically seen with the eyes the night
following the 29th is held
strongly by both the learned “Ulema” and
the common man alike. The question of
seeing the crescent does not arise the
night following the 30th of a
month. While one people belonging to one
school of thought wait till they see the
crescent to begin the month, others
either go by calculations like Saudi
Arabia or accept the sighting in any
part of the world. Thus the latter’s
month often begins early. The author is
a strong advocate for both calculating
and accepting the earliest sighting in
the world.
There are two problems involved here.
First of all, not all accept the fact
that another must accept the sighting of
one country. As sight follows from the
East, a group may accept the sighting of
the crescent in an eastern country.
Although the same group accepts the fact
that the crescent that is not visible in
the local sky may be visible in a
neighboring country that is to its west
within a few hours. Accepting this
possibility does not convince them that
the month is born for their country
too. They are willing to believe that
the month that has started in a
neighboring country has not started in
theirs! They believe that the new month
need not start on the same day
throughout the world. To them it can be
Shaban in one country and Ramadan in
another or Ramadan in one country and
Shawwal in another. They do not even
consider this a sin. What is worse
sometimes is that there are three dates
in the world. One country delays by not
one day but two in accepting the arrival
of the new month. The problem does not
end here, but the error continues not
only throughout the month but also in
determining the sighting of the crescent
for the following month. Thus the error
is perpetuated from year to year.
The consequence is the existence of not
two but three lunar calendars in the
Muslim world. The Muslims consider
certain days special and certain others
normal on the basis of the calendar that
is printed and circulated in their
society. Finally it is both the Ulemah
and the false Hijra calendars printed
without caring to verify the dates with
the objects on the sky which are
responsible for retaining the people in
a month that has passed and delaying
them from entering into the next month
promptly.
The interesting phenomenon here is that
usually the Muslim world is behind time
and not ahead of it. If one section is
ahead of time another behind and the
rest on time the problem would have been
still more difficult to solve. Now it is
only a matter of convincing the late
entrants to enter on time. The first
task before us is to explain the concept
of time to the people.
The time difference that exists from
country to country is obviously because
of the rotation of the earth. It
anticipates sunlight–day and avoids
sunlight–night. However this hour
difference does not result in two
different twenty-four hour days. It may
be that Friday has started in Fiji and
it is Thursday in Samoa. But the time
difference between both these points is
less than twenty-four hours. In fact the
maximum time difference between two
distant places on earth is twelve hours.
Perhaps this is the only existing time
difference on earth. If the crescent of
Ramadan is visible in the sky in some
part of the Earth or if the crescent of
Ramadan is born in the sky but not
visible anywhere on Earth, it is Ramadan
for the whole world. The simple logic is
that there is only one day/date on
Earth, only one month on earth and one
year on earth. As the Moon is the clock
that shows the time to the inhabitants
of the Earth, it cannot show two dates
and consequently two months at the same
time. The question of three days sounds
highly fantastic and it ridicules the
very idea of a calendar. The people of
the Earth must be reminded of this basic
fact.
Another major doubt in the minds of the
people is with the possibility of
predicting the movement of the Moon.
Once you accept that like the Sun, the
moon too moves in a definite orbit
following the laws of its Creator you
will accept the calculations made about
the movements of the Moon. One wonders
how the same mind that agrees with the
fact that the Sun’s movements can be
calculated for many years in advance
disagrees with the fact that the moon’s
movements can also be calculated for
many years in advance. There is a reason
for this contradiction. The common man
does not follow the existing solar
calendar just because he is convinced
with it. He follows it just because
there is only one of its kinds. And how
is it that there is only one solar
calendar and not two or three as is the
case with the lunar calendars? The first
point is that it is midnight twelve (in
London) and twelve noon at the Date line
that marks the beginning of a day. Any
other happening in the sky does not mark
the end of a day and the beginning of a
new one. That the Sun has to rise and
set to mark every day is taken for
granted. Obviously the time can be
clearly checked in most sea coasts.
The duration of each month is found even
in nursery rhymes. Thirty days hath
September April June and November. And
all the rest have thirty one excepting
February alone which has only eight and
a score till leap year brings in one day
more. Giving a certain number of
pre-fixed days to each year does not
mean that year is exactly that long
only. The difference in time, which we
miss to tabulate in our solar calendars,
shows its unpleasant shadows in terms of
days lost. When we look at the history
of the Gregorian calendar we learn that
it was altered more than once with a
view to synchronizing the dates that the
calendar shows and the dates that the
Sun shows. Thus in 8 BC Augustus Caesar
altered the Julian calendar introduced
by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. He wanted to
give 31 days to August, a month named
after him, instead of the original 30
days. As 10 days had to be dropped from
it in 1582 this calendar was renamed
Gregorian calendar in memory of Pope
Gregory XIII. As the length of a day in
the solar calendar is not the same, the
length of a month and a year too are not
the same. Thus the speed of the rotation
of the earth is not a perfect guideline
to measure the length of a day.
The Sun is not a dependable calendar
that can be used by man who has to
record history too. But the Sun is an
effective watch to show the time of the
day, nothing less, nothing more.
How about the Moon? It is a perfect
calendar as already pointed out. We can
depend on it. We can work it backwards
to arrive at the exact days of
historical events. We can calculate
forwards to know the time of Moon set
and Moonrise. And this is enough to tell
us when the month will begin. As the
movement of the Moon follows certain
rules, it is a matter of finding out
these rules. The author has tabulated a
calendar that goes backwards and
forwards through centuries. Further we
can calculate the exact day and date of
any event in history through a simple
method. This calculation tallies with
the known dates and days in Islamic
history. For example the agreed fact in
Islamic history is that the Holy Prophet
(saw) gave his historical talk to more
than one lakh companions on the 9th
day of Zul Haj, the last month of the
Islamic calendar. We can work back to
confirm this. However when we work
backward, the false calendars miss a day
or two.
One need not be shocked at the fallible
nature of the solar calendar. In fact,
we are bound to err and we are destined
to keep changing our calendar if we base
it on the Sun. The Sun is not meant
to be a calendar. We get this startling
truth from the Qur’aan.
When the companions of the Holy Prophet
(saw) asked the Prophet (saw) how the
moon changed the phases, the Holy
Prophet (saw) replied that it was a
calendar. His answers provide clues to
so many questions unsolved by our
scientists up to the first man landing
on the Moon and even now. When Allah (swt)
Himself has called the Moon a calendar,
can there be any defect in this
calendar?
The present interpretation of the
various traditions of the Holy Prophet
(saw) that has resulted in two lunar
calendars, as against the true one,
should clearly be a gross
misinterpretation. There can neither be
more than one lunar calendar nor can any
other object that has not got Allah’s
sanction as a calendar considered one.
Thus Allah (swt) has not called the Sun
a calendar but He has called the Moon.
And the fact that a Calendar has got
Allah’s sanction demands our
consideration in that and it alone has
to be accepted as the point of our time
reference.
The case is different with the Moon.
It’s rising that is, visibility is a
problem on the first day if the sky is
not clear and not within the visibility
angle. The concession given by Allah (swt)
is that when one cannot decide the first
crescent on the 29th night
one should complete 30. This is the only
thing possible. However, when one
observes the Moon regularly for many
years the seemingly unpredictable
movement of the moon becomes predictable
as said in the Qur’aan: (55:5)
The argument has come one full circle.
The writings of the author should be
more meaningful to the beginners of this
discipline against the background of
what has been said. I should accept the
fact that all that I have said so far
and in the rest of this book is an echo
of the author’s ideas. I have enjoyed
his intellectual and spiritual
companion-ship for over a decade. The
fact that a layman like me is able to
write on this topic is a testimony to
his influence on the educated. One only
needs to listen to him patiently and
with an open mind. Patience and open
mindedness is what is needed to
appreciate the views of the author, Ali
Manikfan, the unschooled but self-taught
genius.
Calendars
The aims of this section are two fold.
The first aim is to demonstrate the
validity of the lunar calendar. And the
second but incidentally the very
important aim is to find out the right
dates for various events in the life of
the Holy Prophet (saw).
The Holy Prophet (saw) was born on
Monday 14-03-53BH. According to the
Arabic calendar it is recorded that the
Prophet (saw) was born on 12th
Rabiul Awwal (12-03-53). There is no
controversy over the date 12-3-53 BH, of
the Arabic calendar or the day, Monday.
The controvercy, however is over the the
date of his birth in AD calculated as on
20-4-571AD. When we check up the
equivalent date in the solar calendar,
it is 05-05-570 AD a Monday. On the
strength of the historical evidence
pointed out earlier and from what the
calendar shows it becomes clear that the
Holy Prophet (saw) was born on
14-03-53BH a Monday. Of the thirteen
important events quoted here for date
fixation, nine of them took place on a
Monday. Further the confirmed and
accepted date of the demise of the Holy
Prophet (saw) is 14-03-11AH a Monday.
The Holy Prophet (saw) was born and died
on the same day: 14-03 a Monday. He was
born and died on full Moon day of Rabiul
Awwal.
With 14-03-53AH = 05-05-570AD, Monday as
the point of reference we can count the
number of days the Holy Prophet (saw)
lived in this world, pausing at eleven
events in between his birth and death.
This account should tell us how long he
lived.
He received the first revelation Wahi on
27-09-13BH = 01-09-609, Monday. This
historical event took place exactly
14365 days after the birth of the Holy
Prophet (saw). The Prophet (saw) was 40
years and 190 days old according to the
lunar calendar and 39 years and 125 days
old according the solar calendar. A
lunar year is 354.3671 days long and a
solar year is 365.2422 days long. The
general statement that the Holy Prophet
(saw) received Prophet Hood at forty
should not be taken literally. The first
Wahi being in the ninth month of
Ramadan, the Holy Prophet (saw) who was
born in the third month of Rabiul Awwal
could not have been exactly forty during
his first Wahi. The two dates of the two
calendars given can be verified by
dividing the days by the length of the
year:
14365 / 354.3671 = lunar years
14365 / 365.2422 = solar years
The readers may convert the days into
the lunar and solar months through the
above simple method and count the years
from birth to death.
The third important event in the life of
the Holy Prophet (saw) was his departure
from home on 27-02-00BH = 18-09-621AD,
a Thursday (Eve of Friday). The time gap
between the first Wahi and this event
was 4400 days. The general belief is
that the Prophet (saw) preached in
Makkah for 13 years. As the objective
of this book is to make the world Muslim
community time conscious, it is but
proper to know the exact time gap
between the events. The Prophet (saw)
preached in Makkah for 12 years and 147
days according to the lunar calendar and
12 years and 17 days according to the
solar calendar. One can calculate with
his calculator to find this out. This
is not to call the earlier historian
wrong. Usually fractions are rounded off
to the nearest zero for convenience of
speech. Thus roughly speaking it is 13
years. However, as this section
attempts at date fixation even a day
counts.
The Holy Prophet (saw) went to the Thowr
cave and hid there for 3 days. Then he
proceeded to Quba on 01-03-00BH =
21-09-621AD Monday. That month of Safar
had 29 days.
27-02-00, Friday 28 Saturday, 29 Sunday
and 01-03-00BH Monday
He traveled for 8 days (Monday to
Monday) and reached Quba on 08-03-00BH =
28-09-621AD Monday. He stayed a week in
Quba and reached Medina on 15-03-00BH =
05-10-621AD Monday. Although Hijrath
started the moment the Holy Prophet
(saw) left his home, 01-01-01AH was
exactly 300 days after Hijrath. Much
took place during the 0 year. If we
could calculate the progress of time in
terms of days there will be no
confusion. The Prophet (saw) lived in
Medina from 15-03-00BH. However, as the
month was Rabiul Awwal, there were nine
more months for the New Year. A
calendar is a continuum. It is man who
has to describe his activities with
reference to time that is always on the
move. There is a general misconception
that the Islamic lunar calendar started
with the Hijrath of the Holy Prophet
(saw). An artificial lunar calendar was
in vogue during the pre-Islamic period.
The number of days in a month was fixed
and the difference that arose in course
of time was adjusted by the introduction
of a leap year, adding one day to the
last month which had 29 days. It had
twelve months. Muharram was the first
month and Dul Hajj was the last. When
the Holy Prophet (saw) reached Medina he
did not change the calendar. He did not
call the 1st day in Medina
01-01-01 AH. He accepted the sanctity
of the order of the months as man
followed this Allah given order right
from the start. So the first of the
first month of Muharram of the first
year was 01-01-01AH, a Thursday.
The Holy Prophet (saw) waited for the
year to finish and the count of years
started from one when the New Year was
born. As Islam saw rapid growth only
after the Hijrath it is but natural to
begin the count of the year afresh.
However, historians should not forget to
add the 300 days while calculating the
life span of the Holy Prophet (saw).
And they will have to understand the
reason for the delay of nine months
before the new Islamic lunar calendar
came into vogue. 01-01-01AH =
15-07-622AD was a Thursday. 193 days
later during an Asar prayer the order
for the change of Kiblah was given on
17-07-01AH = 24-01-623 AD, a Monday.
The order to fast was sent 27 days later
on 15-08-01AH = 21-02-623AD, a Monday.
The historical battle of Badre was
fought 32 days after on 17-09-01 AH =
25-03-623 AD Thursday (Eve of Friday).
9 years and 42 days later the baby boy
of the Holy Prophet (saw) Ibrahim (R)
expired on 30-10-10AH = 27-01-632 AD, a
Monday. The well-known Hajjathul wida
took place 38 days later on 09-12-10 AH
= 05-03-632AD, Thursday (Eve of Friday).
Finally the Holy Prophet (saw) died 93
days after on 14-03-11AH = 08-06-632AD a
Monday.
Of the thirteen events listed nine of
them took place on a Monday. The other
events took place on a Thursday. The
first day of the first month of the
first year was a Thursday. His
departure from home, the battle of Badre
and the Hajjathul Wida fell on a
Thursday (eve of Friday). There is an
ambiguity because the Arabs usually
refer a day by Youm or Lailah.
The Holy Prophet (saw) lived from
14-03-53BH = 05-05-570AD, a Monday to
14- 03-11AH = 08-06-632 AD, a Monday. He
lived for 22680 days and a few hours in
all. When we calculate the days in
terms of solar years we get:
22680 /365.2422 = 62 years and 35
days
One has to be careful when telling how
long the Holy Prophet (saw) lived. If
you follow the Lunar year you have to
say 64 years. If you follow the solar
year you have to say 62 years. If you
say 63 years, then you are falling in
line with the historians who have missed
the 300 days from the lunar calendar.
It is high time we set right our dates
too.
A calendar is a system for the reckoning
the passing of time. The principal
problem in drawing calendars arises from
the fact that the solar day, the lunar
month and the tropical year- the most
immediate time unit – are not simple
multiples of each other. In practice a
solution is found in basing the system
either on the phases of the moon (lunar
calendar) or on changing of the seasons
(solar calendar). The difficulty that
the days eventually get out of step with
the moon or the seasons is got over by
adding in (intercalating) one or more
extra days or months at regular
intervals in an extended cycle of months
or years. These types of calendars are
artificial calendars.
The earliest Egyptian calendar had a
year of 12 months with 30 days each,
though later 5 extra days were added at
the end of each year so that it
approximated the tropical year of 365.25
days. In the classical times, the Greeks
came to use a lunar calendar in which 3
extra months were intercalated every
eight years (octannial cycle). Through
about 432BC the astronomer Meton
discovered that 235 lunar months fitted
exactly into 19 solar years (Metonic
cycle), this being the basis of the
modern Jewish and ecclesiastical
calendars.
The Roman calendar was reformed under
Julius Caesar in 46 BC fixing the year
at 365 days but interclatating an
additional day every fourth year, (this
giving an average 365.25 day-year). This
Julian calendar was adopted by the
Christians, who called it Anno Domini
and it continued in use until 16th
century when it had become about 10 days
out of step with the seasons, the
tropical year infact being a little less
than 365.25 day-year.
In 1582 AD Pope Gregory xiii ordered to
omit 10 days from that year and not to
give a leap year for century years
unless divisible by 400 so that there
would be no recurrence of any
discrepancy in future. But since the
error of one day occurs in about 127
years, this adjustment will not make it
fully error-free. This calendar was
called Gregorian calendar.
This Gregorian calendar was only sowly
adopted particularly in non-Catholic
countries, the reform waiting until 1752
AD in England and its American colonies
by which time 11 days had to be dropped.
But in spite of all these defects it is
still in civil use throughout the world
even today. Various proposals for
further reforms of this calendar have
come to nothing.
The Hijra calendar
At the time of advent othe last Prophet
of God Muhammed Mustafa (saw) the Jews
were using an artificial lunar calendar.
The Arabs too used it. The Prophet (saw)
was born on the 12th of
Rabiul Awwal according to the Jewish
calendar. The Prophet (saw) did not
approve this artificial lunar calendar
for the Muslims. In his last days he
gave orders to revive the ancient
natural lunar calendar fixing the months
at 29 or 30 according to the appearing
of the Hilals, the dates tallying with
the phaces of the Moon as commended in
the Quraan. He banned the use of leap
years and orderd to fix the months
according to the Manazil of the moon so
that the calendar would be totally
scientific and free of error. In this
system the dates can be calculated up to
infinity. It is a perpetual calendar for
mankind, which can be computed
mathematically.
Islamic date line
We need a point of reference a Date line
on earth itself to count its rotation
which marks the day. This point would
mark the beginning of the day. This
count can be taken accurately only at
noon when the point is geocentrically
straight to the sun. Towards the west of
this point the new day begins while
towards the east the old day is ending.
As the point of reference would have two
days meeting at noon when he people are
at work, it cannot be on land where
people live. Further, this point ought
to be a line running from north to south
of the earth. Now the whole line has to
continuously pass through the sea
avoiding land. When we search for such a
point on earth we find it between Russia
and Alaska. Interestingly this is the
place where the Internationnal Date Line
runs through. The day begins with this
line which comes straight to the sun at
noon. So the day begins on earth at 12
(mid day) on the date line. At London
which is to the opposite of this line,
it is 12 midnight. Our concern here is
with the time of the birth of the day on
earth, which is at 12 noon. It is with
reference to this that we calculate the
time in 24 hours. The universal day is
from noon to noon, calculated at the
Dateline or midnight to midnight
calculated at London 0 degree Greenwich.
The point that is underlined here is
that the people of Fiji to the west of
the date line pray the first Jumu’ah of
Friday while people of Samoa to the east
pray the Luhar of Thursday.
The question of Qibla too arises here,
the people of Fiji pray towards the west
and the people of Samoa towards the
east. If the Islamic date line runs
through inhabited land there would be
two days, Jumu’ah and Luhar and two
opposite Qiblas in the same place. One
should interpret the statement of Imam
Shafee ® that there cannot be two
Jumu’as in the same town against this
concept of the Islamic dateline. The
learned Imam was suggesting that the
date line should not pass through land
where inhabitance is possible.
Dr. Y. Sayed Muhammad
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