How do we deal with the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw)
In a well-known and authentic hadith, the Prophet of Allah, upon him be peace, said, “Begin fasting at the appearing of it (the crescent), and break your fasts at the appearing of it. But if you are in doubt, then estimate it”. Another version of the same hadith ends in the words, “But if you are in doubt, then complete the period of Sha’ban as thirty”.
In the language of the faqeeh, we might say that the hadith both indicates an objective and specific means for achieving it. The objective in the hadith is clear, to fast the entire month of Ramadan without missing a single day, or without fasting in a month other than Ramadan, like Sha’ban or Shawwal. And that is to take place through ascertaining the beginning of the new month, and the end of the old one, by any means possible, so long as such means are available to the general populace and will not cause them hardship or difficulty in their religion.
Physical sighting, or observation with the naked eye, used to be the simplest and most feasible means available to people in that age; and that is why the hadith specified it. Had the hadith ordered them to use some other means, like astronomical calculations, at a time when the Ummah was unlettered and unlearned in higher mathematics that would have been an unbearable burden for them? And, of course, Allah (swt) wishes for His Ummah ease, not hardship. The Prophet upon him be peace, said of him: “Surely, Allah (swt) has sent me as a teacher and as a facilitator! He did not send me as a bringer of hardship!”
If a surer means of achieving the objective in the hadith were to be found, one less susceptible to mistakes, to supposition, or to outright misrepresentation, and then that means became feasible for one and all, and not a hardship to the Ummah, after scholars of astronomy, geology, and physics had become specialists in that means at the international level, and after man’s knowledge of these matters had enabled him to land on the surface of the moon, and explore it, and bring back to earth samples of its rocks, then why should we insist on the same old means - even when it is not, in itself, intended - and ignore the objective sought by the hadith?
What the hadith affirms is the beginning of the month on the basis of one or two reports claiming naked eye observation of the moon; the means then available, and the one most suitable for the level of the Ummah. So, is it even imaginable that an infallible means, one free of error, of supposition, and of the possibility of falsehood, should be rejected? A means that has reached the level of certainty, that can be agreed upon by the entire Ummah, East and West, that would do away with the controversy that continues to result in differences, often of as such as three days between countries, in fasting, in breaking fast, and in celebrating the Eid holidays? Indeed, such differences are unreasonable and unacceptable, both by the logic of science and of religion. What is certain, in such cases, is that one of these opinions is correct, and that the rest are faulty.
Certainly, today, the adoption of the mathematical calculations as a means for ascertaining the months should be accepted in accordance with the principle of Qiyas al awla or accepting the better analogy. This is because the same Sunnah that prescribed for us acceptance of a less reliable means, one often surrounded by doubt, physical observation, does not negate our acceptance of a more reliable means. We need to consider the calculations are accurate, that they are more in keeping with the purpose of the Shariah, and that they will deliver the Ummah from the sort of acrimonious controversy that often attends the fixing of the times for beginning our fasts, for our ending them Al Fitr, and for our sacrifice Al Adha. We now have at hand a means that will bring us closer to the unity sought for us by the Sunnah through the worship and ceremonies that have to do with the most pertinent aspects of Islam, and that are most closely bounded to the spiritual life and well being of Muslims. This is what the adoption of mathematical calculations can mean to us.
The great scholar of hadith, Sheikh Ahmad Shakir, may Allah have mercy on him, dared to approach this issue from a different angle. The Sheikh said the new lunar month should be established by means of astronomical calculations. The basis he gave for his opinion was that the ruling to consider the observation of the moon was justified on the basis of a particular reason mentioned in the Sunnah, but now no longer valid. Thus, when the reason is no longer valid, so also the ruling that it justified; as it is an established juridical principle that a ruling, in terms of validity or lack of the same, goes only as far as its justification. It will be best if we quote here from the text of the Sheikh’s article on this subject, “Awail al Shuhur al Arabiyyah”:
There can be no doubts that the Arabs, both before Islam and in the early days of Islam, did not have any sort of definitive knowledge about astronomy. Indeed, they were an unlettered people who neither wrote nor calculated. Those among them, who did pursue these subjects, did so in a most elementary and superficial manner. For the most part, what knowledge they had was gained through simple observation or hearsay; certainly they did not base any of their learning on mathematical principles, or on proven theories postulated on the basis of established truths. It was for this reason that the Prophet of Allah, may Allah grant him peace, established that, for the purpose of their worship, the ascertaining of the month would be on the basis of certain evidence that could be verified by most of them, or at least by anyone of them; and that was the observation of the moon by the naked eye. Indeed, that was the most accurate method for fixing the times of their worship and ceremonies; and that was the method, which in relation to what they were capable of, was the most certain, and worthy of trust. And Allah (swt) will not charge a soul with more than it is capable of!
The wisdom of the Supreme Lawmaker did not dictate that the basis for establishing the new lunar months should be sophisticated astronomical calculations at a time when the Muslims knew nothing of such things in their civilization, when many of them were simple desert dwellers who rarely even had news of the onset of civilization. Thus, had that been the basis, they would have been placed in great hardship. Only a very few of the desert dwellers would have heard of such things, and the city dwellers among them would have been dependent on the word of specialized mathematicians, most or all of whom in those days were People of the Book, Ahl al Kitab.
But then the Muslims began to liberate the world about them, and they came to hold the reins of learning so that they branched out into every field and discipline, translating the lore of the ancients, excelling in it, exposing what it concealed, and preserving it for those who would come after them. Among those disciplines was the study of astronomy, of physics, and of astronomical calculations.
But the great majority of our fuqaha and muhaddithin had little or no knowledge of astronomy. Rather, most of them were suspicious of it, supposing those who did have knowledge of astronomy to be innovators and heretics. This was for the reason that the study of the stars was mistakenly associated with astrology; which leads people to make claims about having knowledge of the unknown. Certainly, there were scholars who did just that; and in doing so they sullied their own reputations and that of science as well. So, for this reason, our fuqaha may be excused. But then those of our fuqaha who did know something of astronomy were unable to present their arguments in an acceptable manner. Instead, their comments were confined to making what amounted to little more than timid references.
So this was the situation with regard to our scholars at a time when the natural science had not nearly the same currency as the religious science; and when the predicates and principles of the natural sciences were not accepted with any degree of certainty.
The true and tolerant Shariah that abides through the ages, until finally Allah decrees the end of the world, is a system of legislation for the entire Ummah, and for all time. It is for this reason that we see in the texts of the Quran and the Sunnah subtle references to matters that are to come about in the future. So, when explanations for these matters actually occur, they are understood in a new light; even if the earlier generations of scholars had offered tentative interpretations for them.
There is, in fact, reference in the Sunnah to the subject we are now discussing. It was related by al Bukhari on the authority of Ibn Umar that the Prophet of Allah, upon him be peace everlasting, said, ‘We are an unlettered people, We neither write not calculate. The month is this way and that…that is, sometimes twenty-nine days and sometimes thirty’. The same was related by Malik in al Muwatta’ and by al Bukhari and Muslim, but with slightly different wording: ‘The month is twenty-nine days. So do not fast until you have observed the crescent. And do not stop fasting until you have observed it. Then, if you are in doubt, estimate it.’
Our early generations of scholars, may Allah have mercy on all of them, were correct in their explanation of the meaning of this hadith. But they were mistaken in its interpretation. The most comprehensive statement they made in this regard is perhaps what Ibn Hajr wrote: ‘The intended meaning of calculations’ is the calculations of the stars and their movement. But there were very few who knew anything about such matters. Thus, the legal ruling ‘hukm’ regarding fasting and so on was made conditional upon the observation so that they should be spared the trouble of having to determine the movements of the stars. The, the same ruling about fasting continued even though there were many scholars later on who knew about the movements of the stars. Rather, the context of the hadith would seem to indicate that the ruling was never intended to be conditional upon astronomical calculations. This point may be made clear by the other hadith: “But if you are in doubt, then complete the period as thirty”, because the Prophet, upon him be peace, did not say: “then ask the people of calculations (astronomers).” The wisdom in this case is that the numbers, under cloudy conditions, can be agreed upon by anyone (all those competent to fast). In this way, there is no possibility of dispute or controversy. Some scholars have actually opined that recourse should be had to the astronomical calculations. Those however, were “Al Rawafid;” it is recorded that a few of our scholars did agree with them on this point. Al Baji stated that the consensus of the pious predecessors was decisive as evidence against them. Ibn Bazizah said that their opinion (that of Al Rawafid) was wrong because the Shariah prohibits any involvement with the sciences of the stars as they are based on no more than conjecture and speculation; and there is nothing in them they can be ascertained or even established as a probability. And any way, if the matter were to be made dependent on these sciences, it would lead to hardship because there are very few people who have mastered them’.
The explanation here (by Ibn Hajr) of the meaning is correct, in that decisive legal factor is the observation and not the calculations. But the interpretation, in regard to the ruling continuing to be same despite the coming of qualified scholars later on, is faulty. In other words, consideration of nothing but the observation is incorrect because the command to depend on the observation of the moon was accompanied by a reason that acted as a justification for that command. That justification was the Ummah was unlettered, ‘We neither write nor calculate’. And a ruling, in terms of its validity or lack of the same, goes only as far as its justification.
So, if the Ummah has emerged from its unlettered state, and writes and calculates, in the sense that among its members are those who are capable of writing and calculating, and it has become possible for people from all walks of life to be certain about calculations for the beginnings of the lunar months, so that their certainty and trust in regard to those calculations are either equal to or greater than their trust on the observation, and when that has become the general state of the Ummah, then it becomes essential that recourse be had to the established certainty. In other words, it becomes essential that they rely on the astronomical calculations of the Ahillah alone, and that they do not return to the method of observation except in cases where there is no alternative, like in the desert or in villages where reliable information about the calculations may not be available.
Furthermore, since, with the elimination of the justification for observation, it is now essential ‘wajib’ that recourse be had only to astronomical calculations of the Ahillah, it follows that recourse must be had to the calculation of the birth of the new moon, and that we must disregard the notion of using calculations to determine the times when the sighting of the crescent is a possibility and when it is not. Thus, the beginning of the true lunar month is when the crescent disappears with the setting of the sun, even if the difference between the two events be a matter of only a second.’
Nor is this statement of mine in this matter an innovation on my part. Indeed, it often happens in the Shariah that a ruling will differ with difference in the conditions of those charged with implementing that ruling. This is well known to all scholars and others.
An example of this principle is the case we are now discussing. The hadith, ‘Then, if you are in doubt, estimate it’, was also related in another version; ‘But if you are in doubt, then complete the period as thirty’. Some of the scholars of the Shariah have clarified that the general wording of the first hadith, ‘estimate it’, is explained by the wording of the other hadith, ‘then complete the period as thirty’. But one of the major Imams of the Shafi’ school of fiqh, in fact the Imam of his times, Abu al Abbas Ahmad ibn ‘Umar ibn Surayj explained that the two versions of the hadith refer to two separate sets of circumstances. The meaning of estimate it’ is; ‘calculate it according to the lunar phases’. And this command was addressed to those blessed by Allah with knowledge of those matters, whereas the other hadith was addressed to ordinary people.”
Thus, my opinion is nearly the same as the one held by Ibn Surayj, except that he qualified his opinion by saying recourse should be had to calculations only under conditions of inclement weather, when no one is able to make an observation. Moreover, he supposed that the command to use calculations was directed toward a minority, those with specialized knowledge, as that was certainly the case in his own times. Moreover, in those days little or no trust could be reposed in such calculations, and news traveled very slowly from city to city.
My opinion, however, is the general acceptance of precise and reliable calculations, to be circulated among the people by means of today’s mass communications networks, while the minority, those who have neither access to these networks nor knowledge of calculations of the Ahillah and Manazil of the moon, may still rely on observation. The way I see it, my opinion is the most equitable, and the closest to sound fiqh and a proper understanding of the hadith that have come to us on the subject.
This is what Ahmad Shakir had to say on the subject nearly half a century ago! At the times he was writing (Dhul Hijjah, 1357-January, 1939), the science of astronomy had not advanced nearly as much as it has today. Indeed, great bounds have been made since then with the beginnings of space exploration and the moon landing. Today’s calculations in astronomy have reached an amazing degree of accuracy; often to the point of being accurate to a thousandth of a second.
But this is what Ahmad Shakir wrote, a Sheikh and scholar of hadith before anything else, a man who dedicated his life to the service of the Sunnah and Hadith Science, a complete Salafi. So, in that sense, he was a follower, not an innovator. And yet, may Allah grant him mercy, his understanding of the Salafi way was not that it dictated unquestioning allegiance to whatever was said or opined by our predecessors.
Rather, the true Salafi is one who follows the methods and principles of our predecessors, one who performs Ijtihad in the way that they performed Ijtihad. The true Salafi way is to deal with problems of the present with the knowledge of the present, not with the knowledge of the past; and not to bind oneself to anything other than the established truths of the Shariah, the unambiguous texts of its sources, and the principles of Islam’s higher purposes.
This Ramadan, 1409 AH, I read a rather lengthy article written by one of our respected Sheikhs, in which he referred to the authentic hadith of the Prophet, upon him be peace, ‘We are an unlettered people, we neither write nor calculate’ claiming that the hadith rejected calculations, and instructed the Ummah not to consider them.
But if that were correct, then the hadith would have to be understood as rejecting writing as well and instructing the Ummah not to consider it either. After all, the hadith deal with two aspects of the Ummah, having been unlettered: neither writing nor calculating. And no one, not in the past and not in the present, has ever said that writing was blameworthy or undesirable for the Ummah. On the contrary, writing is very much encouraged by the Quran, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the scholars of Islam. The first one to encourage the spread of writing was the Prophet himself, may Allah grant him peace everlasting! This is well known from his Sirah: the position he took in regard to the prisoners taken at the battle of Badr.
Among the other things that have been said in this regard is that the Prophet, upon him be peace, did not ever command the Muslims to deal with calculations, or order them specifically to use them. On the contrary, he ordered the Muslims to consider observing of the moon, and to use it as a basis for ascertaining the month. This assertion, however, is both faulty and misleading, for two reasons:
Firstly, because it is inconceivable that the Prophet, upon him be peace, would command the Ummah to have recourse to calculations at a time when the Ummah was unlettered, not writing and not calculating. Thus, an appropriate means of determining the month was legislated for their circumstances in terms of time and place. That means was the naked eye observation of the Ahillah of the moon, something that the entire Ummah was capable of doing. However, if a more accurate means and one more reliable were to be found, then there is nothing in the Sunnah to prevent its being adopted.
Secondly, because the Sunnah indicates the use of calculations when the weather is inclement, as in the hadith related by al Bukhari in the chapter on fasting, by means of a chain of narrators so reliable that it was known as the ‘golden chain’, Malik from Nafi’ from the Ibn Umar from the Prophet, upon him be peace, who, when Ramadan was mentioned, said, ‘Do not fast until you observe the crescent. And do not stop fasting until you observe it. Then, if you are in doubt, estimate it’.
Then the estimation that was commanded might certainly include estimations made on the basis of calculations, especially for those capable of doing so and arriving at a satisfactory answer. In our times, such calculations may be considered conclusive. This is a matter of common knowledge to anyone who knows anything about modern science or about the amount of progress made by Man whose lord taught him what he did not know before.
I had called several years ago, for the adoption of definitive astronomical calculation for use, at least, in rejecting (incorrect observation), if not in establishing the beginnings of the lunar months. This I did in order to minimize the many differences that occur every year over the beginning of fasting and the fixing of the day for Eid al Fitr. Often, there are differences of three days between the various Islamic countries. The use of calculations for rejecting incorrect fixing is something that we can use, while still adhering to the majority opinion of fiqh scholars in regard to maintaining the naked eye observation as the basis for ascertaining the lunar months. But, if calculations show that seeing is not possible (at a certain place and at a certain time) for the reason that the moon will not yet have been born there, or at any place in the Islamic world, then it becomes essential to reject any claim of a sighting at that time and place. This is because the actual situation, as determined by means of conclusive astronomical calculations, refutes the claim. Rather, at such times, people should not even be asked to attempt to sight the crescent; and the Shariah courts, fatwa houses, ministers of Islamic affairs, should not even open their doors to people claiming to have seen the crescent (before the times determined by calculations) and willing to give testimony Shahadah to the same.
This was the position I felt comfortable with, and the one I mentioned in my writings, lectures and fatawa. But then it was the will of Allah (swt) that I should find the matter explained by one of the major Imams of the Shafi School of fiqh. Taqiy al Din al Subki (d.756AH), concerning who it was said that he had attained the rank of Mujtahid. Al Subki wrote in his fatwa that if astronomical calculations precluded the possibility of sighting the moon, then it is the duty of the Qadi to reject the testimony of all witnesses. He wrote: “This is because calculations are conclusive evidence, whereas hearsay and the testimony of witnesses constitute possibility. And possibility cannot be compared to conclusive evidence, much less take preference over it.”
Al Subki also mentioned that it is up to the Qadi to investigate the testimony of witnesses, in all legal matters. Then if he finds that the testimony is disproved either by physical evidence or common sense then he must reject it. He wrote: “The condition for acceptance of evidence is that it is possible, physically, rationally, and legally. So if calculations indicate conclusively that something is impossible then that something will be considered legally impossible as it will be impossible to be witnessed and the Shariah does not deal with impossibilities.”
In such cases the testimony of witnesses will be considered either supposition or mistake or falsehood. What if Al Subki had lived to see our age, and the progress made in the science of astronomy and physics?
It was mentioned by Sheikh Ahmed Shakir that the wellknown Sheikh Al Azhar of his times Muhammad Musthafa Al Maraghi, when he was chairman of the Supreme Shariah Council, held the same opinion as Al Subki, that the testimony of witnesses should be rejected when calculations negate the possibility of sighting the moon. Sheikh Ahmed Shakir wrote: “Some of my brothers and I were among those who opposed the opinion of the Grand Sheikh in the matter. But now I would like to declare openly that he was right. And I would add that recourse must be had to calculations for the ascertaining of the lunar months under all circumstances, except in the case of those who are unable to have access to such knowledge.”
References:
- This article is taken from Dr. Qaradawi’s book Kayfa nata amal maa ssunnah and was translated from Arabic by Yousuf DeLorenzo, I IIT - Research.
- This hadith was related by Muslim and others.
- This was included in the Sahih, in the Book of Fasting Kitab al Sawm.
- See vol.1, p.108-109 of Fuad’Abd al Baqi’s edition.
- In both version of the hadith quoted above, the word for calculations Hisab is used; la naktub wa la nahsub, “…We neither write nor calculate.”Trans.
- Shaykh Ahmad Shakir wrote: “I do not know to whom Ibn Hajr has referred here. If he means by al rawafid the Shi’ah of the Imamiyah School, then what we know of their legal teachings on the subject is that calculations are unacceptable. If he meant other than the Shi’ah, then I have no idea to which it is that he refers!” My (Yusuf al Qardawi) opinion is that he was referring to the Shi’ah sect known as the Ismailiyaah, as this opinion has been ascribed to them.
- Shaykh Yusufal Qardawi adds here that his own preference, al Murajjah, is that the crescent should be visible to the naked eye. This, rather than conjunction, would seem to be closer to the letter and the spirit of the texts of the Qur’aan and the sunnah on the subject (trans).
- Aaabdu al ‘Abbas died in the year 306 AH and was a student of the muhaddith Abu Dawwud, auther of the well known sunan. Of Abual Abbas, al Shirazi wrote in his Tabaqat al Fuquha’, “He was one of the greatest of the Shafiyah and the imams of the Muslims, to the extent that he was given precedence over all the other scholars of the Shafi school; even over all Muzani” His biography may also be seen in al Katib’s, Tarikh Baghdad, IV, 278-290, and ibn al Subk’s Tabaqata al Shafiiyah, II, 67-996.
- See A Qadi Abubaker Ibn al Arabi’s commentary on the Jami’ by al Tirmidhi, III, 207-208 and Wali al Din al Iraqi, Tarh al Tathrih, IV, 111-113, and Ibn Hajr, Fath al Bari, IV, 104.
- Ahmed Shakir, Awail al Shakir al Ambiya, Maktabat Ibn Taymiya, Cairo.
- This Hadith has been mentioned more than once in the article.
- One of the better known chapters in the Sirah of the Prophet, upon him be peace, was his ransoming of the prisoners taken at the battle of Badre, ‘Umeri, Dr. Diya, Medium Society at the time of the Prophet, IIIT, Hemdon, V. A, 1991, Vol, I (Trans).
- See Fatawa al Subki, Maktaba al Quds, Cairo I, 219-220.
- See Awail al Suhur al Ambiya, p 15.
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