ISNA's (earlier) Eid al-Adha Evaluated by A Renowned Scholar
By: Maulana Mufti Muhammed. Taqi Usmani - Deputy Chairman, Islamic Fiqh Academy – OIC (Jeddah) ; Vice President & Professor (for over 25 years) of Religious and Arabic Sciences, Fiqh and Hadith at Darul Uloom (Karachi); Chairman, Shariah Council, Accounting & Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (Bahrain); Judge, Shariat Appellate Bench, Supreme Court of Pakistan; Shariah Advisor, HSBC Amanah Finance, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Baraka Group, Citi Islamic Investment Bank, Dow Jones Islamic Index, First Islamic Investment Bank, Saudi American Bank, and others.; Author of several Islamic books and Editor of several Islamic magazines, including Albalagh International.
Responding to ISNA Fiqh Council's claim, "Element of place is dominant in Eid al-Adha," Maulana Mufti M. Taqi Usmani, a renowned scholar of Darul Uloom in Karachi wrote the following: (May 2000)
I have gone through the article of ISNA and with the utmost respect for their sentiment for Muslim unity, I am forced to say that the view expressed in the article (Eid al-Adha on next day of Arafat) is in total disagreement with the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, and with the Shari'ah position recognized throughout the centuries. This is an unprecedented view which has never been adopted by any of the Muslim jurists during the past 1400 years, and it has a number of intrinsic defects and anomalies, some of which are summarized here.
1. The article admits that the celebration of Eid al-Fitr should be tied to the sighting of the moon in each country and should not be linked with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, however, the article calls for celebration of Eid al-Adha according to the Saudi Calendar regardless of the local dates, which means Eid al-Adha will be celebrated in North America on 8th or 9th of Zul-Hajjah. It is thus clear that the theory proposed in ISNA's article is impractical.
2. The article has laid much emphasis on the concept of unity of the Muslim Ummah, which no one can deny. At the same time, however, one must appreciate that unity does not mean that the entire Muslim Ummah throughout the world should perform their acts of worship at one and the same time, because it is physically not possible. It is evident that when people in Saudi Arabia are performing their Fajr prayers, those in North America may still have not completed their Isha prayers of the previous day. Similarly, when Muslims in Los Angeles offer their Fajr prayers, those in India and Pakistan are offering their Maghrib or Isha prayer of the same day.
If it is made obligatory on all the Muslims in the world to offer their acts of worship at one and the same time for the sake of unity, such unity can never materialize (because of the time differences). It is, therefore, obvious that offering one's acts of worship at different times do not affect the concept of Muslim Unity.
What does the Muslim unity mean? It means that all Muslims should treat each other with brotherly sympathy and affection and should not spread disorder and dissention among them. Nor should they invent new ideas foreign to the teachings of Quran and the Sunnah which may lead to division and conflict among Muslims.
It is also astonishing that the article views the celebration of Eid al-Adha on different days as being against the concept of Ummah while in the matter of celebration of Eid ai-Fitr, this concept is dispensed with. If the celebration of Eid al-Fitr on different days does not affect the concept of unity, how can it be said to harm unity in the case of Eid al-Adha?
3. It is true that Eid al-Adha falls immediately after the day of Arafat in Saudi Arabia, but it is not necessary that the Muslims in every country should follow the same dates in their respective areas. Hajj, no doubt, is tied with a particular place but the celebration of Eid al-Adha is not confined to that place alone. It is celebrated everywhere in the world and cannot be tied to the Saudi calendar.
4. The article admits that the celebration of Eid al-Adha in other countries was never linked with its celebration in Saudi Arabia throughout the past 14 centuries. This, the author's claim was because of a lack of communication facilities. With vastly improved communication today, they argued that everyone almost anywhere can find out the day of Hajj, and should celebrate Eid al-Adha based on Saudi calendar.
There is a clear admission in this argument that it is not obligatory according to Quran or the Sunnah to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to Saudi calendar. Had this been so, Muslims would have tried their best to find the exact date of Hajj in Saudi Arabia. It is not correct to say that it was not possible in those days for people living outside Saudi Arabia to know the exact date of Hajj, because this date is normally determined on the first night of Zul-Hijjah. There is a nine day period until which is more than sufficient to acquire this information. However, no jurists has ever stressed that such information be collected in order to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to Saudi dates.
Further, if the argument of the article is accepted and it is held that the real intention of Quran and Sunnah was to link the celebration of Eid al-Adha with the Saudi dates, as a mandatory provision for all Muslims in the world, it means that the Shari'ah has stressed a principle which was not acceptable for 1300 years. Is it not against the Quranic declaration that Allah does not make a thing mandatory unless it is practical for the human beings.
If the authors argue that the celebration of Eid al-Adha was not linked with the dates in Makkah in the past but it has become a mandatory requirement of the Shari'ah now, then the question arises, who has abrogated the previous principle and on what basis? There is no provision in Quran or the Sunnah which orders the Muslims to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to their local dates up to a particular time and to link it with the dates in Makkah thereafter. Whoever considers this and similar questions arising out of this unprecedented theory advanced in the article can appreciate its fallacy.
5. Finally, I would like to inform you that the question of sighting the moon for each lunar month including Zul-Hijjah was thoroughly discussed at the annual sessions of the Islamic Fiqh Academy (held in Jordan, October 11-16, 1986) attended by more than a hundred outstanding scholars of Shari'ah. The academy adopted the resolution recommended that all Muslim countries should determine all the lunar months including Zul-Hijjah on the same basis for both Eid al-Fitr as well as Eid al-Adha.
This resolution represents the consensus of Muslim jurists throughout the world. The proposal contained in the ISNA article, however, goes totally against this consensus - (see note below).
Before parting with the subject, I would like to emphasize that such unprecedented proposals can never advance the cause of Muslim unity. Rather, they may create a new point of disunity and dissention among Muslims. Before venturing such opinions as definite "Fatwa", these should be discussed at some responsible international forum of contemporary Muslim jurists like the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in Jeddah.May 2000.
PLEASE NOTE: Since the publication of the above ruling, ISNA held a conference in November 2000 and subsequently have changed their position - to follow local moon sighting news, instead (Alhamdulillah!). http://www.ummah.net/moonsighting/fatawah/isnaqa.htm.uk>
Justification for Islamic Shoora Council of North America (ISNA, ICNA, WDM, NC) Hilaal Sighting Process
• Synchronizing EidUlAdha worldwide with Hilaal sighting in Saudi Arabia is NOT Appropriate because:
– It is neither IkhtilaafAlMataale (multiple horizons/local sighting), nor WahdatAlMataale (single horizon - follow first report of Hilaal- no matter from which country. Thus it should not have a daleel / basis in Shariah.
– Even after the Hajj became obligatory in the 6th year of Hijrah, there is no evidence from the Sunnah that the Prophet Muhammad SAW made any attempts to synchronize the EidUlAdha (which was instituted in the 1st year of Hijra) in Medinah with the Hilaal sighting in Makkah, even though 10 nights and 9 days were enough to send a messenger between Makkah and Medinah. The Salaah of Eid-ul-Adha is not wajib on the hujjaj.
– According to Sheikh AlOthaimeen (RH) Fatwah, and other scholars, DhulHijja determination is no different from other 11 months and should be by local sighting (IkhtilaafAlMatale).
– Using sighting in Saudi Arabia for here can force us to ignore our earlier local Hilaal sighting. (The world is round - for certain years, e.g. North America should see Hilaal one date before Middle-East).
– It makes us prone to the frequent errors in the Saudi Dates Decisions.
• IkhtilaafAlMataale (& using Astronomy to negate false sighting; Not replace naked eye sighting) is appropriate because:
– WahdatAlMatale is impractical for countries East of the first sighting point
– IkhtilaafAlMatale is supported by Ulema like Sh. AlOthaimeen (RH) & Ibn Taimiya & practiced in Saudi Arabia.
– Most of the Fuqaha also support and practice IkhtilaafAlMatale
– IkhtilaafAlMataale is supported by Astronomy. The "Lunar Date Line (Curve)" (which shifts every month) divides the world into two parts which see the Hilaal on different dates. Thus IkhtilaafAlMatale is as natural as praying Fajr by Local time. (If the world was Flat, IttihaadAlMatale would be valid i.e. the whole world sees the Hilaal on the same day).
– It leads to better accuracy and is predictable about 80% of time (for naked eye sighting criteria).
– For about 20% of the time Astronomy can NOT predict with certainty and thus sighting IS necessary.
• Thus ideally we should Insha'Allaah have EidulFitr & EidUlAdha celebration around much of the world in about 24 hours (if there are no errors), but Two “Solar Dates” because of the Artificial International Solar Date Line.
• At any ONE given moment of time, one part of the world has one solar day/date while another part of the earth has the NEXT solar day /date! E.g. now, if it is Saturday evening in USA, it is Sunday morning in China / Japan!
• Those who somehow believe that the early Saudi Announcements for EidUlAdha are correct can still delay and pray Eid on “their second day” Insha’Allaah, since the Eid prayers are permissible on any of the 3 days. This way, Insha’Allaah at least their Eid Prayers would be together with the people who follow the correct date which is typically a day later.
• For more information, please see www.moonsighting.com and www.jas.org.jo/hilaal and download the MoonCalc program from www.starlight.demon.co.uk/mooncalc/ Insha’Allaah.
May Allaah (SWT) forgive any mistakes and help, guide & unite us all regardless of race or Islamic Movement – ISNA, ICNA, American Muslim Society, Al-Ummah Community, Jamaat Tabligh, MSA, Ikhwaan etc. Aameen.
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