Discourse 334
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Syria is Ripe
The job started by some nations in Libya must be continued in other countries whose despots are ready to kill many thousands of their citizens to save their throne. Syria and Yemen are ripe for such intervention. If the raison d’etre of their involvement in Libya was to save a massacre in Benghazi and other dissident Libyan cities, residents of Homs and San’aa are also just in dire need of such help.
The ink of any peaceful settlement between the Syrian despot, Bashar al-Asad and his people has dried up. Well, the Arab league can try it this coming week. But the two sides do not trust each other anymore. The people do not trust Asad because he has promised reforms dozens of times before without fulfilling any. Asad, on his part, like any despot, despises his people: They are nothing.
Worse of all, both sides are determined to continue on their path. Asad is ready to kill as many as he needs to keep his 48 year old dynasty in power, supported by his Ba’athist party and his ethnic minority – the Alawites. The opposition, coming largely from the majority Sunni masses, has shown sufficient resolve to continue until success comes. Success to them now, unlike at the beginning of the protests when they were only calling for reforms, means dethroning Asad. No less.
The world must call off the bluff of Asad. He said there would be earthquake in the Middle East if the West intervenes in his country. Which earthquake has not the Middle East seen in the five millennia? This will be just another, but certainly not the last. The beauty of this one is that while the past ones have seen the death of thousands of people in the streets of Aleppo, Constantinople, Damascus, Baghdad And Jerusalem, this one will be lamented by just one person: Bashar al-Asad and his regime.
He told the Daily Telegraph “Syria is different in every respect from Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen.” Let us see. If the Hidden Hand that swept Mubarak, Ben Ali and Gaddafi away in the ocean of history would spare him simply because, as he put it, “The history is different, the politics is different.” I do not think Iran and Hezbollah, on him he counts, will spare a bullet to support him.
Let us appreciate that despots do not leave the scene without rhetoric. Detached from the world, they always delude that their countries must remain subject of their manipulation. Here was Pharoah telling his council of Ministers: “My ministers! Don’t I own Egypt and (even) these rivers flow underneath me? Don’t you see?” However, when his time was up, as late Abdulhamid Kish said, God made the rivers to flow above him.
The last Pharaoh, Hosni Mubarak, warned the West that would he fall, Egypt would be taken over by Muslim fundamentalist. That threat did not stop anything. The West that has been supporting him had to submit itself to the powerful voice of the people. Once Washington understood that the Egyptians have conquered fear, the sole ground on which the Mubarak regime was sustained, it knew that his time is up. So it joined the Egyptians to sing the revolutionary phrase: al-Sha’b yurid, isqat al-Nizam.
Gaddafi also threatened that there would be civil war in Libya if NATO intervenes and Al-Qaida will take over. Here too, the West understood that it could not stand on the path of change. Today, Gaddafi is gone. No civil war occurred. The people of Libya did not fight one another. They united against him so much so that he had to rely on mercenaries from sub-saharan Africa. The hired mobs that gathered after the massacres he carried out in Misrata and other cities have vanished, as would also vanish the mob that Asad gathered in Damascus last week. Today, Libya is free from 42 years of Gaddafi’s despotic rule. Libyans are carrying on, without him.
Syria will not be an exception to the rule that freedom comes at a price. For change to take place, blood must be sacrificed to Mother Earth because, as Sayyid Qutb once said, the tree of principle is watered by the blood of its martyrs. Hims and other Syrian cities are not tired of watering that tree. The forces of Asad are killing them daily in their homes and mosques, as his father once did in the early 1980s when he flattened the city after an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood. But they remain relentless. Now is the time for the world to come to their aid.
That aid, I wish, would come sooner than later from the Arabs themselves. The influence of Dr. Yusuf al-Qardawi must be commended here. Early in the Arab Spring, he gave the important revolutionary fatwa that it is lawful to kill any leader that turns his guns against his people. Never have we heard such a radical ruling before. And Qatar, the country of his asylum, was unapologetically in the forefront of aiding the Libyan revolutionaries. It is not alone though. Many Arab countries also took part.
Syria is closer. Here too the role of Qardawi is clear. He was accused by the regime of instigating the revolt through a sermon he gave one Friday. We hope his influence on the Qatari leadership will help to once again to instigate its participation in any forthcoming coalition. The pagan Ba’athist regime that was founded by Michel Aflaq has not put Arabs “on the way of resurrection.” It has been in power in Syria since 1963. Forty-eight years! Only dictatorship resulted from its dream of “unity, liberty and socialism”. It must go. Now!
The habitual hesitation on the side of the Western governments that democracy in Syria will bring Sunni fundamentalist to power is not sustainable. They fear for neighbouring Israel. They fear for themselves. Democracy guarantees elections, personal liberty and good governance, three things that many western scholars and politicians believe must not be given to Arabs because it one keg of gunpowder that will be bow off the interest of the West and the survival of Israel. Impliedly, such politicians are telling the world that both the West and Israel cannot survive without subjugating Arabs. Is it true then that they need monarchs and despots to ensure the free flow of oil and lackeys to protect the strategic interest of Israel?
The West I think has a rare opportunity to reinvent its role in the region. It has started it in Libya and it must go the whole hog. In any case, it created the mess in the first place. It should help to clear it. Wherever citizens of a country have shown sufficient determination to overthrow a despot, or whenever the despot is willing to massacre his own people, the international community under the UN charter must not hesitate to stop him.
This has been the tradition of History; otherwise, tyranny would rule the world. The fear of fundamentalists which despots are quick to inject into the bloodstream of the West must not anesthetize it from carrying out the fundamental obligation it chose for itself since the beginning of the French Revolution. Freedom to all should really mean freedom to all, regardless of colour, religion or region. If apartheid is dismantled in South Africa, it must also be dismantled in Israel and Palestine. If other nations are free, the Arabs must also be free.
The same thing applies to Ali Abdallah Saleh of Yemen. Until when would Arab leaders and theIinternational Community come to the aid of the Yemenis? Saleh, like Asad and Gaddafi, is relentless in his killings. It is clear that his dictatorship is not sustainable. Yet, because he is an ally in the fight against Al-Qaida, the international community is hesitating to give him the Mubarak or Gaddafi treatments. But either treatment is inevitable because the Yemenis are also relentless in their opposition. The resolve of the West to democracy and freedom is truly on test.
Against all odds, the West must review the nature of its relationship with the Arab world and Islam. Israel and oil must not continue to define the dynamics of that relationship. If the West would support Arabs to regain their most precious commodity – their dignity – by allowing them determine their affairs on an equal footing in domestic and international affairs, they could get both peace for Israel and abundant oil to fuel the engines of their industries.
The other path – that of supporting puppets and tyrants – against the will of their people is no longer sustainable in a world characterized by Facebook and Twitter. The freedom that is enjoyed in the West must be enjoyed the world over, without exception. In the end, even the monarchies of Arabia and the Persian Gulf have to leave the scene. The need for change in West’s strategic thinking is therefore dire and urgent.
The International Community must hurry to the aid of the Syrians. The benefit it will reap from such endeavour is greater than whatever strategic role the Ba’athist regime is presently playing for the West in the region. A no fly zone is urgently needed as the Syrians have started asking for. We want to see those missiles hitting Asad’s tanks whenever they head for a massacre in any Syrian city. Only then would Asad understand that he either negotiates for a peaceful exit or the end is here. But that hour would be too late for him, as it has always been for any despot.
Bauchi,
30 October 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Discourse 333: For Astronomy and National Observatory
Discourse 333
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
For Astronomy and a National Observatory
I will start this article from its conclusion: The recurrent conflicts and errors on moon sighting in Nigeria can only be resolved by employing the knowledge of astronomy as Muslims before us have done and as many renowned scholars of the past have advised. Astronomy, not astrology, will be a guide as to when the moon should be sighted and also as a verifier of the validity of the sighting.
Relying on the general thinking that we do not need astronomical calculations in moon sighting has helped in no small measure to prolong the problem. In this article, I will rely heavily on two papers written by an old classmate and colleague, Mal. Usman H. Dukku of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. I have published one of Malam Dukku's articles in my column earlier. The link to the papers will be given below. In the end, I have made a plea for the establishment of a national observatory that will help us keep track of the moon and guide us on the science of its appearance. May God guide us unto the Right Path.
Astronomy and Moon sighting
The problem starts with what many of us think, that all we need in moon sighting is the following hadith:
“Fast when it (the crescent) is seen, and break when it is seen, but if it is obscured to you, complete Shawwal to 30.”
The instruction in the hadith looks simple but over time it has proved to require great effort to carry out. Initially the Islamic community was made of Arabs in the 7th Century A.D., people who were not given to science and literature then. To them, the above hadith came as a great relief as could be easily inferred from the following hadith of Abdullah ibn Umar that was reported by Buhari and Muslim:
“We are an uneducated community: We neither write nor calculate. A month is so and so days: meaning sometimes twenty-nine and sometimes thirty.”
Later the Muslim nation would expand and encompass people and ages given to writing and calculations. Scholars did not hesitate to learn, approve and employ the science of astronomy wherever they thought it would be useful. Dukku availed us with the following words of the great scholar, Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111 AD), who made a distinction between astrology (or duba in Hausa) and astronomy:
“The study of stars (astrology) whose aim is to predict the death or life of someone; and by the appearance of so and so star the death of someone, the perishing of a certain nation or demise of a kingdom is imminent: this is neither certainty nor even an informed guess. This kind of knowledge is not sanctioned by Shariah.”
Then Al-Ghazali continued to approve of astronomy:
“However, the study of stars with which the motions of the planets, the sun and the moon are determined is a natural science and the Shari’a has never refuted it. In fact, it serves as a means of reckoning of years, months and times of fasting, pilgrimage and prayers. The rejection of this is a (sign of) failure and ignorance.”
That was about 900 years ago!
Coming a century after Ghazali, another great scholar, Shaikul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328 AD) asserted the exactitude of astronomical calculations in determining, for example, conjugation (when the new moon is formed but still in ‘hiding’),when it is full and solar and lunar eclipses. In his Majmu’ul Fatawa, he said:
“Within the scope of astronomical calculations is the determination or disappearance of the moon and Full Moon, that is conjugation and opposition, respectively. Ordinary people can know these through clear signs such as disappearance of the waning crescent at the end of the month and its appearance at the beginning of the month and complete illumination in the middle of the month.
“Calculations, on the other hand, detect these using hidden events such as conjugation of the two discs during the period of disappearance of the moon and the opposition or the sun and moon which is the moment of Full Moon. Definitely, all these events can be determined through calculations. However, the visibility of the crescent cannot be accurately determined by calculations like the time of solar and lunar eclipse.”
In his comment under the above passage, Dukku said, “In other words, astronomical calculations can tell when and where it is impossible to sight the moon and when and where the moon can be sighted.”
The reason why visibility of the crescent cannot be determined accurately has to do with many physical reasons, including weather, season, position of the viewer,etc. Scientists have found out that visibility starts at least 12 hours after conjugation. May God bless Shaykhul Islam!
Later in the paper, Dukku availed us with the words of 8th Century AH scholar, Al-Subkiy, regarding astronomical calculations that appeared in Ahkam al-Ahillah of Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Farih:
“What astronomical calculations can determine is the possibility or otherwise of sighting (the crescent)… What is meant here is a situation in which an informant informs about his sighting (of the crescent) while it is impossible (according to astronomical calculation) to see it. Information can either be true or false and giving false information may be either deliberate or due to an error; and either of these has limitless causes.
“Therefore,” al-Subkiy concluded, “it is not rational to accept information that is liable to these, or to testify on it, when it is impossible to sight (the crescent), because the law cannot be based on impossibilities.”
Al-Subkiy gave the reason why the jurists of his time took the stand of rejecting testimonies on moon sighting that contradict astronomical calculations:
“We have not found this issue written, thus we had to analyse it and give a ruling that such a testimony should be rejected. The reason for the (earlier) jurist’s silence on this issue is its rare occurrence (during their time). When it occurred during our time, we got a reason to speak on it. Jurisprudence is a sea no one can traverse and its issues are renewed with the renewal of its events.”
On this, another scholar, al-Abbadiy, was very strong in language:
“If definitive astronomical calculations indicate impossibility of sighting (the crescent), the sighting claim of even a trustworthy person should not be accepted. This is a clear issue. Fasting is not valid under this situation and opposing this is stubbornness and arrogance.”
In the last paragraph of his paper, Dukku said
“It may be concluded, from the foregoing, that astronomical science is compatible with the Shari’a injunction of basing the beginning of the lunar months on physical sighting of the crescent moon. It is a useful guide in moon sighting and helps in reducing errors. It is therefore recommended that Muslims all over the world, but in Nigeria in particular, be encouraged to use astronomical knowledge in enhancing physical sighting of the moon. This recommendation is in line with the resolution of the World Fiqh Council during its third conference, held in Amman , Jordan, in 1986.”
Twenty-five years after Amman, Nigerian Muslims remain adamant. We have expressed total defiance to anything astronomical even though, as shown above, reputable scholars of the highest order have agreed on the need to compliment our visual sighting with astronomical calculations and many Muslim countries around the world have adopted one form of recruiting the aid of astronomical calculations or another.
While differences between regions in moon sighting in ages past went unnoticed, the detachment of Nigeria from the rest of the Muslim world on this issue has become unsettling. The statistics as shown by Dukku in another paper are clear. Nigeria has always taken the gold medal when it comes to moon sighting. Even when it starts the fasting of Ramadan with the rest of the world, which it rarely does except with Libya, it is always – always – the first, and only few times among the first, to break it. The Ramadan moon has always been 29 for over 50 years, something that defies even the hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) who fasted more 30s than 29s in the period of only nine years in Medina.
So let us be practical and agree that there is a problem. I believe we can do it, unlike our inability to solve other national problems where economic interests are involved. This is not petrol, elections, education or transport. The solution here is ready made. It lies in treading the path taken by other nations. They combine astronomical calculations with physical observations to determine their calendar. This is not only in states of Libya or Egypt, but also in Saudi Arabia. In establishing his assertion that “the scholars are unanimous that any claim of moon sighting must be scrutinized and if it contradicts established common knowledge and expert knowledge (urf) about the moon (astronomy inclusive) it should be rejected,” Dukku, once more,cited “an eminent scholar, a member of the High Judicial Council of Saudi Arabia”, al-Shaykh Abdullah Ibn Suleyman al-Mani’ who said:
“For the fact that the testimony of sighting (the moon) should be free from what can nullify it according to practical experience, common sense and common knowledge, if it is not, then it is necessary to reject it. If experts in astronomy confirm that the sun will set before the birth of the New Moon and a witness comes to testify that he has sighted the moon after sunset, it is necessary to reject such a testimony, for it is a testimony about which we can at best say – giving the witness the benefit of the doubt – that the witness has erred in his testimony: for how can the crescent be sighted after sunset while the situation is that the New Moon is not yet born? That is to say the moon is ahead of the sun towards the west – the moon is in the front and the sun behind.” (Unpublished Fatwa dated 17th Sha’ban, 1422 AH)
“How can the crescent be sighted after sunset while the situation is that the New Moon is not yet born?” Sheikh Mani’ should come to Nigeria to get plenty of us that will give him so many answers. It even happened this year. The moon was ahead of the sun by far, yet some of us said they saw it, two days before the conjugation! Whether what they saw was new moon or the old one is a different question.
If it were not for the fact that we are, unfortunately, living at a time when the verses of the Qur’an carry less weight than the words of ulama, we would not have quarreled with a science that has long ago established what the Qur’an has said repeatedly. So preponderant is the evidence from the Qur’an that one will not be mistaken if he says there is astronomy in the Quran:
“And everything with Him is measured.” (13.8)
“The Sun and the Moon are punctual.” (55.5)
“And the Sun runs on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise. And for the moon we have appointed mansions till she return like an old shriveled palm-leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.” (36: 38-40)
And We made the night and the day two signs. Then we make the dark the sign of the night, and We make the sign of the day sight-giving, that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the computation of the years, and the reckoning; and everything have We expounded with a clear expounding.” (17:12)
“And landmarks (too), and by the star they find a way.” (16:16)
“And it is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Each float, each in an orbit.”
Etc. Etc…
Astronomy helps us to know the measures that are ordained for these bodies and how we can use them to guide us – or find our way – through time and space. Certainly, it is not the astronomers that were condemned by the Holy Prophet as liars, but astrologers. In Nigeria, we are not willing to distinguish the two; we often jump to the conclusion that both stand condemned. How could it be so in a religion whose scripture has the above verses?
Moon Sighting Committee
The moon sighting committee under the Sultan will benefit a lot from people who have taken the pains to always study the moon in this country. There is a complete body – the Nigerian Moon Sighting Society – whose work will be of immense benefit to the committee if the committee is ready to advance beyond our traditional stand which has not solved our perpetual crisis regarding moon sighting. The truth is that the committee so far is hesitant to the idea of being guided by astronomy, if I am to put the cold war between the two mildly. This is normal. Change is always met with some skepticism and resistance.
If I were to find my way, I will not fail to advise the Sultan to fuse the two camps by incorporating members of the society into the committee. His announcement of when to start searching for the new moon should be guided by astronomical calculations and observations. Gradually, gradually, we will oneday reach a point where we will be strong enough to use the fatwas of al-Subkiy and al-Mani', when we will insist that the sighting should not contradict common or expert’s knowledge.
Also where a mistake is made, expert knowledge and observation (like the day of the full moon) can be used to adjust the calendar of that month such that the mistake does not spill over to the next or even subsequent months. This is often done in countries like Saudi Arabia. This year, given a lacuna in their arrangement, a court in Riyadh accepted the testimony of two people and the end of fasting was announced. Experts, however did not see it in other cities like Medina. Later, it was realized that there was an error. I heard that an announcement was made to adjust the calendar accordingly. If the experts were relied upon since, as Ibn Taymiyyah said, they would have calculated the exact time of conjugation (when the new moon is actually born) and advise that it is possible or impossible to see the crescent at so and so times. This drag-drag wey we de do on the question of using astronomy no go last wo. It was not surprising that Gaddafi's Libya went by astronomical calculations.
Observatory
Finally, it will also be a good idea for the Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs to establish a permanent observatory that will assist the moon sighting committee with necessary data to reach an informed decision. Such observatories are found in many Muslim countries. A conference in 1966 held under the auspices of Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Council urged, among other resolutions, “Islamic governments and peoples to set up Islamic authorities in their respective countries to be assigned the task of determining the first of lunar month with the help of observatories and reliable astronomers.“
I have learnt that finally, after 45 years since that call from Al-Azhar, the Sultan in Nigeria has assigned a competent staff of the SCIA at the National Mosque with background in Islamic studies the duty of observing the moon throughout the year already. The brother has already become conversant with the various available software on astronomy of moon sighting and other things. I consider him to be the precursor of that observatory. All we need is to expand that effort to give it a permanent structure and function.
Such an observatory does not need to be sophisticated. Two graduates and a technician will be able to handle it. A board of few experts and ulama can be appointed to oversee its year round activities.
As for the site, a university or polytechnic in the Northwest where the sky is most clear will be suitable. Its department of physics or geography can host it as a unit comfortably.
Funding to cater for building, equipment, furnishing, salaries, conferences and passages generally can be sourced from various donors, if these items are not assigned to the university in the memorandum.
It will be better if one observatory is maintained as at now than many belonging to different state governments or Islamic groups. This will prevent duplication of effort and the unwarranted misuse of public funds.
At the risk of repeating my conclusion, I would like to appeal to the general public to see the issue of moon sighting with an open mind, devoid of politics or whatever. Astronomy is one tool that will help us minimize the chances of error in that task. The antipathy that some of us have for the field and its employment is uncalled for, going by the sources we read above. We are already using it in our calendars, timings, prediction of eclipses, etc, without any problem. While we continue to use the naked eye to announce the beginning of the new moon, astronomy, with its exact calculations of eclipses, conjugation, opposition, etc, as testified by Ibn Taymiyyah, will intelligently guide us on at least when to start looking for new moon. It will also tell whether what we have seen is possibly the new moon or something else up there in the sky. And, sure, there are many things in the infinitely broad sky up there.
Bauchi,
25 October 2011
The links to Dukku’s papers are:
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2011/10/problem-of-moon-sighting-in-Nigeria.html
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2011/10/astronomy-of-moon-sighting-islamic.html
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
For Astronomy and a National Observatory
I will start this article from its conclusion: The recurrent conflicts and errors on moon sighting in Nigeria can only be resolved by employing the knowledge of astronomy as Muslims before us have done and as many renowned scholars of the past have advised. Astronomy, not astrology, will be a guide as to when the moon should be sighted and also as a verifier of the validity of the sighting.
Relying on the general thinking that we do not need astronomical calculations in moon sighting has helped in no small measure to prolong the problem. In this article, I will rely heavily on two papers written by an old classmate and colleague, Mal. Usman H. Dukku of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. I have published one of Malam Dukku's articles in my column earlier. The link to the papers will be given below. In the end, I have made a plea for the establishment of a national observatory that will help us keep track of the moon and guide us on the science of its appearance. May God guide us unto the Right Path.
Astronomy and Moon sighting
The problem starts with what many of us think, that all we need in moon sighting is the following hadith:
“Fast when it (the crescent) is seen, and break when it is seen, but if it is obscured to you, complete Shawwal to 30.”
The instruction in the hadith looks simple but over time it has proved to require great effort to carry out. Initially the Islamic community was made of Arabs in the 7th Century A.D., people who were not given to science and literature then. To them, the above hadith came as a great relief as could be easily inferred from the following hadith of Abdullah ibn Umar that was reported by Buhari and Muslim:
“We are an uneducated community: We neither write nor calculate. A month is so and so days: meaning sometimes twenty-nine and sometimes thirty.”
Later the Muslim nation would expand and encompass people and ages given to writing and calculations. Scholars did not hesitate to learn, approve and employ the science of astronomy wherever they thought it would be useful. Dukku availed us with the following words of the great scholar, Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111 AD), who made a distinction between astrology (or duba in Hausa) and astronomy:
“The study of stars (astrology) whose aim is to predict the death or life of someone; and by the appearance of so and so star the death of someone, the perishing of a certain nation or demise of a kingdom is imminent: this is neither certainty nor even an informed guess. This kind of knowledge is not sanctioned by Shariah.”
Then Al-Ghazali continued to approve of astronomy:
“However, the study of stars with which the motions of the planets, the sun and the moon are determined is a natural science and the Shari’a has never refuted it. In fact, it serves as a means of reckoning of years, months and times of fasting, pilgrimage and prayers. The rejection of this is a (sign of) failure and ignorance.”
That was about 900 years ago!
Coming a century after Ghazali, another great scholar, Shaikul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328 AD) asserted the exactitude of astronomical calculations in determining, for example, conjugation (when the new moon is formed but still in ‘hiding’),when it is full and solar and lunar eclipses. In his Majmu’ul Fatawa, he said:
“Within the scope of astronomical calculations is the determination or disappearance of the moon and Full Moon, that is conjugation and opposition, respectively. Ordinary people can know these through clear signs such as disappearance of the waning crescent at the end of the month and its appearance at the beginning of the month and complete illumination in the middle of the month.
“Calculations, on the other hand, detect these using hidden events such as conjugation of the two discs during the period of disappearance of the moon and the opposition or the sun and moon which is the moment of Full Moon. Definitely, all these events can be determined through calculations. However, the visibility of the crescent cannot be accurately determined by calculations like the time of solar and lunar eclipse.”
In his comment under the above passage, Dukku said, “In other words, astronomical calculations can tell when and where it is impossible to sight the moon and when and where the moon can be sighted.”
The reason why visibility of the crescent cannot be determined accurately has to do with many physical reasons, including weather, season, position of the viewer,etc. Scientists have found out that visibility starts at least 12 hours after conjugation. May God bless Shaykhul Islam!
Later in the paper, Dukku availed us with the words of 8th Century AH scholar, Al-Subkiy, regarding astronomical calculations that appeared in Ahkam al-Ahillah of Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Farih:
“What astronomical calculations can determine is the possibility or otherwise of sighting (the crescent)… What is meant here is a situation in which an informant informs about his sighting (of the crescent) while it is impossible (according to astronomical calculation) to see it. Information can either be true or false and giving false information may be either deliberate or due to an error; and either of these has limitless causes.
“Therefore,” al-Subkiy concluded, “it is not rational to accept information that is liable to these, or to testify on it, when it is impossible to sight (the crescent), because the law cannot be based on impossibilities.”
Al-Subkiy gave the reason why the jurists of his time took the stand of rejecting testimonies on moon sighting that contradict astronomical calculations:
“We have not found this issue written, thus we had to analyse it and give a ruling that such a testimony should be rejected. The reason for the (earlier) jurist’s silence on this issue is its rare occurrence (during their time). When it occurred during our time, we got a reason to speak on it. Jurisprudence is a sea no one can traverse and its issues are renewed with the renewal of its events.”
On this, another scholar, al-Abbadiy, was very strong in language:
“If definitive astronomical calculations indicate impossibility of sighting (the crescent), the sighting claim of even a trustworthy person should not be accepted. This is a clear issue. Fasting is not valid under this situation and opposing this is stubbornness and arrogance.”
In the last paragraph of his paper, Dukku said
“It may be concluded, from the foregoing, that astronomical science is compatible with the Shari’a injunction of basing the beginning of the lunar months on physical sighting of the crescent moon. It is a useful guide in moon sighting and helps in reducing errors. It is therefore recommended that Muslims all over the world, but in Nigeria in particular, be encouraged to use astronomical knowledge in enhancing physical sighting of the moon. This recommendation is in line with the resolution of the World Fiqh Council during its third conference, held in Amman , Jordan, in 1986.”
Twenty-five years after Amman, Nigerian Muslims remain adamant. We have expressed total defiance to anything astronomical even though, as shown above, reputable scholars of the highest order have agreed on the need to compliment our visual sighting with astronomical calculations and many Muslim countries around the world have adopted one form of recruiting the aid of astronomical calculations or another.
While differences between regions in moon sighting in ages past went unnoticed, the detachment of Nigeria from the rest of the Muslim world on this issue has become unsettling. The statistics as shown by Dukku in another paper are clear. Nigeria has always taken the gold medal when it comes to moon sighting. Even when it starts the fasting of Ramadan with the rest of the world, which it rarely does except with Libya, it is always – always – the first, and only few times among the first, to break it. The Ramadan moon has always been 29 for over 50 years, something that defies even the hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) who fasted more 30s than 29s in the period of only nine years in Medina.
So let us be practical and agree that there is a problem. I believe we can do it, unlike our inability to solve other national problems where economic interests are involved. This is not petrol, elections, education or transport. The solution here is ready made. It lies in treading the path taken by other nations. They combine astronomical calculations with physical observations to determine their calendar. This is not only in states of Libya or Egypt, but also in Saudi Arabia. In establishing his assertion that “the scholars are unanimous that any claim of moon sighting must be scrutinized and if it contradicts established common knowledge and expert knowledge (urf) about the moon (astronomy inclusive) it should be rejected,” Dukku, once more,cited “an eminent scholar, a member of the High Judicial Council of Saudi Arabia”, al-Shaykh Abdullah Ibn Suleyman al-Mani’ who said:
“For the fact that the testimony of sighting (the moon) should be free from what can nullify it according to practical experience, common sense and common knowledge, if it is not, then it is necessary to reject it. If experts in astronomy confirm that the sun will set before the birth of the New Moon and a witness comes to testify that he has sighted the moon after sunset, it is necessary to reject such a testimony, for it is a testimony about which we can at best say – giving the witness the benefit of the doubt – that the witness has erred in his testimony: for how can the crescent be sighted after sunset while the situation is that the New Moon is not yet born? That is to say the moon is ahead of the sun towards the west – the moon is in the front and the sun behind.” (Unpublished Fatwa dated 17th Sha’ban, 1422 AH)
“How can the crescent be sighted after sunset while the situation is that the New Moon is not yet born?” Sheikh Mani’ should come to Nigeria to get plenty of us that will give him so many answers. It even happened this year. The moon was ahead of the sun by far, yet some of us said they saw it, two days before the conjugation! Whether what they saw was new moon or the old one is a different question.
If it were not for the fact that we are, unfortunately, living at a time when the verses of the Qur’an carry less weight than the words of ulama, we would not have quarreled with a science that has long ago established what the Qur’an has said repeatedly. So preponderant is the evidence from the Qur’an that one will not be mistaken if he says there is astronomy in the Quran:
“And everything with Him is measured.” (13.8)
“The Sun and the Moon are punctual.” (55.5)
“And the Sun runs on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise. And for the moon we have appointed mansions till she return like an old shriveled palm-leaf. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit.” (36: 38-40)
And We made the night and the day two signs. Then we make the dark the sign of the night, and We make the sign of the day sight-giving, that you may seek bounty from your Lord, and that you may know the computation of the years, and the reckoning; and everything have We expounded with a clear expounding.” (17:12)
“And landmarks (too), and by the star they find a way.” (16:16)
“And it is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Each float, each in an orbit.”
Etc. Etc…
Astronomy helps us to know the measures that are ordained for these bodies and how we can use them to guide us – or find our way – through time and space. Certainly, it is not the astronomers that were condemned by the Holy Prophet as liars, but astrologers. In Nigeria, we are not willing to distinguish the two; we often jump to the conclusion that both stand condemned. How could it be so in a religion whose scripture has the above verses?
Moon Sighting Committee
The moon sighting committee under the Sultan will benefit a lot from people who have taken the pains to always study the moon in this country. There is a complete body – the Nigerian Moon Sighting Society – whose work will be of immense benefit to the committee if the committee is ready to advance beyond our traditional stand which has not solved our perpetual crisis regarding moon sighting. The truth is that the committee so far is hesitant to the idea of being guided by astronomy, if I am to put the cold war between the two mildly. This is normal. Change is always met with some skepticism and resistance.
If I were to find my way, I will not fail to advise the Sultan to fuse the two camps by incorporating members of the society into the committee. His announcement of when to start searching for the new moon should be guided by astronomical calculations and observations. Gradually, gradually, we will oneday reach a point where we will be strong enough to use the fatwas of al-Subkiy and al-Mani', when we will insist that the sighting should not contradict common or expert’s knowledge.
Also where a mistake is made, expert knowledge and observation (like the day of the full moon) can be used to adjust the calendar of that month such that the mistake does not spill over to the next or even subsequent months. This is often done in countries like Saudi Arabia. This year, given a lacuna in their arrangement, a court in Riyadh accepted the testimony of two people and the end of fasting was announced. Experts, however did not see it in other cities like Medina. Later, it was realized that there was an error. I heard that an announcement was made to adjust the calendar accordingly. If the experts were relied upon since, as Ibn Taymiyyah said, they would have calculated the exact time of conjugation (when the new moon is actually born) and advise that it is possible or impossible to see the crescent at so and so times. This drag-drag wey we de do on the question of using astronomy no go last wo. It was not surprising that Gaddafi's Libya went by astronomical calculations.
Observatory
Finally, it will also be a good idea for the Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs to establish a permanent observatory that will assist the moon sighting committee with necessary data to reach an informed decision. Such observatories are found in many Muslim countries. A conference in 1966 held under the auspices of Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Council urged, among other resolutions, “Islamic governments and peoples to set up Islamic authorities in their respective countries to be assigned the task of determining the first of lunar month with the help of observatories and reliable astronomers.“
I have learnt that finally, after 45 years since that call from Al-Azhar, the Sultan in Nigeria has assigned a competent staff of the SCIA at the National Mosque with background in Islamic studies the duty of observing the moon throughout the year already. The brother has already become conversant with the various available software on astronomy of moon sighting and other things. I consider him to be the precursor of that observatory. All we need is to expand that effort to give it a permanent structure and function.
Such an observatory does not need to be sophisticated. Two graduates and a technician will be able to handle it. A board of few experts and ulama can be appointed to oversee its year round activities.
As for the site, a university or polytechnic in the Northwest where the sky is most clear will be suitable. Its department of physics or geography can host it as a unit comfortably.
Funding to cater for building, equipment, furnishing, salaries, conferences and passages generally can be sourced from various donors, if these items are not assigned to the university in the memorandum.
It will be better if one observatory is maintained as at now than many belonging to different state governments or Islamic groups. This will prevent duplication of effort and the unwarranted misuse of public funds.
At the risk of repeating my conclusion, I would like to appeal to the general public to see the issue of moon sighting with an open mind, devoid of politics or whatever. Astronomy is one tool that will help us minimize the chances of error in that task. The antipathy that some of us have for the field and its employment is uncalled for, going by the sources we read above. We are already using it in our calendars, timings, prediction of eclipses, etc, without any problem. While we continue to use the naked eye to announce the beginning of the new moon, astronomy, with its exact calculations of eclipses, conjugation, opposition, etc, as testified by Ibn Taymiyyah, will intelligently guide us on at least when to start looking for new moon. It will also tell whether what we have seen is possibly the new moon or something else up there in the sky. And, sure, there are many things in the infinitely broad sky up there.
Bauchi,
25 October 2011
The links to Dukku’s papers are:
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2011/10/problem-of-moon-sighting-in-Nigeria.html
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2011/10/astronomy-of-moon-sighting-islamic.html
The Astronomy of Moon Sighting: An Islamic Perspective
The Astronomy of Moonsighting: An Islamic Perspective
Usman H Dukku
Biological Sciences Programme
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University
Bauchi
E-mail: udukku@yahoo.com
Phone: 08057041968
A paper presented at the
National Conference on Moonsighting
Organized by the
Islamic Studies Section, Department of Education
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
From 12th to 16th July 2009
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العلمين والصلاة والسلام على محمد وعلى آله و صحبه
Abstract
This paper discusses the application of astronomy to moonsighting. It begins by defining astronomy distinguishing it from astrology, a closely related field often confused with it. It then went further to discuss the accuracy of astronomical calculations and their compatibility with the Sharia injunction of sighting the crescent moon as a means of determining the beginning of lunar months. The paper concludes that astronomical calculations are compatible with moonsighting, within the provisions of the Sharia, and, therefore, recommends that astronomy should complement physical sighting of the crescent in order to enhance the process by checking the errors often associated with moonsighting.
The Astronomy of Moonsighting: An Islamic Perspective
Astronomy is defined as “the scientific study of the universe, especially of the motions, positions, sizes, composition, and behavior of astronomical objects.”1 Closely related to astronomy, and often confused with it, is astrology which is defined as “the study of the positions of the moon, sun, and other planets in the belief that their motions affect human beings.”1
Al-Gazaliy makes a distinction between the two as follows:
“The study of stars (astrology) whose aim is to predict the death or life of someone; and by the appearance of so and so star the death of someone, the perishing of a certain nation or demise of a kingdom is imminent: this is neither certainty nor even an informed guess. This kind (of knowledge) is not sanctioned by the Shari’a. However, the study of stars (astronomy) with which the motions of the planets, the sun and the moon are determined is a natural science and the Shari’a has never refuted it. In fact it serves as a means of reckoning of years, months and times of fasting, pilgrimage and prayers. The rejection of this is a (sign of) failure and ignorance.”2
It can be seen from the above definitions that whereas astronomy is a definitive science based on deductive reasoning, astrology is a conjecture. The subject of this paper is astronomy.
Accuracy of astronomical calculations
Astronomers use accurate calculations to predict astronomical events. The precision of these calculations can easily be confirmed by monitoring a solar or a lunar eclipse – two of the many events predicted by astronomers since ancient times. Has anyone ever witnessed an eclipse occurring at a time other than that predicted by the astronomers? These calculations can be used to confirm past events as well. For example, in the book, Fiqh al-Sirah,3 it is stated that the Prophet (SAWS) set out (from Madinah) for the farewell pilgrimage on 25th Dhu al-Qi'dah 10 A.H. and that the month had 29 days and 1st Dhu al-Hijjah was on a Thursday. Now let us compare this account with astronomical calculations.
According to MoonCalc,4 a computer programme that calculates astronomical events, including crescent visibility, 29th Dhu al-Qi'dah 10 A. H corresponds with Wednesday 26th February 632 A.D. and 1st Dhu al-Hijjah 10 A.H with Thursday 27th February 632 A.D. This also confirms the historical account that the day of Arafat of that year was Friday. The accuracy of these calculations has its origin in the precision with which the heavenly bodies move, as described by the Glorious Qur'an:
"The sun and the moon follow courses exactly computed."5
Ibn Kathir explains the meaning of this verse as follows:
وقوله تعالى الشمس والقمر بحسبان أي يجريان متعاقبين بحساب مقنن لا يختلف ولايضطرب
“They move in their orbit in perfect succession, according to precise calculation that is never delayed nor disturbed.”6
Astronomy of the Moon
Four of the five pillars of Islam, namely, Salah, Zakah, Fasting of the month of Ramadan and Hajj are time bound and the Shariah designated the sun and the moon as objects of timekeeping for performing these duties. This underscores the importance of studying the motions of these objects. The following verses from the Holy Quran and Hadiths of the Holy Prophet (SAWS) describe this role of the moon:
"They ask you concerning the crescent moons. Say: They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time in (the affairs of) men and for Pilgrimage."7
"It is He who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for it, that you might know the number of years and the count (of time)."8
"And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed). And the Moon, We have measured for it stations (to traverse) till it returns like the old (and withered) lower part of a date-stalk. It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit."9
Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAWS) said: "Start fasting upon sighting it (the crescent) and terminate the fast upon sighting it (the crescent) and if it is hidden to you (by clouds), then count the month of Sha'ban to thirty days."10
Abdullah ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once mentioned Ramadan and said, "Do not begin the fast until you see the new crescent, and do not break the fast (at the end of Ramadan) until you see it. If the new crescent is obscured from you, then work out when it should be."11
Abdullah Ibn Umar (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAWS) said: "We are an uneducated community: We neither write nor calculate. A month is so and so days; meaning sometimes twenty nine and sometimes thirty."12
The moon is the only known natural satellite of Earth. It revolves around Earth, completing one revolution in about 27 days (27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes). This is called the orbital period or the moon. However, as the moon revolves around the earth, the latter revolves around the sun and at a certain time the three objects lie in the same plane, with the moon in the middle. This moment, termed conjugation (birth of the new moon), marks the end of a lunar month and the beginning of another. The length of a lunar month, also called synodic period, is the period between two successive conjugations and is about 29½ days (29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes).
The visibility, shape and brightness of the moon, from the earth, depend on the illumination it receives from the sun and this, in turn, depends on the moon’s angular distance from the sun as it moves in its orbit in an easterly direction. The various forms in which the moon appears from the earth, which change daily, are called Moon phases. The most obvious ones are:
New Moon: This phase is completely hidden from Earth because the face of the moon that faces the earth backs the sun and, therefore, is completely dark, since it does not receive any sunlight. It should be noted that the moon does not produce any light; its luminosity is due to the sunlight it reflects.
Waxing Crescent: This phase begins from the first appearance of the moon (which marks the beginning of the lunar month, according to the Shari’a) and ends at the First Quarter Moon.
First Quarter Moon: This occurs about a week from the moment of the New Moon when the moon has travelled a quarter of the distance of its orbit (90 degrees). At this moment the moon looks like a halved disc.
Waxing Gibbous: The appearance of the moon between First Quarter Moon and Full Moon phases.
Full Moon: This occurs about two weeks from the moment of the New Moon when the moon has travelled half the distance of its orbit (180 degrees). At this moment the moon looks like a perfect disc.
Waning Gibbous: The Moon as it appears between the Full Moon and the Last Quarter phases.
Last Quarter Moon: This occurs about three weeks from the last New Moon (and a week to the next New Moon) when the moon has travelled three quarters of the distance of its orbit (270 degrees). At this moment the moon looks like a halved disc.
Waning Crescent: This is the phase from Last Quarter Moon to the disappearance of the moon, hours before the next New Moon.
The phases that are of special importance to our discussion are New Moon, Full Moon, Waning Crescent and Waxing Crescent.
The occurrence of the new moon phase has already been described. What we may need to add here is that the moment of the new moon is the most important reference point in the science of moonsighting: The new (waxing) crescent can only be seen after the New Moon. Caldwell and Laney have this to say on this issue:
“At this time (of the new moon) the moon is always invisible from the earth. When the moon first becomes visible again (always more, usually much more, than half a day after astronomical new moon), observers see a young crescent moon.”13
It is also important to mention that it is at the instant of the New Moon that solar eclipses occur. This makes a solar eclipse an important event in checking the authenticity of a lunar date.
The moment of Full Moon (al badr in Arabic), on the other hand, is midway between two successive conjugations when the three bodies again lie in a straight line, but with the earth in the middle( a lunar eclipse can only occur at this moment). This moment occurs between the 13th and 15th of the lunar month that started with the correct sighting of the moon. The Arabic name for this period (ayyam al bid) is as a result of two phenomena unique to this period, that is, the moon is brightest and there is no total darkness during this period since there is an overlap between daylight and moonlight at dusk and dawn.
Towards the end of the month, that is, after Last Quarter Moon, the moon is described as a waning crescent. It rises in the morning, before sunrise, and it progressively appears thinner and lower until it finally fades away.
As the moon leaves the Sun – Earth line, after conjugation, its face that faces Earth starts getting light from Sun and reflecting it towards Earth. When it reflects sufficient light to be seen from Earth, observers see it as a waxing crescent. Ibn Taymiyya describes these events in the following words:
وَهَذَا الِاجْتِمَاعُ يَكُونُ بَعْدَ الِاسْتِسْرَارِ وَقَبْلَ الِاسْتِهْلَالِ فَإِنَّ الْقَمَرَ يَجْرِي فِي مَنَازِلِهِ الثَّمَانِيَةِ وَالْعِشْرِينَ كَمَا قَدَّرَهُ اللَّهُ مَنَازِلَ ثُمَّ يَقْرُبُ مِنْ الشَّمْسِ فَيَسْتَسِرُّ لَيْلَةً أَوْ لَيْلَتَيْنِ ; لِمُحَاذَاتِهِ لَهَا فَإِذَا خَرَجَ مِنْ تَحْتِهَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ النُّورَ ثُمَّ يَزْدَادُ النُّورُ كُلَّمَا بَعُدَ عَنْهَا إلَى أَنْ يُقَابِلَهَا لَيْلَةَ الْإِبْدَارِ ثُمَّ يَنْقُصُ كُلَّمَا قَرُبَ مِنْهَا إلَى أَنْ يُجَامِعَهَا14
“This conjugation takes place after the disappearance of the moon and before the new
Crescent. The moon moves in its 28 stations destined for it by Allah; then it approaches the sun and disappears for one or two nights because of its closeness to it (the sun). When the moon leaves Sun’s domain, Allah illuminates it and this illumination increase as the moon moves further away from the sun up to the time of opposition at Full Moon. Thereafter, the illumination diminishes as the moon comes closer to the sun until it conjugates with it.”14
Astronomical Calculations and Crescent Visibility
Whereas astronomical calculations can predict very accurately (without an error) phenomena, that depend on the motions of Sun, Earth and Moon, which are constant and independent of the observer’s location, such as moonrise and set times, the birth of the New Moon, Full Moon and eclipses, they are not sufficient in predicting the visibility of the crescent moon, after New Moon, with that degree of accuracy. This is because non astronomical factors such as weather, land topography and the conditions of the observer also affect crescent visibility. This fact is presented by Ibn Taymiyya in the following words:
وَمِنْ مَعْرِفَةِ الْحِسَابِ الِاسْتِسْرَارُ وَالْإِبْدَارُ الَّذِي هُوَ الِاجْتِمَاعُ وَالِاسْتِقْبَالُ فَالنَّاسُ يُعَبِّرُونَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ بِالْأَمْرِ الظَّاهِرِ مِنْ الِاسْتِسْرَارِ الْهِلَالِيِّ فِي آخِرِ الشَّهْرِ وَظُهُورِهِ فِي أَوَّلِهِ وَكَمَالِ نُورِهِ فِي وَسَطِهِ والحساب يُعَبِّرُونَ بِالْأَمْرِ الْخَفِيِّ مِنْ اجْتِمَاعِ الْقُرْصَيْنِ الَّذِي هُوَ وَقْتُ الِاسْتِسْرَارِ وَمِنْ اسْتِقْبَالِ الشَّمْسِ وَالْقَمَرِ الَّذِي هُوَ وَقْتُ الْإِبْدَارِ فَإِنَّ هَذَا يُضْبَطُ بِالْحِسَابِ . وَأَمَّا الْإِهْلَالُ فَلَا لَهُ عِنْدَهُمْ مِنْ جِهَةِ الْحِسَابِ ضَبْطٌ ; لِأَنَّهُ لَا يُضْبَطُ بِحِسَابٍ يُعْرَفُ كَمَا يُعْرَفُ وَقْتُ الْكُسُوفِ وَالْخُسُوفِ15
"Within the scope of astronomical calculations is the determination of disappearance of the moon and Full Moon, that is conjugation and opposition, respectively. Ordinary people can know these through clear signs such as disappearance of the waning crescent at the end of the month and its appearance at the beginning of the month and complete illumination in the middle of the month. Calculations, on the other hand, detect these using by hidden events such as conjugation of the two discs during the period of disappearance of the moon and from the opposition or the sun and moon which is the moment of Full Moon. Definitely all these events can be determined through calculations. However, the visibility of the crescent cannot be accurately determined by calculations like the time of solar and lunar eclipse.”15
In other words astronomical calculations can tell when and where it is impossible to sight the moon and when and where the moon can be sighted. Computer programmes that simplify these calculations are now available. For example, Accurate Times, a non-technical, easy to use programme, developed by Muhammad Odeh,16 computes, among other things, crescent visibility and prayer times for any given location. In addition it displays the world map with details of crescent visibility for any given month.
Moonsighting and Astronomical calculations
Now, given the accuracy of astronomical calculations and the advancement in technology, which makes it possible to predict when and where the crescent moon can be sighted, should we replace physical sighting of the moon with astronomical calculations?
The view of the majority of jurists is that astronomical calculations should not replace physical sighting of the crescent. However it should be noted that some scholars, such as Mutarrif (among the Tabi’un) and al-Shafi’iy, approve the use of astronomical calculations, in place of physical sighting of the moon, under certain conditions , such as when there is an overcast on the 30th night17. In the same vein, the scholars are unanimous that any claim of moonsighting must be scrutinized and if it contradicts established common and expert knowledge (‘urf) about the moon (astronomy inclusive) it should be rejected. For example, the eminent scholar, a member of the High Judiciary Council of Saudi Arabia, al-Shaykh Abdullah Ibn Sulayman al-Mani’ explains as follows:
ونظراً إلى أن الشهادة بالرؤية يجب أن تكون منفكة عما يكذبها حساً وعقلاً وعرفاً وإلا فيجب ردها فإذا قرر علماء الفلك أن الشمس تغرب قبل ولادة الهلال وجاء من يشهد برؤية الهلال بعد غروب الشمس فيجب رد هذه الشهادة لأنها شهادة غاية ما نقول فيها عند إحساننا الظن بالشاهد بأن الشاهد قد وهم في شهادته وغلط. إذ كيف يُرى الهلال بعد غروب الشمس والحال أن الهلال لم يولد بعد أي أنه لا يزال متقدماً على الشمس إلى جهة الغرب فهو أمامها وهي خلفه من جهة الشرق.18
“For the fact that the testimony of sighting (the moon) should be free from what can nullify it according to practical experience, common sense and common knowledge, if it is not, then it is necessary to reject it. If experts in astronomy confirm that the sun will set before the birth of the New Moon and a witness comes to testify that he has sighted the moon after sunset, it is necessary to reject such a testimony, for it is a testimony about which we can at best say - giving the witness the benefit of doubt – that the witness has erred and strayed in his testimony: for how can the crescent be sighted after sunset while the situation is that the New Moon is not yet born? That is to say the moon is ahead of the sun towards the west - the moon is in the front and the sun behind.” 18
Another eminent scholar, al-Subkiy (683-756 AH), had earlier expressed the same opinion:
"What astronomical calculations can determine is the possibility or otherwise of sighting (the crescent)…..What is meant here is a situation in which an informant informs about his sighting (of the crescent) while it is impossible (according to astronomical calculations) to see it. Information can either be true or false and giving false information may be either deliberate or due to an error; and either of these has limitless causes. Therefore, it is not rational to accept information that is liable to these, or to testify on it, when it is impossible to sight (the crescent), because the law cannot be based on impossibilities. We have not found this issue written, thus we had to analyse it and give a ruling that such a testimony should be rejected. The reason for the (earlier) jurists’ silence on this issue is its rare occurrence (during their time). When it occurred during our time, we got a reason to speak on it. Jurisprudence is a sea no one can traverse and its issues are renewed with the renewal of its events.”2
Still another eminent scholar, Al-Abbadiy, expressed the same opinion:
“If definitive astronomical calculations indicate impossibility of sighting (the crescent), the sighting claim of even a trustworthy person should not be accepted. This is a clear issue. Fasting is not valid under this situation and opposing this is stubbornness and arrogance.”2
This opinion agrees with what happened during the early years of this Ummah when a sighting claim by Anas bn Malik (RA), a companion of the Prophet (SAWS), was rejected because it was found to be an erroneous one. The story goes thus:
“A group of people, among them Hadart Anas b. Malik (RA), were looking for the crescent moon of Ramadan. He was close to 100 (years old). He said: ‘Indeed, I see it; it is there.’ And he kept pointing to (in the sky). However, others did not see any. Iyas looked at Anas (RA) and (found) a hair from his eyebrow bent (over his eye). Iyas rubbed and smoothed his brow. Then he told him:’Abu Hamzah! (Now) show us the moon’s location (in the sky).’ He (Anas RA) kept looking (for it) and then said: ‘I don't see it (now).” 19
Now the answer to our question: Astronomical calculations should compliment actual sighting of the crescent moon rather than replace it.
It may be concluded, from the foregoing, that astronomical science is compatible with the Shari’a injunction of basing the beginning of the lunar months on physical sighting of the crescent moon. It is a useful guide in moonsighting and helps in reducing errors. It is therefore recommended that Muslims all over the world, but in Nigeria in particular, be encouraged to use astronomical knowledge in enhancing physical sighting of the moon. This recommendation is in line with the resolution of the World Fiqh Council during its third conference, held in Amman, Jordan, in 1986.20
References
Encarta Dictionaries, Microsoft® Encarta® 2009, Microsoft Corporation.
Al-Farih, Ahmad b. Abdillah b. Muhammad. Ahkam al-Ahillah. Dar al Jawziy 1429 AH.
Al-Butiy, Muhammad Said Ramadan. Fiqh al-Sirah. Dar al-Fikr. 1993/1414AH
Ahmad, M (2001) Moon Calculator Version 6.0. http://www.ummah.net/ildl/mooncalc.html Accessed on 10th July 2009
The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter 55, al-Rahman, Verse 3
Ibn Kathir(701-774 AH), Abu Al-Fida' `Imad Ad-Din Isma il bin 'Umar bin Kathir Al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi. Abridged Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Darussalam Publishing and Distribution
The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter 2, al-Baqarah, Verse 189
The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter 10, Yunus, Verse 5
The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter 36, Ya-sin, Verses 37-39
Hadith transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim
Hadith transmitted by Imam Malik
Hadith transmitted by Bukhari
Caldwell, J A. R. and Laney, C. D. First Visibility of the Lunar Crescent http://www.saao.ac.za/public-info/sun-moon-stars/moon-index/lunar-crescent-visibility/first-visibility-of-lunar-crescent/ Accessed on 25th June 2009
Ibn Taymiyya, Shaikh al-Islam Ahmad b. Abdilhalim. Majmu’ al-Fatawa v25 p184
Ibn Taymiyya, Shaikh al-Islam Ahmad b. Abdilhalim. Majmu’ al-Fatawa v25 p185
Odeh, Muhammad Shawkat (2005) Accurate Times Version 5.1. http://www.icoproject.org/accut.html Accessed on 10th July 2009
Ibn Rushd (d 595 AH), Abu al-Walid Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b Ahmad b Rushd al-Qurtubiy al-Andalusiy. Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid. V 1 p228
Al-Mani’, Al-Shaikh Abdullah b Sulayman. Unpublished Fatwa dated 17th Sha’ban 1422AH
Ibn Khallikan, Wafayaat. Ed. by Yusuf A. and Maryam Q. al-Taweel, v. 1, pp. 248-249
IslamOnline. http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/arabic/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatw Accessed on 18th December 2004
Usman H Dukku
Biological Sciences Programme
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University
Bauchi
E-mail: udukku@yahoo.com
Phone: 08057041968
A paper presented at the
National Conference on Moonsighting
Organized by the
Islamic Studies Section, Department of Education
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
From 12th to 16th July 2009
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العلمين والصلاة والسلام على محمد وعلى آله و صحبه
Abstract
This paper discusses the application of astronomy to moonsighting. It begins by defining astronomy distinguishing it from astrology, a closely related field often confused with it. It then went further to discuss the accuracy of astronomical calculations and their compatibility with the Sharia injunction of sighting the crescent moon as a means of determining the beginning of lunar months. The paper concludes that astronomical calculations are compatible with moonsighting, within the provisions of the Sharia, and, therefore, recommends that astronomy should complement physical sighting of the crescent in order to enhance the process by checking the errors often associated with moonsighting.
The Astronomy of Moonsighting: An Islamic Perspective
Astronomy is defined as “the scientific study of the universe, especially of the motions, positions, sizes, composition, and behavior of astronomical objects.”1 Closely related to astronomy, and often confused with it, is astrology which is defined as “the study of the positions of the moon, sun, and other planets in the belief that their motions affect human beings.”1
Al-Gazaliy makes a distinction between the two as follows:
“The study of stars (astrology) whose aim is to predict the death or life of someone; and by the appearance of so and so star the death of someone, the perishing of a certain nation or demise of a kingdom is imminent: this is neither certainty nor even an informed guess. This kind (of knowledge) is not sanctioned by the Shari’a. However, the study of stars (astronomy) with which the motions of the planets, the sun and the moon are determined is a natural science and the Shari’a has never refuted it. In fact it serves as a means of reckoning of years, months and times of fasting, pilgrimage and prayers. The rejection of this is a (sign of) failure and ignorance.”2
It can be seen from the above definitions that whereas astronomy is a definitive science based on deductive reasoning, astrology is a conjecture. The subject of this paper is astronomy.
Accuracy of astronomical calculations
Astronomers use accurate calculations to predict astronomical events. The precision of these calculations can easily be confirmed by monitoring a solar or a lunar eclipse – two of the many events predicted by astronomers since ancient times. Has anyone ever witnessed an eclipse occurring at a time other than that predicted by the astronomers? These calculations can be used to confirm past events as well. For example, in the book, Fiqh al-Sirah,3 it is stated that the Prophet (SAWS) set out (from Madinah) for the farewell pilgrimage on 25th Dhu al-Qi'dah 10 A.H. and that the month had 29 days and 1st Dhu al-Hijjah was on a Thursday. Now let us compare this account with astronomical calculations.
According to MoonCalc,4 a computer programme that calculates astronomical events, including crescent visibility, 29th Dhu al-Qi'dah 10 A. H corresponds with Wednesday 26th February 632 A.D. and 1st Dhu al-Hijjah 10 A.H with Thursday 27th February 632 A.D. This also confirms the historical account that the day of Arafat of that year was Friday. The accuracy of these calculations has its origin in the precision with which the heavenly bodies move, as described by the Glorious Qur'an:
"The sun and the moon follow courses exactly computed."5
Ibn Kathir explains the meaning of this verse as follows:
وقوله تعالى الشمس والقمر بحسبان أي يجريان متعاقبين بحساب مقنن لا يختلف ولايضطرب
“They move in their orbit in perfect succession, according to precise calculation that is never delayed nor disturbed.”6
Astronomy of the Moon
Four of the five pillars of Islam, namely, Salah, Zakah, Fasting of the month of Ramadan and Hajj are time bound and the Shariah designated the sun and the moon as objects of timekeeping for performing these duties. This underscores the importance of studying the motions of these objects. The following verses from the Holy Quran and Hadiths of the Holy Prophet (SAWS) describe this role of the moon:
"They ask you concerning the crescent moons. Say: They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time in (the affairs of) men and for Pilgrimage."7
"It is He who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for it, that you might know the number of years and the count (of time)."8
"And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed). And the Moon, We have measured for it stations (to traverse) till it returns like the old (and withered) lower part of a date-stalk. It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit."9
Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAWS) said: "Start fasting upon sighting it (the crescent) and terminate the fast upon sighting it (the crescent) and if it is hidden to you (by clouds), then count the month of Sha'ban to thirty days."10
Abdullah ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once mentioned Ramadan and said, "Do not begin the fast until you see the new crescent, and do not break the fast (at the end of Ramadan) until you see it. If the new crescent is obscured from you, then work out when it should be."11
Abdullah Ibn Umar (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAWS) said: "We are an uneducated community: We neither write nor calculate. A month is so and so days; meaning sometimes twenty nine and sometimes thirty."12
The moon is the only known natural satellite of Earth. It revolves around Earth, completing one revolution in about 27 days (27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes). This is called the orbital period or the moon. However, as the moon revolves around the earth, the latter revolves around the sun and at a certain time the three objects lie in the same plane, with the moon in the middle. This moment, termed conjugation (birth of the new moon), marks the end of a lunar month and the beginning of another. The length of a lunar month, also called synodic period, is the period between two successive conjugations and is about 29½ days (29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes).
The visibility, shape and brightness of the moon, from the earth, depend on the illumination it receives from the sun and this, in turn, depends on the moon’s angular distance from the sun as it moves in its orbit in an easterly direction. The various forms in which the moon appears from the earth, which change daily, are called Moon phases. The most obvious ones are:
New Moon: This phase is completely hidden from Earth because the face of the moon that faces the earth backs the sun and, therefore, is completely dark, since it does not receive any sunlight. It should be noted that the moon does not produce any light; its luminosity is due to the sunlight it reflects.
Waxing Crescent: This phase begins from the first appearance of the moon (which marks the beginning of the lunar month, according to the Shari’a) and ends at the First Quarter Moon.
First Quarter Moon: This occurs about a week from the moment of the New Moon when the moon has travelled a quarter of the distance of its orbit (90 degrees). At this moment the moon looks like a halved disc.
Waxing Gibbous: The appearance of the moon between First Quarter Moon and Full Moon phases.
Full Moon: This occurs about two weeks from the moment of the New Moon when the moon has travelled half the distance of its orbit (180 degrees). At this moment the moon looks like a perfect disc.
Waning Gibbous: The Moon as it appears between the Full Moon and the Last Quarter phases.
Last Quarter Moon: This occurs about three weeks from the last New Moon (and a week to the next New Moon) when the moon has travelled three quarters of the distance of its orbit (270 degrees). At this moment the moon looks like a halved disc.
Waning Crescent: This is the phase from Last Quarter Moon to the disappearance of the moon, hours before the next New Moon.
The phases that are of special importance to our discussion are New Moon, Full Moon, Waning Crescent and Waxing Crescent.
The occurrence of the new moon phase has already been described. What we may need to add here is that the moment of the new moon is the most important reference point in the science of moonsighting: The new (waxing) crescent can only be seen after the New Moon. Caldwell and Laney have this to say on this issue:
“At this time (of the new moon) the moon is always invisible from the earth. When the moon first becomes visible again (always more, usually much more, than half a day after astronomical new moon), observers see a young crescent moon.”13
It is also important to mention that it is at the instant of the New Moon that solar eclipses occur. This makes a solar eclipse an important event in checking the authenticity of a lunar date.
The moment of Full Moon (al badr in Arabic), on the other hand, is midway between two successive conjugations when the three bodies again lie in a straight line, but with the earth in the middle( a lunar eclipse can only occur at this moment). This moment occurs between the 13th and 15th of the lunar month that started with the correct sighting of the moon. The Arabic name for this period (ayyam al bid) is as a result of two phenomena unique to this period, that is, the moon is brightest and there is no total darkness during this period since there is an overlap between daylight and moonlight at dusk and dawn.
Towards the end of the month, that is, after Last Quarter Moon, the moon is described as a waning crescent. It rises in the morning, before sunrise, and it progressively appears thinner and lower until it finally fades away.
As the moon leaves the Sun – Earth line, after conjugation, its face that faces Earth starts getting light from Sun and reflecting it towards Earth. When it reflects sufficient light to be seen from Earth, observers see it as a waxing crescent. Ibn Taymiyya describes these events in the following words:
وَهَذَا الِاجْتِمَاعُ يَكُونُ بَعْدَ الِاسْتِسْرَارِ وَقَبْلَ الِاسْتِهْلَالِ فَإِنَّ الْقَمَرَ يَجْرِي فِي مَنَازِلِهِ الثَّمَانِيَةِ وَالْعِشْرِينَ كَمَا قَدَّرَهُ اللَّهُ مَنَازِلَ ثُمَّ يَقْرُبُ مِنْ الشَّمْسِ فَيَسْتَسِرُّ لَيْلَةً أَوْ لَيْلَتَيْنِ ; لِمُحَاذَاتِهِ لَهَا فَإِذَا خَرَجَ مِنْ تَحْتِهَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ النُّورَ ثُمَّ يَزْدَادُ النُّورُ كُلَّمَا بَعُدَ عَنْهَا إلَى أَنْ يُقَابِلَهَا لَيْلَةَ الْإِبْدَارِ ثُمَّ يَنْقُصُ كُلَّمَا قَرُبَ مِنْهَا إلَى أَنْ يُجَامِعَهَا14
“This conjugation takes place after the disappearance of the moon and before the new
Crescent. The moon moves in its 28 stations destined for it by Allah; then it approaches the sun and disappears for one or two nights because of its closeness to it (the sun). When the moon leaves Sun’s domain, Allah illuminates it and this illumination increase as the moon moves further away from the sun up to the time of opposition at Full Moon. Thereafter, the illumination diminishes as the moon comes closer to the sun until it conjugates with it.”14
Astronomical Calculations and Crescent Visibility
Whereas astronomical calculations can predict very accurately (without an error) phenomena, that depend on the motions of Sun, Earth and Moon, which are constant and independent of the observer’s location, such as moonrise and set times, the birth of the New Moon, Full Moon and eclipses, they are not sufficient in predicting the visibility of the crescent moon, after New Moon, with that degree of accuracy. This is because non astronomical factors such as weather, land topography and the conditions of the observer also affect crescent visibility. This fact is presented by Ibn Taymiyya in the following words:
وَمِنْ مَعْرِفَةِ الْحِسَابِ الِاسْتِسْرَارُ وَالْإِبْدَارُ الَّذِي هُوَ الِاجْتِمَاعُ وَالِاسْتِقْبَالُ فَالنَّاسُ يُعَبِّرُونَ عَنْ ذَلِكَ بِالْأَمْرِ الظَّاهِرِ مِنْ الِاسْتِسْرَارِ الْهِلَالِيِّ فِي آخِرِ الشَّهْرِ وَظُهُورِهِ فِي أَوَّلِهِ وَكَمَالِ نُورِهِ فِي وَسَطِهِ والحساب يُعَبِّرُونَ بِالْأَمْرِ الْخَفِيِّ مِنْ اجْتِمَاعِ الْقُرْصَيْنِ الَّذِي هُوَ وَقْتُ الِاسْتِسْرَارِ وَمِنْ اسْتِقْبَالِ الشَّمْسِ وَالْقَمَرِ الَّذِي هُوَ وَقْتُ الْإِبْدَارِ فَإِنَّ هَذَا يُضْبَطُ بِالْحِسَابِ . وَأَمَّا الْإِهْلَالُ فَلَا لَهُ عِنْدَهُمْ مِنْ جِهَةِ الْحِسَابِ ضَبْطٌ ; لِأَنَّهُ لَا يُضْبَطُ بِحِسَابٍ يُعْرَفُ كَمَا يُعْرَفُ وَقْتُ الْكُسُوفِ وَالْخُسُوفِ15
"Within the scope of astronomical calculations is the determination of disappearance of the moon and Full Moon, that is conjugation and opposition, respectively. Ordinary people can know these through clear signs such as disappearance of the waning crescent at the end of the month and its appearance at the beginning of the month and complete illumination in the middle of the month. Calculations, on the other hand, detect these using by hidden events such as conjugation of the two discs during the period of disappearance of the moon and from the opposition or the sun and moon which is the moment of Full Moon. Definitely all these events can be determined through calculations. However, the visibility of the crescent cannot be accurately determined by calculations like the time of solar and lunar eclipse.”15
In other words astronomical calculations can tell when and where it is impossible to sight the moon and when and where the moon can be sighted. Computer programmes that simplify these calculations are now available. For example, Accurate Times, a non-technical, easy to use programme, developed by Muhammad Odeh,16 computes, among other things, crescent visibility and prayer times for any given location. In addition it displays the world map with details of crescent visibility for any given month.
Moonsighting and Astronomical calculations
Now, given the accuracy of astronomical calculations and the advancement in technology, which makes it possible to predict when and where the crescent moon can be sighted, should we replace physical sighting of the moon with astronomical calculations?
The view of the majority of jurists is that astronomical calculations should not replace physical sighting of the crescent. However it should be noted that some scholars, such as Mutarrif (among the Tabi’un) and al-Shafi’iy, approve the use of astronomical calculations, in place of physical sighting of the moon, under certain conditions , such as when there is an overcast on the 30th night17. In the same vein, the scholars are unanimous that any claim of moonsighting must be scrutinized and if it contradicts established common and expert knowledge (‘urf) about the moon (astronomy inclusive) it should be rejected. For example, the eminent scholar, a member of the High Judiciary Council of Saudi Arabia, al-Shaykh Abdullah Ibn Sulayman al-Mani’ explains as follows:
ونظراً إلى أن الشهادة بالرؤية يجب أن تكون منفكة عما يكذبها حساً وعقلاً وعرفاً وإلا فيجب ردها فإذا قرر علماء الفلك أن الشمس تغرب قبل ولادة الهلال وجاء من يشهد برؤية الهلال بعد غروب الشمس فيجب رد هذه الشهادة لأنها شهادة غاية ما نقول فيها عند إحساننا الظن بالشاهد بأن الشاهد قد وهم في شهادته وغلط. إذ كيف يُرى الهلال بعد غروب الشمس والحال أن الهلال لم يولد بعد أي أنه لا يزال متقدماً على الشمس إلى جهة الغرب فهو أمامها وهي خلفه من جهة الشرق.18
“For the fact that the testimony of sighting (the moon) should be free from what can nullify it according to practical experience, common sense and common knowledge, if it is not, then it is necessary to reject it. If experts in astronomy confirm that the sun will set before the birth of the New Moon and a witness comes to testify that he has sighted the moon after sunset, it is necessary to reject such a testimony, for it is a testimony about which we can at best say - giving the witness the benefit of doubt – that the witness has erred and strayed in his testimony: for how can the crescent be sighted after sunset while the situation is that the New Moon is not yet born? That is to say the moon is ahead of the sun towards the west - the moon is in the front and the sun behind.” 18
Another eminent scholar, al-Subkiy (683-756 AH), had earlier expressed the same opinion:
"What astronomical calculations can determine is the possibility or otherwise of sighting (the crescent)…..What is meant here is a situation in which an informant informs about his sighting (of the crescent) while it is impossible (according to astronomical calculations) to see it. Information can either be true or false and giving false information may be either deliberate or due to an error; and either of these has limitless causes. Therefore, it is not rational to accept information that is liable to these, or to testify on it, when it is impossible to sight (the crescent), because the law cannot be based on impossibilities. We have not found this issue written, thus we had to analyse it and give a ruling that such a testimony should be rejected. The reason for the (earlier) jurists’ silence on this issue is its rare occurrence (during their time). When it occurred during our time, we got a reason to speak on it. Jurisprudence is a sea no one can traverse and its issues are renewed with the renewal of its events.”2
Still another eminent scholar, Al-Abbadiy, expressed the same opinion:
“If definitive astronomical calculations indicate impossibility of sighting (the crescent), the sighting claim of even a trustworthy person should not be accepted. This is a clear issue. Fasting is not valid under this situation and opposing this is stubbornness and arrogance.”2
This opinion agrees with what happened during the early years of this Ummah when a sighting claim by Anas bn Malik (RA), a companion of the Prophet (SAWS), was rejected because it was found to be an erroneous one. The story goes thus:
“A group of people, among them Hadart Anas b. Malik (RA), were looking for the crescent moon of Ramadan. He was close to 100 (years old). He said: ‘Indeed, I see it; it is there.’ And he kept pointing to (in the sky). However, others did not see any. Iyas looked at Anas (RA) and (found) a hair from his eyebrow bent (over his eye). Iyas rubbed and smoothed his brow. Then he told him:’Abu Hamzah! (Now) show us the moon’s location (in the sky).’ He (Anas RA) kept looking (for it) and then said: ‘I don't see it (now).” 19
Now the answer to our question: Astronomical calculations should compliment actual sighting of the crescent moon rather than replace it.
It may be concluded, from the foregoing, that astronomical science is compatible with the Shari’a injunction of basing the beginning of the lunar months on physical sighting of the crescent moon. It is a useful guide in moonsighting and helps in reducing errors. It is therefore recommended that Muslims all over the world, but in Nigeria in particular, be encouraged to use astronomical knowledge in enhancing physical sighting of the moon. This recommendation is in line with the resolution of the World Fiqh Council during its third conference, held in Amman, Jordan, in 1986.20
References
Encarta Dictionaries, Microsoft® Encarta® 2009, Microsoft Corporation.
Al-Farih, Ahmad b. Abdillah b. Muhammad. Ahkam al-Ahillah. Dar al Jawziy 1429 AH.
Al-Butiy, Muhammad Said Ramadan. Fiqh al-Sirah. Dar al-Fikr. 1993/1414AH
Ahmad, M (2001) Moon Calculator Version 6.0. http://www.ummah.net/ildl/mooncalc.html Accessed on 10th July 2009
The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter 55, al-Rahman, Verse 3
Ibn Kathir(701-774 AH), Abu Al-Fida' `Imad Ad-Din Isma il bin 'Umar bin Kathir Al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi. Abridged Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Darussalam Publishing and Distribution
The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter 2, al-Baqarah, Verse 189
The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter 10, Yunus, Verse 5
The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter 36, Ya-sin, Verses 37-39
Hadith transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim
Hadith transmitted by Imam Malik
Hadith transmitted by Bukhari
Caldwell, J A. R. and Laney, C. D. First Visibility of the Lunar Crescent http://www.saao.ac.za/public-info/sun-moon-stars/moon-index/lunar-crescent-visibility/first-visibility-of-lunar-crescent/ Accessed on 25th June 2009
Ibn Taymiyya, Shaikh al-Islam Ahmad b. Abdilhalim. Majmu’ al-Fatawa v25 p184
Ibn Taymiyya, Shaikh al-Islam Ahmad b. Abdilhalim. Majmu’ al-Fatawa v25 p185
Odeh, Muhammad Shawkat (2005) Accurate Times Version 5.1. http://www.icoproject.org/accut.html Accessed on 10th July 2009
Ibn Rushd (d 595 AH), Abu al-Walid Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b Ahmad b Rushd al-Qurtubiy al-Andalusiy. Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid. V 1 p228
Al-Mani’, Al-Shaikh Abdullah b Sulayman. Unpublished Fatwa dated 17th Sha’ban 1422AH
Ibn Khallikan, Wafayaat. Ed. by Yusuf A. and Maryam Q. al-Taweel, v. 1, pp. 248-249
IslamOnline. http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/arabic/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatw Accessed on 18th December 2004
The Problem of Moon Sighting in Nigeria - The Way Out by Usman Hayatu Dukku
The Problem of Moonsighting in Nigeria: The Way Out
Usman H Dukku
Biological Sciences Programme
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University
Bauchi
E-mail: udukku@yahoo.com
Phone: 08057041968
A paper presented at the
National Conference on Moonsighting
Organized by the
Islamic Studies Section, Department of Education
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
From 12th to 16th July 2009
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العلمين والصلاة والسلام على محمد وعلى آله و صحبه
Abstract
This paper discusses the problem of moonsighting in Nigeria. It attempts to identify the nature of the problem, its causes and its effect on the Ummah and to recommend a solution. It observes that the commencement of the Ramadan fast is done on different days, just as the observance of the two Eids, in spite of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs' attempt to unify the Ummah on these issues. A lack of confidence in the Council's moonsighting system is identified as the major cause of this disunity. The contentious issues, often advanced to fault the system, are discussed in the light of the Qur'an, Hadith, 'Urf and, where necessary, established astronomical facts.
The Problem of Moon Sighting in Nigeria: The Way Out
Muslims in Nigeria start the Ramadan fast or celebrate the Eids on different days in spite of the official announcement of the sighting of the crescent by the Chairman, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, The Sultan of Sokoto. Consequently, the Muslim Ummah is divided into two broad groups: Those that follow the announcements with absolute loyalty and those that totally reject such announcements. Whereas the former maintain that they are following their leaders, as required by the Sharia, the latter believe the leaders are wrong and, therefore, should not be followed. The defiant group often advances the following reasons for their action:
The old moon should disappear before reappearing as a crescent moon.
Full Moon should be on the 14th day of the month.
The crescent is not popularly sighted, one or two days after the announcement.
Sha'ban and Ramadan have had 29 days each for almost 50 years while Shawwal and Dhu al-Qi'dah have had 30 days each.
Nigeria almost always starts and ends Ramadan ahead of other Muslim countries.
Now, at this juncture, the logical question one may wish to ask is: What is the way out of this problem? The way out has been defined by the Almighty Allah in His command: "O you who believe obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you! If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination."1
Therefore, in the paragraphs that follow, we are going to attempt at discussing the above issues with the view to finding a solution to this problem. In doing so, we will be guided by this verse of the Noble Quran:
"Ask those who possess knowledge if you do not know"2
Disappearance of the Moon
Probably this is the most contentious issue between the Muslim masses and their leaders who insist that they must follow the Sultan's instruction to start or end fasting. Whereas the masses believe in the disappearance of the moon, the Sultan's instructions often disregard it as happened in the last (1429) Eid al-Fitr. Those who had clear skies, and cared to observe, saw the waning (old) crescent, in the morning, on Sunday 28th September, 2008 and in the evening, of the same day, the Sultan announced that the waxing (new) crescent was sighted. Thus the masses could not dismiss what they regarded as a fact and follow the announcement. By the way, who is right?
At least the Yoruba, Fulani, Hausa and Arabs believe in the disappearance of the moon, though they describe it differently. The Yoruba say Osu losun (moon goes asleep). That is, to them the moon sleeps in the heaven at the end of every month. The Fulani call this phenomenon Jahargal (travelling), that is, to them, the moon has travelled; but to what destination? May be, unlike their Yoruba brethren, they do not know. The Hausa provide a more precise answer when they say Wata ya bi rana (the moon has followed the sun). The Arabs went a step further and divided the 30-day month into 10 portions of three days each and assigned names to them. Thus, for example, the middle portion (13th to 15th) is described as ayyam al bid (days of light) while the last one (27th to 30th ) is ayyam al mihaq (days of erasure), al-istitar (concealment) or as-sua'l (enquiry).
Now, what is the position of scientists regarding the disappearance of the moon? Caldwell and Laney of the South African Astronomical Observatory explain:
"Each new astronomical lunar month (lunation) begins at the moment when the center of the moon has the same celestial longitude as the center of the sun, from the perspective of the center of the earth, i.e. the moment when the moon "passes" the sun. This is the moment of astronomical new moon, and it occurs at the same instant everywhere since it does not depend in any way on the viewer's perspective. At this time the moon is always invisible from the earth. When the moon first becomes visible again (always more, usually much more, than half a day after astronomical new moon), observers see a young crescent moon."3
Dr Abdurazak Ebrahim Snr explains the same event, albeit in different words:
“For approximately fifteen hours on either side of the instant of conjugation, the moon is completely hidden from view.”4
Scholars of the Islamic sciences also acknowledge the disappearance of the moon. All commentators on the Qur’an, in explaining the meaning of the moon’s stages or mansions (manazil), maintain that the stages are 28 and, thereafter, the moon becomes invisible for one or two nights before reappearing as a waxing crescent ( al-hilaal in Arabic). Let us use the following verse as an example:
"It is He who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for it, that you might know the number of years and the count (of time)."5
Abdullah Ibn Foduye, commenting on this verse, said:
"It (the moon) has twenty-eight stations in twenty-eight days in every month. Thereafter it disappears for two nights, in the case of a thirty-day month, or one night, in the case of a twenty-nine-day month."6
Fuqaha' (Islamic jurists) also believe in the disappearance of the moon, for example, Ibn Rushd stated that:
فان العلماء اجمعواعلى ان الشهرالعربى يكون تسعا وعشرين ويكون ثلاثين وعلى ان الاعتبارفى تحديد شهررمضان انما هوالرؤية لقوله عليه الصلاة والسلام ((صوموا لرؤيته وافطروا لرؤيته)) وعنى بالرؤية اول ظهورالقمر بعدالسؤال7
"The scholars are unanimous that the Arabic month has 29 or 30 days and that sighting is the basis of establishing the beginning and end of Ramadan because of his (the Messenger of Allah, SAWS) saying: "Fast upon sighting
it(the moon)and end fasting upon sighting it(the moon). What is meant by sighting is the first appearance of the moon after an enquiry about it."7
Another eminent scholar, Ibn Taymiya, also acknowledged the disappearance of the moon:
وَهَذَا الِاجْتِمَاعُ يَكُونُ بَعْدَ الِاسْتِسْرَارِ وَقَبْلَ الِاسْتِهْلَالِ فَإِنَّ الْقَمَرَ يَجْرِي فِي مَنَازِلِهِ الثَّمَانِيَةِ وَالْعِشْرِينَ كَمَا قَدَّرَهُ اللَّهُ مَنَازِلَ ثُمَّ يَقْرُبُ مِنْ الشَّمْسِ فَيَسْتَسِرُّ لَيْلَةً أَوْ لَيْلَتَيْنِ ; لِمُحَاذَاتِهِ لَهَا فَإِذَا خَرَجَ مِنْ تَحْتِهَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ النُّورَ ثُمَّ يَزْدَادُ النُّورُ كُلَّمَا بَعُدَ عَنْهَا إلَى أَنْ يُقَابِلَهَا لَيْلَةَ الْإِبْدَارِ ثُمَّ يَنْقُصُ كُلَّمَا قَرُبَ مِنْهَا إلَى أَنْ يُجَامِعَهَ8
“This conjugation takes place after the disappearance of the moon and before the new
Crescent. The moon moves in its 28 stations destined for it by Allah; then it approaches the sun and disappears for one or two nights because of its closeness to it (the sun). When the moon leaves Sun’s domain, Allah illuminates it and this illumination increase as the moon moves further away from the sun up to the time of opposition at Full Moon. Thereafter, the illumination diminishes as the moon moves closer to the sun until it conjugates with it.”8
From the foregoing, it can be concluded that the disappearance of the waning crescent, before a waxing crescent appears, is a fact known to the 'amm (common people) and khass (experts) through 'urf (common knowledge), 'ilm (special or expert knowledge) and hiss (practical knowledge or experience) and supported by ijma' (consensus of Islamic jurists). It is a part of the Allah's natural laws that govern the universe. Therefore the claim that it is impossible to sight the moon in the evening of the same day it was sighted in the morning is correct. It is common sense that for the moon to be sighted in the morning it ought to have risen well before sunrise and, therefore, would set before sunset: Then how can it be seen? Please refer to the commentary of this verse:
“By the moon when it follows it (the sun)”9
Mujahid said, "It follows it (the sun).'' Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "It follows the day.'' Qatadah said, "`as it Talaha (follows it)' is referring to the night of the Hilal (the new crescent moon). When the sun goes down, the Hilal is visible.''10
Full moon on the fourteenth day
First we need to explain what Full Moon is. Remember that as the moon revolves around the earth the latter revolves around the sun and, at a certain time, the three objects align, with the moon in the middle. This moment, termed conjugation or the birth of the New Moon (a solar eclipse can only occur at this moment), marks the astronomical end of a lunar month and the beginning of another. The length of a lunar month, also called synodic period, is the period between two successive conjugations and is twenty-nine days, twelve hours and forty-four minutes (i.e., 29.53 days). The moment of the Full Moon (al badr in Arabic), on the other hand, is midway between two successive conjugations when the three bodies again lie in a plane, but with the earth in the middle( a lunar eclipse can only occur at this moment). Practically this moment (when the moon appears as a perfect luminous disc) occurs between the 13th and 15th of the lunar month that started with the correct sighting of the moon. The Arabic name for this period (ayyam al bid) is as a result of two phenomena unique to this period, that is, the moon is brightest and there is no total darkness during this period since there is an overlap between daylight and moonlight at dusk and dawn.
The major events in the lunar circle are summarized by Dr Ebrahim Snr:
"Consequent to the first appearance of the lunar crescent on the western horizon after sunset the moon waxes (due to increased illumination) until (about) the fourteenth night when it appears as the Full Moon. After this the moon wanes (due to diminishing illumination) until it disappears over the eastern horizon before sunrise on the twenty-eighth day of the month."4
The moon is missing
Another issue of concern about moonsighting in Nigeria is what one may refer to as the phenomenon of the ‘missing’ moon. That is to say, in most cases, the moon is not popularly sighted, under good weather conditions, even on the day following the official announcement of the sighting of the crescent. The reason for the worry is that since a lunar month can only have up to thirty days, even if there were no claims of moonsighting on the previous day, the moon should appear on the following day. Logically and scientifically speaking a moon that was sighted (even with difficulty) on the previous day will be easily visible (i.e., with little or no effort) on the following day due to two reasons: increased illumination of the lunar disc and the increase in altitude of 12 degrees over a period of 24 hours.
From the foregoing, we wish to humbly conclude that if the moon is truly sighted on the previous day then it will be easily visible on the following day, provided there is no overcast or a similar barrier. The jurists are not oblivious of this fact. For example Shaikh Khalil said:
يثبت رمضان بكمال شعبان او برؤية عدلين ولو بصحو بمصز فان لم ير بعد ثلاثين صحوا كذبا
“The beginning of Ramadan can be established through the completion of Sha’ban or the sighting (of the crescent) by two trustworthy witnesses, even under clear weather and in a large city. However, if the crescent is not sighted after thirty days, and in clear weather, their testimony is nullified.”11
Ramadan always has twenty-nine days
Another issue of contention is the fact that, for almost fifty years, Sha’ban and Ramadan have been having 29 days while Shawwal and Dhu al-Qi’dah have been having 30 days each. Many people believe this is not normal and thus they doubt the authenticity of the Sultan’s system. Let us scrutinize this issue in two ways: By comparing our situation with what obtains in contemporary Muslim countries and what happened during the time of the Prophet (SAWS).
Table 1 shows the length of Ramadan in Nigeria and six contemporary Muslim countries for a period of ten years. Whereas the frequency of occurrence of a 30-day Ramadan in the other countries ranged between 40% (Saudi Arabia and Iran) and 70% (Libya) it was zero in Nigeria.
Table 1 Length (in days) of Ramadan in different countries from 1420 to 1429
The following Hadith, reported by Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, describes the situation during the time of the Prophet (SAWS):
مَا صُمْنَا مَعَ النَّبِيّ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تِسْعًا وَعِشْرِينَ أَكْثَر مِمَّا صُمْنَا ثَلَاثِينَ
“We had more 29-day months of fasting, with the Prophet (SAWS), than 30-day months .”12
Now since the Prophet (SAWS) did have a 30-day Ramadan during a period of nine years and our contemporary Muslim countries have a similar situation then how can Nigeria justify its isolation?
Nigeria leads, others follow
Many concerned Muslims often ask why is it that Nigeria almost always starts and ends Ramadan ahead of other Muslim countries. Instead of providing an answer to this question, I should rather go for the less tasking option of confirming their fears.
Tables 2 and 3 show, respectively, the countries that were the first to commence Ramadan and Shawwal for a period of ten years. It is my humble opinion that even the most indifferent Muslim should be disturbed by the message conveyed by these tables, especially Table 3. That is, can Nigeria be right?
Table 2 Global commencement of Ramadan from 1420 to 1429
*As can be seen from this table and table 3, Nigeria almost always starts the month with Libya; however it should be noted that whereas Nigeria claims to base its lunar months on actual sighting of the moon, Libya completely disregards moonsighting and uses a pre-calculated calendar based on the birth of the New Moon.
**The large number of countries is due to the influence of Saudi Arabia. Whenever this county starts or ends fasting many countries follow suit irrespective of whether the action is right or wrong or whether the moon is sighted in these countries or not.
Sources: Islamic Crescent Observation Project (www.icoproject.org) and unpublished moonsighting records of the Moonsighting Society of Nigeria, Bauchi.
Table 3 Global Commencement of Shawwal from 1420 to 1429
*As can be seen from this table and table 2, Nigeria almost always starts the month with Libya; however it should be noted that whereas Nigeria claims to base its lunar months on actual sighting of the moon, Libya completely disregards moonsighting and uses a pre-calculated calendar based on the birth of the New Moon.
Sources: Islamic Crescent Observation Project (www.icoproject.org) and unpublished moonsighting records of the Moonsighting Society of Nigeria, Bauchi.
From the foregoing exposition of the Nigerian moonsighting system, it is crystal clear that the system is faulty and, therefore, needs improvement. The resolution of the Islamic Research Council13 of 1966 on this subject is therefore being recommended as a solution to this problem. It is reproduced ad verbum below:
1a) The observation of the new crescent moon is the original method of fixing the beginning of lunar months as is indicated by the prophetic tradition. But this method is not to be relied on if strong suspicions are raised against it.
b) The observation of the moon is established by a report handed down, or widely spread, by persons who cannot be supposed to have plotted a lie, as well as by the report of a single informant, whether male or female, unless his statement is impugned for one reason or another, such as contradicting the reliable calculation of a reliable astronomer.
c) The report of a single informant is only binding on himself as well as on those who have trust in him. The public, however, should abide only by the definite observation carried out by the person detailed by the Islamic State for this purpose.
d) The beginning of the month is to be settled according to astronomical calculation if it is difficult to see the new crescent moon or to reckon the preceding month as thirty days.
2. The Conference decides that no allowance should be made for the different times of the moonrise in various countries, however distant, if they all coincide even in a short period of the night when the new crescent moon has been seen; if not, then the differences of moonrise should be taken into account.
3. The Conference urges all Islamic governments and peoples to set up Islamic authorities in their respective countries to be assigned the task of determining the first of lunar months with the help of observatories and reliable astronomers.
References
The Glorious Quran; Chapter 4, al-Nisa, Verse 59
The Glorious Quran; Chapter 16, al-Nahl, Verse 43
Caldwell, J A. R. and Laney, C. D. First Visibility of the Lunar Crescent. http://www.saao.ac.za/public-info/sun-moon-stars/moon-index/lunar-crescent-visibility/first-visibility-of-lunar-crescent/ Accessed on 25th June 2009
Ebrahim Snr, A.(2000) A critical review of Dr.Ebrahim Moosa’s English translation of the essay – “Awa’il al-shuhur Al-Arabiyya” by Shaykh Ahmad Muhammad Shakier http://www.geocities.com/ebrahimsenior/review.html Accessed on 25th June 2009
The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter 10, Yunus, Verse 5
Ibn Foduye, Abdullah b Muhammad b. Uthman b. Salih. Kifayat Dua'fa al-Sudan fi Bayan Ma’ani al-Qur’an. Maktabah al-Tayyib
Ibn Rushd (d 595 AH), Abu al-Walid Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b Ahmad b Rushd al-Qurtubiy al-Andalusiy. Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid. V 1 p228
Ibn Taymiyya, Shaikh al-Islam Ahmad b. Abdilhalim. Majmu’ al-Fatawa v25 p184
The Glorious Quran; Chapter 91, al-Shams, Verse 2
Ibn Kathir(701-774 AH), Abu Al-Fida' `Imad Ad-Din Isma il bin 'Umar bin Kathir Al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi. Abridged Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Darussalam
Al-Shaikh Khalil b. Ishaq. Mukhtasar Khalil p59
Hadith, transmitted by Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhiy
Islamic Research Council, Al-Azhar University, Cairo. 3rd Resolution of 1966 Conference
Usman H Dukku
Biological Sciences Programme
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University
Bauchi
E-mail: udukku@yahoo.com
Phone: 08057041968
A paper presented at the
National Conference on Moonsighting
Organized by the
Islamic Studies Section, Department of Education
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
From 12th to 16th July 2009
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العلمين والصلاة والسلام على محمد وعلى آله و صحبه
Abstract
This paper discusses the problem of moonsighting in Nigeria. It attempts to identify the nature of the problem, its causes and its effect on the Ummah and to recommend a solution. It observes that the commencement of the Ramadan fast is done on different days, just as the observance of the two Eids, in spite of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs' attempt to unify the Ummah on these issues. A lack of confidence in the Council's moonsighting system is identified as the major cause of this disunity. The contentious issues, often advanced to fault the system, are discussed in the light of the Qur'an, Hadith, 'Urf and, where necessary, established astronomical facts.
The Problem of Moon Sighting in Nigeria: The Way Out
Muslims in Nigeria start the Ramadan fast or celebrate the Eids on different days in spite of the official announcement of the sighting of the crescent by the Chairman, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, The Sultan of Sokoto. Consequently, the Muslim Ummah is divided into two broad groups: Those that follow the announcements with absolute loyalty and those that totally reject such announcements. Whereas the former maintain that they are following their leaders, as required by the Sharia, the latter believe the leaders are wrong and, therefore, should not be followed. The defiant group often advances the following reasons for their action:
The old moon should disappear before reappearing as a crescent moon.
Full Moon should be on the 14th day of the month.
The crescent is not popularly sighted, one or two days after the announcement.
Sha'ban and Ramadan have had 29 days each for almost 50 years while Shawwal and Dhu al-Qi'dah have had 30 days each.
Nigeria almost always starts and ends Ramadan ahead of other Muslim countries.
Now, at this juncture, the logical question one may wish to ask is: What is the way out of this problem? The way out has been defined by the Almighty Allah in His command: "O you who believe obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you! If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe in Allah and the Last Day: That is best, and most suitable for final determination."1
Therefore, in the paragraphs that follow, we are going to attempt at discussing the above issues with the view to finding a solution to this problem. In doing so, we will be guided by this verse of the Noble Quran:
"Ask those who possess knowledge if you do not know"2
Disappearance of the Moon
Probably this is the most contentious issue between the Muslim masses and their leaders who insist that they must follow the Sultan's instruction to start or end fasting. Whereas the masses believe in the disappearance of the moon, the Sultan's instructions often disregard it as happened in the last (1429) Eid al-Fitr. Those who had clear skies, and cared to observe, saw the waning (old) crescent, in the morning, on Sunday 28th September, 2008 and in the evening, of the same day, the Sultan announced that the waxing (new) crescent was sighted. Thus the masses could not dismiss what they regarded as a fact and follow the announcement. By the way, who is right?
At least the Yoruba, Fulani, Hausa and Arabs believe in the disappearance of the moon, though they describe it differently. The Yoruba say Osu losun (moon goes asleep). That is, to them the moon sleeps in the heaven at the end of every month. The Fulani call this phenomenon Jahargal (travelling), that is, to them, the moon has travelled; but to what destination? May be, unlike their Yoruba brethren, they do not know. The Hausa provide a more precise answer when they say Wata ya bi rana (the moon has followed the sun). The Arabs went a step further and divided the 30-day month into 10 portions of three days each and assigned names to them. Thus, for example, the middle portion (13th to 15th) is described as ayyam al bid (days of light) while the last one (27th to 30th ) is ayyam al mihaq (days of erasure), al-istitar (concealment) or as-sua'l (enquiry).
Now, what is the position of scientists regarding the disappearance of the moon? Caldwell and Laney of the South African Astronomical Observatory explain:
"Each new astronomical lunar month (lunation) begins at the moment when the center of the moon has the same celestial longitude as the center of the sun, from the perspective of the center of the earth, i.e. the moment when the moon "passes" the sun. This is the moment of astronomical new moon, and it occurs at the same instant everywhere since it does not depend in any way on the viewer's perspective. At this time the moon is always invisible from the earth. When the moon first becomes visible again (always more, usually much more, than half a day after astronomical new moon), observers see a young crescent moon."3
Dr Abdurazak Ebrahim Snr explains the same event, albeit in different words:
“For approximately fifteen hours on either side of the instant of conjugation, the moon is completely hidden from view.”4
Scholars of the Islamic sciences also acknowledge the disappearance of the moon. All commentators on the Qur’an, in explaining the meaning of the moon’s stages or mansions (manazil), maintain that the stages are 28 and, thereafter, the moon becomes invisible for one or two nights before reappearing as a waxing crescent ( al-hilaal in Arabic). Let us use the following verse as an example:
"It is He who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for it, that you might know the number of years and the count (of time)."5
Abdullah Ibn Foduye, commenting on this verse, said:
"It (the moon) has twenty-eight stations in twenty-eight days in every month. Thereafter it disappears for two nights, in the case of a thirty-day month, or one night, in the case of a twenty-nine-day month."6
Fuqaha' (Islamic jurists) also believe in the disappearance of the moon, for example, Ibn Rushd stated that:
فان العلماء اجمعواعلى ان الشهرالعربى يكون تسعا وعشرين ويكون ثلاثين وعلى ان الاعتبارفى تحديد شهررمضان انما هوالرؤية لقوله عليه الصلاة والسلام ((صوموا لرؤيته وافطروا لرؤيته)) وعنى بالرؤية اول ظهورالقمر بعدالسؤال7
"The scholars are unanimous that the Arabic month has 29 or 30 days and that sighting is the basis of establishing the beginning and end of Ramadan because of his (the Messenger of Allah, SAWS) saying: "Fast upon sighting
it(the moon)and end fasting upon sighting it(the moon). What is meant by sighting is the first appearance of the moon after an enquiry about it."7
Another eminent scholar, Ibn Taymiya, also acknowledged the disappearance of the moon:
وَهَذَا الِاجْتِمَاعُ يَكُونُ بَعْدَ الِاسْتِسْرَارِ وَقَبْلَ الِاسْتِهْلَالِ فَإِنَّ الْقَمَرَ يَجْرِي فِي مَنَازِلِهِ الثَّمَانِيَةِ وَالْعِشْرِينَ كَمَا قَدَّرَهُ اللَّهُ مَنَازِلَ ثُمَّ يَقْرُبُ مِنْ الشَّمْسِ فَيَسْتَسِرُّ لَيْلَةً أَوْ لَيْلَتَيْنِ ; لِمُحَاذَاتِهِ لَهَا فَإِذَا خَرَجَ مِنْ تَحْتِهَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ النُّورَ ثُمَّ يَزْدَادُ النُّورُ كُلَّمَا بَعُدَ عَنْهَا إلَى أَنْ يُقَابِلَهَا لَيْلَةَ الْإِبْدَارِ ثُمَّ يَنْقُصُ كُلَّمَا قَرُبَ مِنْهَا إلَى أَنْ يُجَامِعَهَ8
“This conjugation takes place after the disappearance of the moon and before the new
Crescent. The moon moves in its 28 stations destined for it by Allah; then it approaches the sun and disappears for one or two nights because of its closeness to it (the sun). When the moon leaves Sun’s domain, Allah illuminates it and this illumination increase as the moon moves further away from the sun up to the time of opposition at Full Moon. Thereafter, the illumination diminishes as the moon moves closer to the sun until it conjugates with it.”8
From the foregoing, it can be concluded that the disappearance of the waning crescent, before a waxing crescent appears, is a fact known to the 'amm (common people) and khass (experts) through 'urf (common knowledge), 'ilm (special or expert knowledge) and hiss (practical knowledge or experience) and supported by ijma' (consensus of Islamic jurists). It is a part of the Allah's natural laws that govern the universe. Therefore the claim that it is impossible to sight the moon in the evening of the same day it was sighted in the morning is correct. It is common sense that for the moon to be sighted in the morning it ought to have risen well before sunrise and, therefore, would set before sunset: Then how can it be seen? Please refer to the commentary of this verse:
“By the moon when it follows it (the sun)”9
Mujahid said, "It follows it (the sun).'' Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "It follows the day.'' Qatadah said, "`as it Talaha (follows it)' is referring to the night of the Hilal (the new crescent moon). When the sun goes down, the Hilal is visible.''10
Full moon on the fourteenth day
First we need to explain what Full Moon is. Remember that as the moon revolves around the earth the latter revolves around the sun and, at a certain time, the three objects align, with the moon in the middle. This moment, termed conjugation or the birth of the New Moon (a solar eclipse can only occur at this moment), marks the astronomical end of a lunar month and the beginning of another. The length of a lunar month, also called synodic period, is the period between two successive conjugations and is twenty-nine days, twelve hours and forty-four minutes (i.e., 29.53 days). The moment of the Full Moon (al badr in Arabic), on the other hand, is midway between two successive conjugations when the three bodies again lie in a plane, but with the earth in the middle( a lunar eclipse can only occur at this moment). Practically this moment (when the moon appears as a perfect luminous disc) occurs between the 13th and 15th of the lunar month that started with the correct sighting of the moon. The Arabic name for this period (ayyam al bid) is as a result of two phenomena unique to this period, that is, the moon is brightest and there is no total darkness during this period since there is an overlap between daylight and moonlight at dusk and dawn.
The major events in the lunar circle are summarized by Dr Ebrahim Snr:
"Consequent to the first appearance of the lunar crescent on the western horizon after sunset the moon waxes (due to increased illumination) until (about) the fourteenth night when it appears as the Full Moon. After this the moon wanes (due to diminishing illumination) until it disappears over the eastern horizon before sunrise on the twenty-eighth day of the month."4
The moon is missing
Another issue of concern about moonsighting in Nigeria is what one may refer to as the phenomenon of the ‘missing’ moon. That is to say, in most cases, the moon is not popularly sighted, under good weather conditions, even on the day following the official announcement of the sighting of the crescent. The reason for the worry is that since a lunar month can only have up to thirty days, even if there were no claims of moonsighting on the previous day, the moon should appear on the following day. Logically and scientifically speaking a moon that was sighted (even with difficulty) on the previous day will be easily visible (i.e., with little or no effort) on the following day due to two reasons: increased illumination of the lunar disc and the increase in altitude of 12 degrees over a period of 24 hours.
From the foregoing, we wish to humbly conclude that if the moon is truly sighted on the previous day then it will be easily visible on the following day, provided there is no overcast or a similar barrier. The jurists are not oblivious of this fact. For example Shaikh Khalil said:
يثبت رمضان بكمال شعبان او برؤية عدلين ولو بصحو بمصز فان لم ير بعد ثلاثين صحوا كذبا
“The beginning of Ramadan can be established through the completion of Sha’ban or the sighting (of the crescent) by two trustworthy witnesses, even under clear weather and in a large city. However, if the crescent is not sighted after thirty days, and in clear weather, their testimony is nullified.”11
Ramadan always has twenty-nine days
Another issue of contention is the fact that, for almost fifty years, Sha’ban and Ramadan have been having 29 days while Shawwal and Dhu al-Qi’dah have been having 30 days each. Many people believe this is not normal and thus they doubt the authenticity of the Sultan’s system. Let us scrutinize this issue in two ways: By comparing our situation with what obtains in contemporary Muslim countries and what happened during the time of the Prophet (SAWS).
Table 1 shows the length of Ramadan in Nigeria and six contemporary Muslim countries for a period of ten years. Whereas the frequency of occurrence of a 30-day Ramadan in the other countries ranged between 40% (Saudi Arabia and Iran) and 70% (Libya) it was zero in Nigeria.
Table 1 Length (in days) of Ramadan in different countries from 1420 to 1429
The following Hadith, reported by Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, describes the situation during the time of the Prophet (SAWS):
مَا صُمْنَا مَعَ النَّبِيّ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تِسْعًا وَعِشْرِينَ أَكْثَر مِمَّا صُمْنَا ثَلَاثِينَ
“We had more 29-day months of fasting, with the Prophet (SAWS), than 30-day months .”12
Now since the Prophet (SAWS) did have a 30-day Ramadan during a period of nine years and our contemporary Muslim countries have a similar situation then how can Nigeria justify its isolation?
Nigeria leads, others follow
Many concerned Muslims often ask why is it that Nigeria almost always starts and ends Ramadan ahead of other Muslim countries. Instead of providing an answer to this question, I should rather go for the less tasking option of confirming their fears.
Tables 2 and 3 show, respectively, the countries that were the first to commence Ramadan and Shawwal for a period of ten years. It is my humble opinion that even the most indifferent Muslim should be disturbed by the message conveyed by these tables, especially Table 3. That is, can Nigeria be right?
Table 2 Global commencement of Ramadan from 1420 to 1429
*As can be seen from this table and table 3, Nigeria almost always starts the month with Libya; however it should be noted that whereas Nigeria claims to base its lunar months on actual sighting of the moon, Libya completely disregards moonsighting and uses a pre-calculated calendar based on the birth of the New Moon.
**The large number of countries is due to the influence of Saudi Arabia. Whenever this county starts or ends fasting many countries follow suit irrespective of whether the action is right or wrong or whether the moon is sighted in these countries or not.
Sources: Islamic Crescent Observation Project (www.icoproject.org) and unpublished moonsighting records of the Moonsighting Society of Nigeria, Bauchi.
Table 3 Global Commencement of Shawwal from 1420 to 1429
*As can be seen from this table and table 2, Nigeria almost always starts the month with Libya; however it should be noted that whereas Nigeria claims to base its lunar months on actual sighting of the moon, Libya completely disregards moonsighting and uses a pre-calculated calendar based on the birth of the New Moon.
Sources: Islamic Crescent Observation Project (www.icoproject.org) and unpublished moonsighting records of the Moonsighting Society of Nigeria, Bauchi.
From the foregoing exposition of the Nigerian moonsighting system, it is crystal clear that the system is faulty and, therefore, needs improvement. The resolution of the Islamic Research Council13 of 1966 on this subject is therefore being recommended as a solution to this problem. It is reproduced ad verbum below:
1a) The observation of the new crescent moon is the original method of fixing the beginning of lunar months as is indicated by the prophetic tradition. But this method is not to be relied on if strong suspicions are raised against it.
b) The observation of the moon is established by a report handed down, or widely spread, by persons who cannot be supposed to have plotted a lie, as well as by the report of a single informant, whether male or female, unless his statement is impugned for one reason or another, such as contradicting the reliable calculation of a reliable astronomer.
c) The report of a single informant is only binding on himself as well as on those who have trust in him. The public, however, should abide only by the definite observation carried out by the person detailed by the Islamic State for this purpose.
d) The beginning of the month is to be settled according to astronomical calculation if it is difficult to see the new crescent moon or to reckon the preceding month as thirty days.
2. The Conference decides that no allowance should be made for the different times of the moonrise in various countries, however distant, if they all coincide even in a short period of the night when the new crescent moon has been seen; if not, then the differences of moonrise should be taken into account.
3. The Conference urges all Islamic governments and peoples to set up Islamic authorities in their respective countries to be assigned the task of determining the first of lunar months with the help of observatories and reliable astronomers.
References
The Glorious Quran; Chapter 4, al-Nisa, Verse 59
The Glorious Quran; Chapter 16, al-Nahl, Verse 43
Caldwell, J A. R. and Laney, C. D. First Visibility of the Lunar Crescent. http://www.saao.ac.za/public-info/sun-moon-stars/moon-index/lunar-crescent-visibility/first-visibility-of-lunar-crescent/ Accessed on 25th June 2009
Ebrahim Snr, A.(2000) A critical review of Dr.Ebrahim Moosa’s English translation of the essay – “Awa’il al-shuhur Al-Arabiyya” by Shaykh Ahmad Muhammad Shakier http://www.geocities.com/ebrahimsenior/review.html Accessed on 25th June 2009
The Glorious Qur'an, Chapter 10, Yunus, Verse 5
Ibn Foduye, Abdullah b Muhammad b. Uthman b. Salih. Kifayat Dua'fa al-Sudan fi Bayan Ma’ani al-Qur’an. Maktabah al-Tayyib
Ibn Rushd (d 595 AH), Abu al-Walid Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b Ahmad b Rushd al-Qurtubiy al-Andalusiy. Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid. V 1 p228
Ibn Taymiyya, Shaikh al-Islam Ahmad b. Abdilhalim. Majmu’ al-Fatawa v25 p184
The Glorious Quran; Chapter 91, al-Shams, Verse 2
Ibn Kathir(701-774 AH), Abu Al-Fida' `Imad Ad-Din Isma il bin 'Umar bin Kathir Al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi. Abridged Tafsir Ibn Kathir. Darussalam
Al-Shaikh Khalil b. Ishaq. Mukhtasar Khalil p59
Hadith, transmitted by Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhiy
Islamic Research Council, Al-Azhar University, Cairo. 3rd Resolution of 1966 Conference
Monday, October 17, 2011
Discourse 332: Revolt of the Emirs
Discourse 332
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Revolt of the Emirs
It is not in the tradition of a sitting aristocrat to revolt, more so if he is an Emir in an era when the institution is stripped of all its major functions but saddled with the enormous task of ensuring security of life and property. So when some royal fathers decided to breakaway from the tradition of waiting for the Sultan to announce the sighting of the crescent during the last Ramadan and do it themselves, little did they know that we the masses were watching with keen interest.
The revolt, if we may call it so, is more surprising when it came from emirates that are the closest to the Sultan in history, geography and government, given their long standing mutual associations under the Sokoto Caliphate, the defunct Northern Nigeria, Northwestern State and Sokoto State. In all these, the Sultan served as their Chairman. More importantly, the Sultan is their leader under the national Muslim umbrellas of Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. If there would be a revolt, we the masses would expect it to come from quarters more distant to the monarch than from these direct cousins of his.
To be fair to the dissenting Emirs, however, the practice of a Sultan announcing the commencement or ending of Ramadan is a recent one. It was not possible, administratively and logistically, for him to carry out that role in the pre-colonial era. The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of states. The centre at Sokoto did not have direct administrative influence over the periphery. Its authority was largely moral, as an acknowledgement of the founding role played by Usman Danfodio. Hardly did any Sultan dictated who would become an Emir or what expedition would he carry out. Annually, the Emirs would pay him a tribute, represented by a delegation carrying a number of gifts to Sokoto.
It was the loose link between Sokoto and the Emirates or, say, the lack of a strong federation that made it easier for a handful of soldiers under the command of few British officers to bring the caliphate to its knees in the last quarter of the 19th Century before they capped it with the subordination of Sokoto in 1903. If there were a strong federation, possibly – possibly – the contemporary history of Northern Nigeria would have been different today.
But what could not be done during the pre-colonial era became possible after the British conquest. Roads were opened and communication became enhanced. The entire North came under the authority of the British as a Protectorate. The British, for the purpose of indirect rule, decided to reinforce the authority of the Sultan not only by bringing the Fulani Emirs from Kebbi to Adamawa under his ceremonial leadership but also those in the old Kanem-Borno Caliphate and some hitherto independent Emirates like Yauri and chiefdoms that are not even Muslim. The Sultan thus became the Chairman of the Council of Chiefs in the defunct Northern region.
Regarding religious matters, the Sultan’s authority was further armored through Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the organ that Sardauna created to oversee the interests of Islam separate from the official administrative machinery of the regional government. The Sultan became its President. When the Supreme Council of Islamic affairs was later created as a sort of an expanded Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the domain of Sultan’s influence on religious matters now went beyond the North to include Muslims throughout the federation.
It is from these roots that the Sultan derived his present moral authority on matters of Islam in Nigeria. In all these functions and positions, the Sultan is deputized by the Shehu of Borno, then followed by the Emir of Gwandu, then of Kano and so on.
So the decision of some Emirs to announce the moon sighting independent of the Sultan can be seen as a reincarnation of their jurisdiction during the pre-colonial era, which is supported by the fact that the authority of the Sultan over Nigerian Muslims today is simply moral, not political. When authority is spoken of in terms of rights, one cannot help but conclude that they have the right to do so.
However, a judicious mind will not fail to discern that sometimes exercising a right may not be in the best interest of it's owner. He lends it to someone, if he is wise, in order to reclaim it with profit in the long run. In my view, this is just one of those times.
It is in the best interest of Islam and the Emirs themselves to be seen to speak with one authority, in this case to follow the ruling of the Sultan. Unity is a fundamental principle of Islam. It does not make any sense, no matter the level of disagreement, for different emirates in the same country to observe Ramadan and the Eid on different days in the 21st Cemtury. It was possible under the Sokoto Caliphate only because of the absence of effective means of communication. In fact the entire idea of the Caliphate being a loose federation was a child of necessity. If Danfodio had cars, planes, tarred roads, emails, and telephones in addition to the military hardware that we have these days, he would have adopted a system that accords the centre of the Caliphate greater power. It was just impossible for the ordinary Fulani man he was to effectively administer a territory so vast as the Sokoto Caliphate directly from the centre. He understood his limitations and abided by them. May God bless him!
Today we live in an environment where not only Nigeria but also the whole world is on the verge of becoming a small village. Muslims all over the country, nay, throughout the world, are increasingly becoming aware of happenings around the globe with great ease that was never contemplated by their ancestors. The communication gaps, geographical challenges and military handicaps that allowed the Emirs their independence in the days of the Caliphate have ceased to exist. In their place, a fused community of Muslims stretching from Sokoto to the Atlantic has emerged with a moral leadership that is no longer flat but hierarchical with the Sultan at the top. Nigerians have become used to that notion. Reverting to the olden pre-colonial order brings some discomfort amongst us – the followers.
The revolt especially is coming at a time when the unity among the traditional rulers in the country is needed most. Security is fast deteriorating; discontent among us – the masses – is at record high; yet, belief that the traditional rulers can fix some of the problems, despite their financial and political limitations, is prevalent. A crack in their ranks at this time would certainly be ominous.
So far we have discussed the political aspect of the problem. The religious one is more contentious. While the Sultan is working hard to see that Nigerian Muslims – from both North and South – unite in matters of their religion, there is a tremendous pressure on him and the Emirs that is coming from some ulama who want the status quo to be maintained. On the other when it comes to moon sighting Such ulama do not give a hoot if Northern Nigerian Muslims always find themselves on one side and the rest of the world. This cannot just be correct. The moon is one, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. There cannot be one crescent for Northern Nigeria and another for the rest of the world. This defies common sense. Period.
The problem we have been having in this part of the world for decades now is that of false testimonies. Since Islam bases the moon sighting on the testimony of two people, Nigerians being what we are, there has never been a shortage of people that would come over claiming to have sighted the crescent even when it cannot there. The Sultan would thus announce the Ramadan moon always 29 for over 40 years, until some Emirs started to revolt a decade ago against what appears to be clearly irrational. When he was enthroned, the present Sultan started to introduce caution into the matter and some sanity started to prevail. It is an irony that another set of Emirs is now crucifying him for doing exactly what we earlier called for.
Some ulama use the secular nature of the country to undermine the moral authority of the Sultan. This started during the Sardauna era, given the cold war that existed then between him – a Sokoto prince – and the then Sultan. This year some of the ulama said the sultan should not be obeyed because he is violating the rules of God: "nobody should be obeyed in violation to God." Such ulama and their groups exert pressure on their emirs who then became tempted to abandon the cause of unity and assert their independence from the Sultan.
I have followed the debate on moon sighting that took place this year on an Internet forum called the Nigerian Muslim Network which went on for some weeks after Sallah. There were testimonies from two reliable people that attempted to verify the reports of moon sightings in Zuru for example. One of them said the person he met was not steady in his testimony. The second, upon his failure to get to a specific person that will categorically affirm that he saw the new moon, passed what I regard as indicting statement about the behaviour of some Muslims in this country.
This is with the benefit of hindsight, though. The damage has already been done. People have sworn by Allah before the Emirs that they have seen the crescent and the Emirs announced that the moon is sighted, only for the rest of the universe to report the contrary. Rather than swim in such murky waters, if I were an Emir, I would prefer to enjoy the comfort of riding on the boat of the Sultan.
The issue of announcing the sighting of the crescent in Islamic tradition, like all collective obligations, is the jurisdiction of the authorities, not the ulama. Some scholars of the past insist that even the person who saw the moon must continue fasting until the authorities declare the moon sighted. This has been the practice throughout history and it is reiterated in recent literature – like the scholastic declarations in Fatawa al-Lajnatul Da'imah Lil Buhuthil 'Ilmiyyah Wal Ifta made by reputable Saudi ulama.
Given the difficulties posed by our widespread dishonesty in the contemporary world, many countries have resorted to supporting human vision in moon sighting with astronomical aids in form of calculations and equipment – like telescopes. The calculations give an idea of the days the moon is most likely to be seen while the telescopes support vision directly.
Despite these attempts there are still controversies in those countries, proving that the issue of moon sighting even in the Information Age is far from simple. The dilemma is that, on the one hand, we lack the honesty to unreservedly implement the prophetic tradition of accepting the testimonies of any two “trustworthy” people. Where people are many, knowing who is reliable becomes difficult. On the other, scientific methods themselves cannot be totally – 100 per cent – faultless.
In Nigeria, the Sultan is trying to draw his conclusions from various sources, including common sense. His task can only be made more difficult when other royal fathers decide to go their own ways.
Lastly, we must not forget that Sallah is not only for the Muslims. It is one of our public holidays and the nation can declare it only once. The need for harmony is therefore more imperative. Supporting the Sultan, from the foregoing, will definitely take us closer to the solution, which we hope to arrive at one day. Dissent can only take us backwards, perhaps centuries ago, when we have the capacity to leave that to our ancestors.
Bauchi
17 October 2011
POSTSCRIPT
Dear Readers,
I think I will chip in some points at this moment. First, I appeal to all of us to please calm down and dialogue gently in a cool manner. I have realized for a decade now that whenever the issue of moon sighting is brought up on this page and other fora tempers would easily rise and we quickly forget that we are dialoguing. Softly, softly, please. I believe we will one day get over this problem, but only when we dialogue intelligently.
Two. Whether it appeals to our egalitarian mindset or not, Islam has apportioned responsibilities to various categories of people. Obedience is for the ordinary followers, like me. If it is announced that the moon Is sighted, we follow. Some things are for the ulama, in this case educating people on the guidelines of moon sighting in Islam from what they understand to be authentic. Then rulers, no matter their age, moral standing or the type of seat they occupy, are saddled with the hard task of issuing directives regarding collective obligations like this one. When do we start fasting and when do we observe Eid is determined by their announcement or that of a body or person they delegated it to. This has been the practice throughout the history of Islam and I appeal to us to please abide by it. Islam is not politics. In no country would any Malam be allowed to announce the commencement or end of fasting, unless he is delegated by the ruler. I just cannot understand why we in Nigeria - and now our sister country Niger - are choosing to be different. Of course we all trust our local Imams more than our leaders because their spiritual domain is much easier to handle than that of a ruler.
Three. I do not agree that logic is out of the question here. Logic is very much of it because we are discussing a phenomenon that is both natural and physical. Let us not bring to Islam the dogmatic attitude that destroyed the Church in Europe. The human mind will always repel any illogicality in the physical world, no matter it's desire to believe it. That mind will continue to probe it until it finds the solution. Brothers, please let us open our minds. It is really illogical for a moon to be sighted in Nigeria alone, and not even in countries behind it with several hours or even days.. This is possible only in two cases:
It is either sometimes the sightings are false, as the many reports that reach the Emirs and are dropped, or they are actually true, like the one our brothers have reported in Tambuwal, Zuru, Yauri, Birnin Kebbi, etc. If what they have seen is actually a moon, then i strongly suspect that it must be an old one that was yet to go into hiding. It just can't be new moon! That is why I titled my first essay on moon sighting on this page in 2000 or so "Nigeria is Sighting the Wrong Moon." There is just no way the crescent would be seen today and then it dissppears thereafter to be seen again only two days later... It is just impossible. The ulama and astronimers know very well that a hiding of the old moon for at least a day precedes the emergence of a new moon. This is there in virtually all books of tafsir. That is the reason behind the old and prevailing belief that the crescent cannot be sighted in the western horizon on the day the moon was seen in the East in the morning. And science has confirmed this. There cannot be a day between morning and evening. Without a night? Come on my brothers!
Please let us investigate this physical phenomenon deeply and openly. We must be wrong somewhere. Otherwise the world is laughing at us. Agreed our noble Prophet has said we should start fasting and end it with the sighting of the new moon. By now this is common knowledge.
Finally comes the issue of process. When the sighting is wrong, there will always be a controversy even if we have the best process in place. May God reward both Dr. Gwandu and the Sultan and bless them. Both do not see the moon themselves but rely on the news to reach them from the bottom and then take a decision. But we may be feeding them with the wrong information as I explained above. I dont believe that the problem is with any of them. It is right here, where we are, at the bottom, where we sight the 'moon'.
The first step is to get our science of the moon right before the next outing. When we are clear about what we should sight, then it will be easy to arrive at a process of adopting any report that will lead to an announcement that does not put us at odd with the rest of the world. And to know the science, logic is inevitable.
There is the strong need
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Revolt of the Emirs
It is not in the tradition of a sitting aristocrat to revolt, more so if he is an Emir in an era when the institution is stripped of all its major functions but saddled with the enormous task of ensuring security of life and property. So when some royal fathers decided to breakaway from the tradition of waiting for the Sultan to announce the sighting of the crescent during the last Ramadan and do it themselves, little did they know that we the masses were watching with keen interest.
The revolt, if we may call it so, is more surprising when it came from emirates that are the closest to the Sultan in history, geography and government, given their long standing mutual associations under the Sokoto Caliphate, the defunct Northern Nigeria, Northwestern State and Sokoto State. In all these, the Sultan served as their Chairman. More importantly, the Sultan is their leader under the national Muslim umbrellas of Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. If there would be a revolt, we the masses would expect it to come from quarters more distant to the monarch than from these direct cousins of his.
To be fair to the dissenting Emirs, however, the practice of a Sultan announcing the commencement or ending of Ramadan is a recent one. It was not possible, administratively and logistically, for him to carry out that role in the pre-colonial era. The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of states. The centre at Sokoto did not have direct administrative influence over the periphery. Its authority was largely moral, as an acknowledgement of the founding role played by Usman Danfodio. Hardly did any Sultan dictated who would become an Emir or what expedition would he carry out. Annually, the Emirs would pay him a tribute, represented by a delegation carrying a number of gifts to Sokoto.
It was the loose link between Sokoto and the Emirates or, say, the lack of a strong federation that made it easier for a handful of soldiers under the command of few British officers to bring the caliphate to its knees in the last quarter of the 19th Century before they capped it with the subordination of Sokoto in 1903. If there were a strong federation, possibly – possibly – the contemporary history of Northern Nigeria would have been different today.
But what could not be done during the pre-colonial era became possible after the British conquest. Roads were opened and communication became enhanced. The entire North came under the authority of the British as a Protectorate. The British, for the purpose of indirect rule, decided to reinforce the authority of the Sultan not only by bringing the Fulani Emirs from Kebbi to Adamawa under his ceremonial leadership but also those in the old Kanem-Borno Caliphate and some hitherto independent Emirates like Yauri and chiefdoms that are not even Muslim. The Sultan thus became the Chairman of the Council of Chiefs in the defunct Northern region.
Regarding religious matters, the Sultan’s authority was further armored through Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the organ that Sardauna created to oversee the interests of Islam separate from the official administrative machinery of the regional government. The Sultan became its President. When the Supreme Council of Islamic affairs was later created as a sort of an expanded Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the domain of Sultan’s influence on religious matters now went beyond the North to include Muslims throughout the federation.
It is from these roots that the Sultan derived his present moral authority on matters of Islam in Nigeria. In all these functions and positions, the Sultan is deputized by the Shehu of Borno, then followed by the Emir of Gwandu, then of Kano and so on.
So the decision of some Emirs to announce the moon sighting independent of the Sultan can be seen as a reincarnation of their jurisdiction during the pre-colonial era, which is supported by the fact that the authority of the Sultan over Nigerian Muslims today is simply moral, not political. When authority is spoken of in terms of rights, one cannot help but conclude that they have the right to do so.
However, a judicious mind will not fail to discern that sometimes exercising a right may not be in the best interest of it's owner. He lends it to someone, if he is wise, in order to reclaim it with profit in the long run. In my view, this is just one of those times.
It is in the best interest of Islam and the Emirs themselves to be seen to speak with one authority, in this case to follow the ruling of the Sultan. Unity is a fundamental principle of Islam. It does not make any sense, no matter the level of disagreement, for different emirates in the same country to observe Ramadan and the Eid on different days in the 21st Cemtury. It was possible under the Sokoto Caliphate only because of the absence of effective means of communication. In fact the entire idea of the Caliphate being a loose federation was a child of necessity. If Danfodio had cars, planes, tarred roads, emails, and telephones in addition to the military hardware that we have these days, he would have adopted a system that accords the centre of the Caliphate greater power. It was just impossible for the ordinary Fulani man he was to effectively administer a territory so vast as the Sokoto Caliphate directly from the centre. He understood his limitations and abided by them. May God bless him!
Today we live in an environment where not only Nigeria but also the whole world is on the verge of becoming a small village. Muslims all over the country, nay, throughout the world, are increasingly becoming aware of happenings around the globe with great ease that was never contemplated by their ancestors. The communication gaps, geographical challenges and military handicaps that allowed the Emirs their independence in the days of the Caliphate have ceased to exist. In their place, a fused community of Muslims stretching from Sokoto to the Atlantic has emerged with a moral leadership that is no longer flat but hierarchical with the Sultan at the top. Nigerians have become used to that notion. Reverting to the olden pre-colonial order brings some discomfort amongst us – the followers.
The revolt especially is coming at a time when the unity among the traditional rulers in the country is needed most. Security is fast deteriorating; discontent among us – the masses – is at record high; yet, belief that the traditional rulers can fix some of the problems, despite their financial and political limitations, is prevalent. A crack in their ranks at this time would certainly be ominous.
So far we have discussed the political aspect of the problem. The religious one is more contentious. While the Sultan is working hard to see that Nigerian Muslims – from both North and South – unite in matters of their religion, there is a tremendous pressure on him and the Emirs that is coming from some ulama who want the status quo to be maintained. On the other when it comes to moon sighting Such ulama do not give a hoot if Northern Nigerian Muslims always find themselves on one side and the rest of the world. This cannot just be correct. The moon is one, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. There cannot be one crescent for Northern Nigeria and another for the rest of the world. This defies common sense. Period.
The problem we have been having in this part of the world for decades now is that of false testimonies. Since Islam bases the moon sighting on the testimony of two people, Nigerians being what we are, there has never been a shortage of people that would come over claiming to have sighted the crescent even when it cannot there. The Sultan would thus announce the Ramadan moon always 29 for over 40 years, until some Emirs started to revolt a decade ago against what appears to be clearly irrational. When he was enthroned, the present Sultan started to introduce caution into the matter and some sanity started to prevail. It is an irony that another set of Emirs is now crucifying him for doing exactly what we earlier called for.
Some ulama use the secular nature of the country to undermine the moral authority of the Sultan. This started during the Sardauna era, given the cold war that existed then between him – a Sokoto prince – and the then Sultan. This year some of the ulama said the sultan should not be obeyed because he is violating the rules of God: "nobody should be obeyed in violation to God." Such ulama and their groups exert pressure on their emirs who then became tempted to abandon the cause of unity and assert their independence from the Sultan.
I have followed the debate on moon sighting that took place this year on an Internet forum called the Nigerian Muslim Network which went on for some weeks after Sallah. There were testimonies from two reliable people that attempted to verify the reports of moon sightings in Zuru for example. One of them said the person he met was not steady in his testimony. The second, upon his failure to get to a specific person that will categorically affirm that he saw the new moon, passed what I regard as indicting statement about the behaviour of some Muslims in this country.
This is with the benefit of hindsight, though. The damage has already been done. People have sworn by Allah before the Emirs that they have seen the crescent and the Emirs announced that the moon is sighted, only for the rest of the universe to report the contrary. Rather than swim in such murky waters, if I were an Emir, I would prefer to enjoy the comfort of riding on the boat of the Sultan.
The issue of announcing the sighting of the crescent in Islamic tradition, like all collective obligations, is the jurisdiction of the authorities, not the ulama. Some scholars of the past insist that even the person who saw the moon must continue fasting until the authorities declare the moon sighted. This has been the practice throughout history and it is reiterated in recent literature – like the scholastic declarations in Fatawa al-Lajnatul Da'imah Lil Buhuthil 'Ilmiyyah Wal Ifta made by reputable Saudi ulama.
Given the difficulties posed by our widespread dishonesty in the contemporary world, many countries have resorted to supporting human vision in moon sighting with astronomical aids in form of calculations and equipment – like telescopes. The calculations give an idea of the days the moon is most likely to be seen while the telescopes support vision directly.
Despite these attempts there are still controversies in those countries, proving that the issue of moon sighting even in the Information Age is far from simple. The dilemma is that, on the one hand, we lack the honesty to unreservedly implement the prophetic tradition of accepting the testimonies of any two “trustworthy” people. Where people are many, knowing who is reliable becomes difficult. On the other, scientific methods themselves cannot be totally – 100 per cent – faultless.
In Nigeria, the Sultan is trying to draw his conclusions from various sources, including common sense. His task can only be made more difficult when other royal fathers decide to go their own ways.
Lastly, we must not forget that Sallah is not only for the Muslims. It is one of our public holidays and the nation can declare it only once. The need for harmony is therefore more imperative. Supporting the Sultan, from the foregoing, will definitely take us closer to the solution, which we hope to arrive at one day. Dissent can only take us backwards, perhaps centuries ago, when we have the capacity to leave that to our ancestors.
Bauchi
17 October 2011
POSTSCRIPT
Dear Readers,
I think I will chip in some points at this moment. First, I appeal to all of us to please calm down and dialogue gently in a cool manner. I have realized for a decade now that whenever the issue of moon sighting is brought up on this page and other fora tempers would easily rise and we quickly forget that we are dialoguing. Softly, softly, please. I believe we will one day get over this problem, but only when we dialogue intelligently.
Two. Whether it appeals to our egalitarian mindset or not, Islam has apportioned responsibilities to various categories of people. Obedience is for the ordinary followers, like me. If it is announced that the moon Is sighted, we follow. Some things are for the ulama, in this case educating people on the guidelines of moon sighting in Islam from what they understand to be authentic. Then rulers, no matter their age, moral standing or the type of seat they occupy, are saddled with the hard task of issuing directives regarding collective obligations like this one. When do we start fasting and when do we observe Eid is determined by their announcement or that of a body or person they delegated it to. This has been the practice throughout the history of Islam and I appeal to us to please abide by it. Islam is not politics. In no country would any Malam be allowed to announce the commencement or end of fasting, unless he is delegated by the ruler. I just cannot understand why we in Nigeria - and now our sister country Niger - are choosing to be different. Of course we all trust our local Imams more than our leaders because their spiritual domain is much easier to handle than that of a ruler.
Three. I do not agree that logic is out of the question here. Logic is very much of it because we are discussing a phenomenon that is both natural and physical. Let us not bring to Islam the dogmatic attitude that destroyed the Church in Europe. The human mind will always repel any illogicality in the physical world, no matter it's desire to believe it. That mind will continue to probe it until it finds the solution. Brothers, please let us open our minds. It is really illogical for a moon to be sighted in Nigeria alone, and not even in countries behind it with several hours or even days.. This is possible only in two cases:
It is either sometimes the sightings are false, as the many reports that reach the Emirs and are dropped, or they are actually true, like the one our brothers have reported in Tambuwal, Zuru, Yauri, Birnin Kebbi, etc. If what they have seen is actually a moon, then i strongly suspect that it must be an old one that was yet to go into hiding. It just can't be new moon! That is why I titled my first essay on moon sighting on this page in 2000 or so "Nigeria is Sighting the Wrong Moon." There is just no way the crescent would be seen today and then it dissppears thereafter to be seen again only two days later... It is just impossible. The ulama and astronimers know very well that a hiding of the old moon for at least a day precedes the emergence of a new moon. This is there in virtually all books of tafsir. That is the reason behind the old and prevailing belief that the crescent cannot be sighted in the western horizon on the day the moon was seen in the East in the morning. And science has confirmed this. There cannot be a day between morning and evening. Without a night? Come on my brothers!
Please let us investigate this physical phenomenon deeply and openly. We must be wrong somewhere. Otherwise the world is laughing at us. Agreed our noble Prophet has said we should start fasting and end it with the sighting of the new moon. By now this is common knowledge.
Finally comes the issue of process. When the sighting is wrong, there will always be a controversy even if we have the best process in place. May God reward both Dr. Gwandu and the Sultan and bless them. Both do not see the moon themselves but rely on the news to reach them from the bottom and then take a decision. But we may be feeding them with the wrong information as I explained above. I dont believe that the problem is with any of them. It is right here, where we are, at the bottom, where we sight the 'moon'.
The first step is to get our science of the moon right before the next outing. When we are clear about what we should sight, then it will be easy to arrive at a process of adopting any report that will lead to an announcement that does not put us at odd with the rest of the world. And to know the science, logic is inevitable.
There is the strong need
Discourse 332 Revolt of the Emirs
Discourse 332
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Revolt of the Emirs
It is not in the tradition of a sitting aristocrat to revolt, more so if he is an Emir in an era when the institution is stripped of all its major functions but saddled with the enormous task of ensuring security of life and property. So when some royal fathers decided to breakaway from the tradition of waiting for the Sultan to announce the sighting of the crescent during the last Ramadan and do it themselves, little did they know that we the masses were watching with keen interest.
The revolt, if we may call it so, is more surprising when it came from emirates that are the closest to the Sultan in history, geography and government, given their long standing mutual associations under the Sokoto Caliphate, the defunct Northern Nigeria, Northwestern State and Sokoto State. In all these, the Sultan served as their Chairman. More importantly, the Sultan is their leader under the national Muslim umbrellas of Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. If there would be a revolt, we the masses would expect it to come from quarters more distant to the monarch than from these direct cousins of his.
To be fair to the dissenting Emirs, however, the practice of a Sultan announcing the commencement or ending of Ramadan is a recent one. It was not possible, administratively and logistically, for him to carry out that role in the pre-colonial era. The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of states. The centre at Sokoto did not have direct administrative influence over the periphery. Its authority was largely moral, as an acknowledgement of the founding role played by Usman Danfodio. Hardly did any Sultan dictated who would become an Emir or what expedition would he carry out. Annually, the Emirs would pay him a tribute, represented by a delegation carrying a number of gifts to Sokoto.
It was the loose link between Sokoto and the Emirates or, say, the lack of a strong federation that made it easier for a handful of soldiers under the command of few British officers to bring the caliphate to its knees in the last quarter of the 19th Century before they capped it with the subordination of Sokoto in 1903. If there were a strong federation, possibly – possibly – the contemporary history of Northern Nigeria would have been different today.
But what could not be done during the pre-colonial era became possible after the British conquest. Roads were opened and communication became enhanced. The entire North came under the authority of the British as a Protectorate. The British, for the purpose of indirect rule, decided to reinforce the authority of the Sultan not only by bringing the Fulani Emirs from Kebbi to Adamawa under his ceremonial leadership but also those in the old Kanem-Borno Caliphate and some hitherto independent Emirates like Yauri and chiefdoms that are not even Muslim. The Sultan thus became the Chairman of the Council of Chiefs in the defunct Northern region.
Regarding religious matters, the Sultan’s authority was further armored through Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the organ that Sardauna created to oversee the interests of Islam separate from the official administrative machinery of the regional government. The Sultan became its President. When the Supreme Council of Islamic affairs was later created as a sort of an expanded Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the domain of Sultan’s influence on religious matters now went beyond the North to include Muslims throughout the federation.
It is from these roots that the Sultan derived his present moral authority on matters of Islam in Nigeria. In all these functions and positions, the Sultan is deputized by the Shehu of Borno, then followed by the Emir of Gwandu, then of Kano and so on.
So the decision of some Emirs to announce the moon sighting independent of the Sultan can be seen as a reincarnation of their jurisdiction during the pre-colonial era, which is supported by the fact that the authority of the Sultan over Nigerian Muslims today is simply moral, not political. When authority is spoken of in terms of rights, one cannot help but conclude that they have the right to do so.
However, a judicious mind will not fail to discern that sometimes exercising a right may not be in the best interest of it's owner. He lends it to someone, if he is wise, in order to reclaim it with profit in the long run. In my view, this is just one of those times.
It is in the best interest of Islam and the Emirs themselves to be seen to speak with one authority, in this case to follow the ruling of the Sultan. Unity is a fundamental principle of Islam. It does not make any sense, no matter the level of disagreement, for different emirates in the same country to observe Ramadan and the Eid on different days in the 21st Cemtury. It was possible under the Sokoto Caliphate only because of the absence of effective means of communication. In fact the entire idea of the Caliphate being a loose federation was a child of necessity. If Danfodio had cars, planes, tarred roads, emails, and telephones in addition to the military hardware that we have these days, he would have adopted a system that accords the centre of the Caliphate greater power. It was just impossible for the ordinary Fulani man he was to effectively administer a territory so vast as the Sokoto Caliphate directly from the centre. He understood his limitations and abided by them. May God bless him!
Today we live in an environment where not only Nigeria but also the whole world is on the verge of becoming a small village. Muslims all over the country, nay, throughout the world, are increasingly becoming aware of happenings around the globe with great ease that was never contemplated by their ancestors. The communication gaps, geographical challenges and military handicaps that allowed the Emirs their independence in the days of the Caliphate have ceased to exist. In their place, a fused community of Muslims stretching from Sokoto to the Atlantic has emerged with a moral leadership that is no longer flat but hierarchical with the Sultan at the top. Nigerians have become used to that notion. Reverting to the olden pre-colonial order brings some discomfort amongst us – the followers.
The revolt especially is coming at a time when the unity among the traditional rulers in the country is needed most. Security is fast deteriorating; discontent among us – the masses – is at record high; yet, belief that the traditional rulers can fix some of the problems, despite their financial and political limitations, is prevalent. A crack in their ranks at this time would certainly be ominous.
So far we have discussed the political aspect of the problem. The religious one is more contentious. While the Sultan is working hard to see that Nigerian Muslims – from both North and South – unite in matters of their religion, there is a tremendous pressure on him and the Emirs that is coming from some ulama who want the status quo to be maintained. On the other when it comes to moon sighting Such ulama do not give a hoot if Northern Nigerian Muslims always find themselves on one side and the rest of the world. This cannot just be correct. The moon is one, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. There cannot be one crescent for Northern Nigeria and another for the rest of the world. This defies common sense. Period.
The problem we have been having in this part of the world for decades now is that of false testimonies. Since Islam bases the moon sighting on the testimony of two people, Nigerians being what we are, there has never been a shortage of people that would come over claiming to have sighted the crescent even when it cannot there. The Sultan would thus announce the Ramadan moon always 29 for over 40 years, until some Emirs started to revolt a decade ago against what appears to be clearly irrational. When he was enthroned, the present Sultan started to introduce caution into the matter and some sanity started to prevail. It is an irony that another set of Emirs is now crucifying him for doing exactly what we earlier called for.
Some ulama use the secular nature of the country to undermine the moral authority of the Sultan. This started during the Sardauna era, given the cold war that existed then between him – a Sokoto prince – and the then Sultan. This year some of the ulama said the sultan should not be obeyed because he is violating the rules of God: "nobody should be obeyed in violation to God." Such ulama and their groups exert pressure on their emirs who then became tempted to abandon the cause of unity and assert their independence from the Sultan.
I have followed the debate on moon sighting that took place this year on an Internet forum called the Nigerian Muslim Network which went on for some weeks after Sallah. There were testimonies from two reliable people that attempted to verify the reports of moon sightings in Zuru for example. One of them said the person he met was not steady in his testimony. The second, upon his failure to get to a specific person that will categorically affirm that he saw the new moon, passed what I regard as indicting statement about the behaviour of some Muslims in this country.
This is with the benefit of hindsight, though. The damage has already been done. People have sworn by Allah before the Emirs that they have seen the crescent and the Emirs announced that the moon is sighted, only for the rest of the universe to report the contrary. Rather than swim in such murky waters, if I were an Emir, I would prefer to enjoy the comfort of riding on the boat of the Sultan.
The issue of announcing the sighting of the crescent in Islamic tradition, like all collective obligations, is the jurisdiction of the authorities, not the ulama. Some scholars of the past insist that even the person who saw the moon must continue fasting until the authorities declare the moon sighted. This has been the practice throughout history and it is reiterated in recent literature – like the scholastic declarations in Fatawa al-Lajnatul Da'imah Lil Buhuthil 'Ilmiyyah Wal Ifta made by reputable Saudi ulama.
Given the difficulties posed by our widespread dishonesty in the contemporary world, many countries have resorted to supporting human vision in moon sighting with astronomical aids in form of calculations and equipment – like telescopes. The calculations give an idea of the days the moon is most likely to be seen while the telescopes support vision directly.
Despite these attempts there are still controversies in those countries, proving that the issue of moon sighting even in the Information Age is far from simple. The dilemma is that, on the one hand, we lack the honesty to unreservedly implement the prophetic tradition of accepting the testimonies of any two “trustworthy” people. Where people are many, knowing who is reliable becomes difficult. On the other, scientific methods themselves cannot be totally – 100 per cent – faultless.
In Nigeria, the Sultan is trying to draw his conclusions from various sources, including common sense. His task can only be made more difficult when other royal fathers decide to go their own ways.
Lastly, we must not forget that Sallah is not only for the Muslims. It is one of our public holidays and the nation can declare it only once. The need for harmony is therefore more imperative. Supporting the Sultan, from the foregoing, will definitely take us closer to the solution, which we hope to arrive at one day. Dissent can only take us backwards, perhaps centuries ago, when we have the capacity to leave that to our ancestors.
Bauchi
17 October 2011
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Revolt of the Emirs
It is not in the tradition of a sitting aristocrat to revolt, more so if he is an Emir in an era when the institution is stripped of all its major functions but saddled with the enormous task of ensuring security of life and property. So when some royal fathers decided to breakaway from the tradition of waiting for the Sultan to announce the sighting of the crescent during the last Ramadan and do it themselves, little did they know that we the masses were watching with keen interest.
The revolt, if we may call it so, is more surprising when it came from emirates that are the closest to the Sultan in history, geography and government, given their long standing mutual associations under the Sokoto Caliphate, the defunct Northern Nigeria, Northwestern State and Sokoto State. In all these, the Sultan served as their Chairman. More importantly, the Sultan is their leader under the national Muslim umbrellas of Jama’atu Nasril Islam and Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. If there would be a revolt, we the masses would expect it to come from quarters more distant to the monarch than from these direct cousins of his.
To be fair to the dissenting Emirs, however, the practice of a Sultan announcing the commencement or ending of Ramadan is a recent one. It was not possible, administratively and logistically, for him to carry out that role in the pre-colonial era. The Sokoto Caliphate was a loose confederation of states. The centre at Sokoto did not have direct administrative influence over the periphery. Its authority was largely moral, as an acknowledgement of the founding role played by Usman Danfodio. Hardly did any Sultan dictated who would become an Emir or what expedition would he carry out. Annually, the Emirs would pay him a tribute, represented by a delegation carrying a number of gifts to Sokoto.
It was the loose link between Sokoto and the Emirates or, say, the lack of a strong federation that made it easier for a handful of soldiers under the command of few British officers to bring the caliphate to its knees in the last quarter of the 19th Century before they capped it with the subordination of Sokoto in 1903. If there were a strong federation, possibly – possibly – the contemporary history of Northern Nigeria would have been different today.
But what could not be done during the pre-colonial era became possible after the British conquest. Roads were opened and communication became enhanced. The entire North came under the authority of the British as a Protectorate. The British, for the purpose of indirect rule, decided to reinforce the authority of the Sultan not only by bringing the Fulani Emirs from Kebbi to Adamawa under his ceremonial leadership but also those in the old Kanem-Borno Caliphate and some hitherto independent Emirates like Yauri and chiefdoms that are not even Muslim. The Sultan thus became the Chairman of the Council of Chiefs in the defunct Northern region.
Regarding religious matters, the Sultan’s authority was further armored through Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the organ that Sardauna created to oversee the interests of Islam separate from the official administrative machinery of the regional government. The Sultan became its President. When the Supreme Council of Islamic affairs was later created as a sort of an expanded Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the domain of Sultan’s influence on religious matters now went beyond the North to include Muslims throughout the federation.
It is from these roots that the Sultan derived his present moral authority on matters of Islam in Nigeria. In all these functions and positions, the Sultan is deputized by the Shehu of Borno, then followed by the Emir of Gwandu, then of Kano and so on.
So the decision of some Emirs to announce the moon sighting independent of the Sultan can be seen as a reincarnation of their jurisdiction during the pre-colonial era, which is supported by the fact that the authority of the Sultan over Nigerian Muslims today is simply moral, not political. When authority is spoken of in terms of rights, one cannot help but conclude that they have the right to do so.
However, a judicious mind will not fail to discern that sometimes exercising a right may not be in the best interest of it's owner. He lends it to someone, if he is wise, in order to reclaim it with profit in the long run. In my view, this is just one of those times.
It is in the best interest of Islam and the Emirs themselves to be seen to speak with one authority, in this case to follow the ruling of the Sultan. Unity is a fundamental principle of Islam. It does not make any sense, no matter the level of disagreement, for different emirates in the same country to observe Ramadan and the Eid on different days in the 21st Cemtury. It was possible under the Sokoto Caliphate only because of the absence of effective means of communication. In fact the entire idea of the Caliphate being a loose federation was a child of necessity. If Danfodio had cars, planes, tarred roads, emails, and telephones in addition to the military hardware that we have these days, he would have adopted a system that accords the centre of the Caliphate greater power. It was just impossible for the ordinary Fulani man he was to effectively administer a territory so vast as the Sokoto Caliphate directly from the centre. He understood his limitations and abided by them. May God bless him!
Today we live in an environment where not only Nigeria but also the whole world is on the verge of becoming a small village. Muslims all over the country, nay, throughout the world, are increasingly becoming aware of happenings around the globe with great ease that was never contemplated by their ancestors. The communication gaps, geographical challenges and military handicaps that allowed the Emirs their independence in the days of the Caliphate have ceased to exist. In their place, a fused community of Muslims stretching from Sokoto to the Atlantic has emerged with a moral leadership that is no longer flat but hierarchical with the Sultan at the top. Nigerians have become used to that notion. Reverting to the olden pre-colonial order brings some discomfort amongst us – the followers.
The revolt especially is coming at a time when the unity among the traditional rulers in the country is needed most. Security is fast deteriorating; discontent among us – the masses – is at record high; yet, belief that the traditional rulers can fix some of the problems, despite their financial and political limitations, is prevalent. A crack in their ranks at this time would certainly be ominous.
So far we have discussed the political aspect of the problem. The religious one is more contentious. While the Sultan is working hard to see that Nigerian Muslims – from both North and South – unite in matters of their religion, there is a tremendous pressure on him and the Emirs that is coming from some ulama who want the status quo to be maintained. On the other when it comes to moon sighting Such ulama do not give a hoot if Northern Nigerian Muslims always find themselves on one side and the rest of the world. This cannot just be correct. The moon is one, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. There cannot be one crescent for Northern Nigeria and another for the rest of the world. This defies common sense. Period.
The problem we have been having in this part of the world for decades now is that of false testimonies. Since Islam bases the moon sighting on the testimony of two people, Nigerians being what we are, there has never been a shortage of people that would come over claiming to have sighted the crescent even when it cannot there. The Sultan would thus announce the Ramadan moon always 29 for over 40 years, until some Emirs started to revolt a decade ago against what appears to be clearly irrational. When he was enthroned, the present Sultan started to introduce caution into the matter and some sanity started to prevail. It is an irony that another set of Emirs is now crucifying him for doing exactly what we earlier called for.
Some ulama use the secular nature of the country to undermine the moral authority of the Sultan. This started during the Sardauna era, given the cold war that existed then between him – a Sokoto prince – and the then Sultan. This year some of the ulama said the sultan should not be obeyed because he is violating the rules of God: "nobody should be obeyed in violation to God." Such ulama and their groups exert pressure on their emirs who then became tempted to abandon the cause of unity and assert their independence from the Sultan.
I have followed the debate on moon sighting that took place this year on an Internet forum called the Nigerian Muslim Network which went on for some weeks after Sallah. There were testimonies from two reliable people that attempted to verify the reports of moon sightings in Zuru for example. One of them said the person he met was not steady in his testimony. The second, upon his failure to get to a specific person that will categorically affirm that he saw the new moon, passed what I regard as indicting statement about the behaviour of some Muslims in this country.
This is with the benefit of hindsight, though. The damage has already been done. People have sworn by Allah before the Emirs that they have seen the crescent and the Emirs announced that the moon is sighted, only for the rest of the universe to report the contrary. Rather than swim in such murky waters, if I were an Emir, I would prefer to enjoy the comfort of riding on the boat of the Sultan.
The issue of announcing the sighting of the crescent in Islamic tradition, like all collective obligations, is the jurisdiction of the authorities, not the ulama. Some scholars of the past insist that even the person who saw the moon must continue fasting until the authorities declare the moon sighted. This has been the practice throughout history and it is reiterated in recent literature – like the scholastic declarations in Fatawa al-Lajnatul Da'imah Lil Buhuthil 'Ilmiyyah Wal Ifta made by reputable Saudi ulama.
Given the difficulties posed by our widespread dishonesty in the contemporary world, many countries have resorted to supporting human vision in moon sighting with astronomical aids in form of calculations and equipment – like telescopes. The calculations give an idea of the days the moon is most likely to be seen while the telescopes support vision directly.
Despite these attempts there are still controversies in those countries, proving that the issue of moon sighting even in the Information Age is far from simple. The dilemma is that, on the one hand, we lack the honesty to unreservedly implement the prophetic tradition of accepting the testimonies of any two “trustworthy” people. Where people are many, knowing who is reliable becomes difficult. On the other, scientific methods themselves cannot be totally – 100 per cent – faultless.
In Nigeria, the Sultan is trying to draw his conclusions from various sources, including common sense. His task can only be made more difficult when other royal fathers decide to go their own ways.
Lastly, we must not forget that Sallah is not only for the Muslims. It is one of our public holidays and the nation can declare it only once. The need for harmony is therefore more imperative. Supporting the Sultan, from the foregoing, will definitely take us closer to the solution, which we hope to arrive at one day. Dissent can only take us backwards, perhaps centuries ago, when we have the capacity to leave that to our ancestors.
Bauchi
17 October 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Discourse 331: Models of Qur'anic Schools in Nigeria
Discourse 331
Models of Qur'anic Schools in Nigeria
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
With due respect to my brother and learned scholar, Ibrahim Bello Dogarawa, I have in my five part series on Almajiri said all what he said below about the Almajiri and much more. The issue of lumping this student of knowledge with "western elites to note and reflect" does not arise here. The Almajiri are my friends and companions for twenty years now. All Nigerians have something to note and reflect about the Almajiri. In any case, both Dogarawa and myself, are Western in as much as we are students of Western education and living by its bread.
However, I think I will use this opportunity to make a taxonomical clarification on the Quranic schools that we have in Northern Nigeria, something i missed out in my Almajiri series and which did not catch my attention until I visited Guinea recently. Not all Qur'anic schools are Almajiri based, as is popularly thought.
There has been two models of Quranic schools in Northern Nigeria. One is what I will call the Guinean Model; the other, the Borno Model. The two reflect the two waves that introduced Islam into Nigeria.
The Guinean Model
The Guinean Model is the one which the Fulani have imported into the country from the more western countries of Guinea and Mali. It predominates Fulani homes throughout the North and are also the predominant in Fulani founded towns like Sokoto, Yola, Gombe, etc.
The aim of the Fulani model is not memorization of the Qur'an other than the basic last one of two of its sixty sections for use in regular prayers. In fact, memorizing the whole Qur'an by heart is not even contemplated there. Its aim is to ensure that the child is fluent in reading and writing the Qur'an and any Arabic text. The school, like the one I reported from Mamou, Guinea, is day, mostly operating in the morning, afternoon and night. Pupils at the age of seven or just after may start combining the Qur'anic syllabus with learning elementary books on Fiqh.
The graduation in the Guinean Model, from which I graduated before I went to my boarding secondary school, is with jippingo in Fulfulde, or sabka/sauka in Hausa, when a child has completed writing the Qur'an in about 480 portions on slate and reading it fluently to the satisfaction of bis teacher. By the time he graduates, he would be around the age of 11 or just beyond. He then enrolls in a school of ilm, where he will start learning the books of Fiqh, if he wouldn't be home-taught.
The child, now a tean, grows in this open-ended school that doesn't have any graduation mark or completion date. He would move from one teacher to another as he also carries himself through the routine of life: trade, marriage, etc. This school therefore doesn't produce almajiri. Pupils here are day students that stay with their parents.
That is why there is no Almajiri in Guinea or among the students of this model wherever it is practiced.
In a nutshell, the Guinean model which, as I said above, limits itself to simply learning how to read the Quran and Arabic text, has not produced any significant amount of people who have memorized the Qur'an. Even in Guinea and Mali from where it was imported, there are few people who have memorized the Qur'an. However, it has to its credit the flourishing zaures, the centers of Islamic learning in many towns in West Africa.
The Borno Model
The other type of Qur'anic School, the Borno Model, is the much older school that is practiced predominantly in areas covered by the old Borno and Kanem/Borno Empires. It is also imported into distant towns in Hausaland proper by graduates of the school. This school differs from the Guinean Model in three important respects.
One, it has a boarding component which allows for children students to be admitted from distant homes to stay with the teacher, usually a someone who himself is a product of such a system. It is very rare to find a teacher who feeds his pupils. So they live off charity. The boarding student is called almajiri, meaning a migrant pupils that has left his home for scholarship elsewhere. The term is a domestication of the Arabic word al-muhajir, a migrant for the cause of God.
All almajiri are boys.
Two, the Borno Model school itself could be permanently based or migratory. The migrating schools move seasonally from their base to other towns where the teacher and his students would weather the harsh dry season through farming and commercial opportunities away from home. They usually return to their home base at the debut of the rains. Sometimes, it would be day students who migrate to live with some teachers in distant places. They too would return home at the beginning of the rainy season where they stay at home and farm like other Nigerians.
It is important to note that only the young pupils of the Borno Model schools live on charity. The bigger ones, as I have pointed out in my Almajiri series, live on various trades.
Three, the Borno Model has the memorization of the Qur'an as its chief objective, which is a giant step beyond the Guinean model. We are indebted in Nigeria to the Borno Model for producing the bulk majority of people who memorized the Qur'an. Until recently when Islamiyya schools opened, almost every person who memorized the Qura'n by heart is a product of the Borno model. Until now, whenever anyone in Hausaland, including Fulani, wants his children to memorize the Qur'an he will send him to gabas, meaning areas under the old Kanem-Borno Empire or to a teacher who is a graduate of that model and who operates its curriculum.
Than products of the Borno Model I have never met anyone better in the memorization of the Qur'an. Their tone of recitation, even if they would be in Katsina, Zaria or Kano, is unique. Kano traditional Qur'anic schools, which have recently also excelled in the memorization of the Holy Book, largely belongs to the Borno Model. The tone and its nomenclature of the Quran - i.e the manner its students name its portions - of both Kano and Borno schools are the same. Following the dictum of precedence, the originality must be conceded to Borno, where Islam has stayed for centuries before reaching Hausaland.
I am not quite acquainted with the schools of lslamic sciences under the Borno Model. I know they do have them. Someone can help us with that knowledge please.
Certainly, the Borno Model is facing many challenges today especially in its Almajiri practice. I have discussed what should be done about it in the series. The country may decide to gradually phase out the boarding aspect of it that produces the Almajiri in preference for day schools. But the day schools must not be limited to the syllabus of the Guinean Model. It must also include other areas of Islamic sciences and, significantly, the curriculum of 'western education' (if I must use the term, misleading as it is).
For detailed discussion on the Almajiri in contemporary Nigeria, please read the following links from my blog:
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/discourse-266-meditations-of-musa.html
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/discourse-267-future-of-almajiri.html
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/discourse-268-future-of-almajiri.html
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/discourse-269-future-of-almajiri.html
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/discourse-270-future-of-almajiri.html
We remain indebted to all scholars who preserved the tradition of learning in the Qur'anic schools over the centuries. May God reward them abundantly. They were responsible for producing the civil servants that manned various departments of government in the old caliphates of Borno, Mali, Songhai, Kanem-Borno and Sokoto. The chain has remained unbroken up to the present day. It is our hope that the ongoing pressure to modernize the schools will not break that chain but introduce the changes that will task their students with achieving the targets of both the traditional system and, as much as possible, that of basic education as outlined in our national curriculum.
Aliyu U. Tilde
12 October 2011
Models of Qur'anic Schools in Nigeria
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
With due respect to my brother and learned scholar, Ibrahim Bello Dogarawa, I have in my five part series on Almajiri said all what he said below about the Almajiri and much more. The issue of lumping this student of knowledge with "western elites to note and reflect" does not arise here. The Almajiri are my friends and companions for twenty years now. All Nigerians have something to note and reflect about the Almajiri. In any case, both Dogarawa and myself, are Western in as much as we are students of Western education and living by its bread.
However, I think I will use this opportunity to make a taxonomical clarification on the Quranic schools that we have in Northern Nigeria, something i missed out in my Almajiri series and which did not catch my attention until I visited Guinea recently. Not all Qur'anic schools are Almajiri based, as is popularly thought.
There has been two models of Quranic schools in Northern Nigeria. One is what I will call the Guinean Model; the other, the Borno Model. The two reflect the two waves that introduced Islam into Nigeria.
The Guinean Model
The Guinean Model is the one which the Fulani have imported into the country from the more western countries of Guinea and Mali. It predominates Fulani homes throughout the North and are also the predominant in Fulani founded towns like Sokoto, Yola, Gombe, etc.
The aim of the Fulani model is not memorization of the Qur'an other than the basic last one of two of its sixty sections for use in regular prayers. In fact, memorizing the whole Qur'an by heart is not even contemplated there. Its aim is to ensure that the child is fluent in reading and writing the Qur'an and any Arabic text. The school, like the one I reported from Mamou, Guinea, is day, mostly operating in the morning, afternoon and night. Pupils at the age of seven or just after may start combining the Qur'anic syllabus with learning elementary books on Fiqh.
The graduation in the Guinean Model, from which I graduated before I went to my boarding secondary school, is with jippingo in Fulfulde, or sabka/sauka in Hausa, when a child has completed writing the Qur'an in about 480 portions on slate and reading it fluently to the satisfaction of bis teacher. By the time he graduates, he would be around the age of 11 or just beyond. He then enrolls in a school of ilm, where he will start learning the books of Fiqh, if he wouldn't be home-taught.
The child, now a tean, grows in this open-ended school that doesn't have any graduation mark or completion date. He would move from one teacher to another as he also carries himself through the routine of life: trade, marriage, etc. This school therefore doesn't produce almajiri. Pupils here are day students that stay with their parents.
That is why there is no Almajiri in Guinea or among the students of this model wherever it is practiced.
In a nutshell, the Guinean model which, as I said above, limits itself to simply learning how to read the Quran and Arabic text, has not produced any significant amount of people who have memorized the Qur'an. Even in Guinea and Mali from where it was imported, there are few people who have memorized the Qur'an. However, it has to its credit the flourishing zaures, the centers of Islamic learning in many towns in West Africa.
The Borno Model
The other type of Qur'anic School, the Borno Model, is the much older school that is practiced predominantly in areas covered by the old Borno and Kanem/Borno Empires. It is also imported into distant towns in Hausaland proper by graduates of the school. This school differs from the Guinean Model in three important respects.
One, it has a boarding component which allows for children students to be admitted from distant homes to stay with the teacher, usually a someone who himself is a product of such a system. It is very rare to find a teacher who feeds his pupils. So they live off charity. The boarding student is called almajiri, meaning a migrant pupils that has left his home for scholarship elsewhere. The term is a domestication of the Arabic word al-muhajir, a migrant for the cause of God.
All almajiri are boys.
Two, the Borno Model school itself could be permanently based or migratory. The migrating schools move seasonally from their base to other towns where the teacher and his students would weather the harsh dry season through farming and commercial opportunities away from home. They usually return to their home base at the debut of the rains. Sometimes, it would be day students who migrate to live with some teachers in distant places. They too would return home at the beginning of the rainy season where they stay at home and farm like other Nigerians.
It is important to note that only the young pupils of the Borno Model schools live on charity. The bigger ones, as I have pointed out in my Almajiri series, live on various trades.
Three, the Borno Model has the memorization of the Qur'an as its chief objective, which is a giant step beyond the Guinean model. We are indebted in Nigeria to the Borno Model for producing the bulk majority of people who memorized the Qur'an. Until recently when Islamiyya schools opened, almost every person who memorized the Qura'n by heart is a product of the Borno model. Until now, whenever anyone in Hausaland, including Fulani, wants his children to memorize the Qur'an he will send him to gabas, meaning areas under the old Kanem-Borno Empire or to a teacher who is a graduate of that model and who operates its curriculum.
Than products of the Borno Model I have never met anyone better in the memorization of the Qur'an. Their tone of recitation, even if they would be in Katsina, Zaria or Kano, is unique. Kano traditional Qur'anic schools, which have recently also excelled in the memorization of the Holy Book, largely belongs to the Borno Model. The tone and its nomenclature of the Quran - i.e the manner its students name its portions - of both Kano and Borno schools are the same. Following the dictum of precedence, the originality must be conceded to Borno, where Islam has stayed for centuries before reaching Hausaland.
I am not quite acquainted with the schools of lslamic sciences under the Borno Model. I know they do have them. Someone can help us with that knowledge please.
Certainly, the Borno Model is facing many challenges today especially in its Almajiri practice. I have discussed what should be done about it in the series. The country may decide to gradually phase out the boarding aspect of it that produces the Almajiri in preference for day schools. But the day schools must not be limited to the syllabus of the Guinean Model. It must also include other areas of Islamic sciences and, significantly, the curriculum of 'western education' (if I must use the term, misleading as it is).
For detailed discussion on the Almajiri in contemporary Nigeria, please read the following links from my blog:
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/discourse-266-meditations-of-musa.html
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/discourse-267-future-of-almajiri.html
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/discourse-268-future-of-almajiri.html
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/discourse-269-future-of-almajiri.html
http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com/2010/05/discourse-270-future-of-almajiri.html
We remain indebted to all scholars who preserved the tradition of learning in the Qur'anic schools over the centuries. May God reward them abundantly. They were responsible for producing the civil servants that manned various departments of government in the old caliphates of Borno, Mali, Songhai, Kanem-Borno and Sokoto. The chain has remained unbroken up to the present day. It is our hope that the ongoing pressure to modernize the schools will not break that chain but introduce the changes that will task their students with achieving the targets of both the traditional system and, as much as possible, that of basic education as outlined in our national curriculum.
Aliyu U. Tilde
12 October 2011
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