ISNA’s Moonsighting Announcement: Science Prevailing Over Traditional Moon Sighting?
Published by Haseeb August 22nd, 2006 in Current News, IslamIm sure most of you have heard about ISNA’s latest announcement on the fact that they will now rely on scientific astronomic calculations to determine the starting dates of the Islamic Calendar, including the beginning and end of Ramadan, and the 2 Eids. Therefore ISNA has now officially announced the start of Ramadan to be Saturday, September 23, 2006, and Eid ul Fitr to be on October 23, 2006. They have actually already calculated all the Islamic Calendar currently up to the year 2011.
I personally have mixed feelings about this. I am relieved that finally someone has stepped up to unite Muslims to hopefully all celebrate Ramadan and Eid on the same days. Moreover, it provides us time to actually plan and prepare for our holidays, rather than be unsure of whether or not a holiday will occur on a day of an important work-related activity or exam, etc.
I also am by no means a scholar (or even a serious student) of fiqh so my mixed feelings are by no means meant towards the fiqh council committe. I do respect the decision the ISNA Fiqh Council has decided upon. I greatly respect and admire many on the Fiqh Council, including Monis’ uncle, Dr. Muzammil Siddique.
However, there was a particular mystique in not knowing when Ramadan would begin, or when Eid would be. We would all anxiously wait until till the night before to find out, calling our local masjids, checking websites (ICNA, ISNA, Moonsighting.org, etc.), waiting for the final verdict, and either becoming really disappointed, or hopefully, excited that Ramadan had indeed begun, or that it really was Eid! (Cmon u guys know u all love that feeling!)
Rachel Zoll of the Associated Press wrote an article this week covering ISNA’s latest decision:
The Muslim practice of following a strict lunar calendar, requiring a naked-eye sighting of the new moon to start a holiday the next morning, has divided the Muslim community on its most sacred days. Now a scholarly panel that advises American Muslims on religious law is trying to end the confusion.
The Fiqh Council of North America announced last week that it would no longer rely on moon sightings to determine the start of holidays and would instead use astronomical calculations. The panel released an Islamic calendar that runs through 2011, hoping Muslims in the United States and Canada can be persuaded to trade the old way for the new.
She goes on to quote Dr, Sulayman Nyang, a respected Muslim scholar and professor.
“The American Muslims aren’t going to resolve this problem for the whole Muslim world or even for themselves,” said Sulayman Nyang, an expert on Islam at Howard University.
“But, gradually, I think science is going to prevail.”
That last sentence really struck me. As if so many of us already dont think that religious tradition and science are already at odds. I respect Dr. Nyang and dont want to read too far between the lines regarding this sentence, but am really disturbed at the idea that science will inevitably prevail over tradition. Those of you who know me personally know how I feel regarding the debate over science and religion.
What do you all think about ISNA’s latest moonsighting decision?
18 Responses to “ISNA’s Moonsighting Announcement: Science Prevailing Over Traditional Moon Sighting?”
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Pingback on Sep 1st, 2006 at 11:46 am
This is not going to unite the ummah and just because we fast on the same day doesn’t mean we’ll be united and just because we don’t fast on the same day doesn’t mean we are divided.
I think this disconnects us from Allah
’s creation and from the sunnah of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam.
I personally have mixed feelings towards this. I concur with Haseeb in terms of that traditional feeling of suspense of whether or not the moon has been sighted. However, I am at the same time sick and tired of the same debates every Ramadan and Eid. Although controvesial, ISNA has taken a brave step by commiting to astronomical calculations. It was just dumb doing both, astronomical and with the naked eye. Too many contradictions. e.g. “It is impossible to sight the moon tonight and thus Eid is not tomorrow. Oops, somebody saw it in Texas.” Just didn’t work. With this new approach, Muslims in North America can better plan events, family gatherings, and accomadate their wordly affairs. If I had to decide it, I’d run with the ISNA choice in a because of the benefits it provides to us as a community in a fast paced world where things need to be planned ahead. However, we all know its useless unless reliable scholars approve it. I will obviously shun my desire for it if the people entrusted with preserving the deen (scholars) don’t approve. PEACE
Yeah I kinda miss the waiting and expectation, but at the same time, I don’t need to take 2-3 days off to prepare for Eid.
Besides, I don’t think everyone will follow it. ISNA and the Shura council said the whole country would do it on the same day, and the community split nearly 50-50 on different days that year. I know the Afghani community upstate probably won’t follow it, but give it a few years, change is slow sometimes.
Assalaamu Alaykum,
I am a little quesy about this, not that it will change or alter my decision making about Eid or Ramadhaan observance (because I go with the opinion wherever the moon is sighted and usually they broadcast the sighting of moon in makkah a lot louder than other places, so I go with that and plus I live where majority of the people fast with makkah or Saudi Arabia). But I am concerned if we are following our predecessors who resolved their troubles by resorting to calculations, namely the jews, they have calculations based calender.
Also, is this ISNA only? or does the council include ICNA and other organizations?
I agree with Danya. It is good to take advantage of the time’s abilites but it might seem to stray a bit from tradition and this, Ramadan and Eid, is the time when worldly affairs should be the least of our concerns.
When we studied this issue in an AlMaghrib seminar the topic was called “Moonsighting or Moonfighting”. We learned the three major opinions namely sighting in each locality, following Saudi, and using calculations and then some of the subsections under these opinions. All three opinions derive some of their proof from a single hadeeth.
Some advice from our instructor Muhammad Alshareef:
- Determine who is your leader and follow their decision
- Try and follow the widest body of leadership (such as ISNA over ISYH Islamic Society of Your House)
- Have mercy for all three opinions because they derive from valid ijtihad
I intend to follow ISNA but if my local masjid differs from ISNA as they have in the past then I will go with my masjid because I trust their leadership and it would not make sense to differ from them.
Makes alot of sense. more precise than naked eye observation, very easy to prove and disprove claims, not prone to nonsense and lies… Its a good thing
But I’m gonna stick to my tried and true method of fasting when my family starts to fast and celebrating eid when they celebrate it.
Aww…to the above statement. True, go with your family.
Hanan, you said wordly affairs should be the least of our concerss. I think we could more easily forget about them if we go with what ISNA is proposing. I remember at Stony Brook it was quite confusing as the MSA was split on it, with some going to class and others not, some saying Eid Mubarak, while the other is fasting. All I’m trying to say its a matter of perspective. I personally think I would think less about Dunya when I can know in advance when I need to take off. PEACE
I’m not into it one bit, and I don’t think the Ulema who follow the tradition of our Beloved Prophet (saw) will be following this. As I’ve seen from past experiences, The Fiqh Council of N.A. unfortunately is usually the group that is confusing the masses more than helping. So in the end, it won’t have much benefit, bc people will be divided on this non-issue regardless. And I mean no disrespect to the Fiqh Council, because there are indeed bright minds parts of it.
However, it should be quite interesting when the Saudi Ramadan/Eid days don’t match up with the calculated calendar days ISNA has calculated for the US because that’s what they’ve followed in the past. I always find it upsetting, how we keep leaving certain Sunnahs of the Prophet (saw) for the sake of convenience just to make the religion lax.
At the time of the sahaba (may Allah
be pleased with them) different parts of the Muslim world began fasting at different times including Madinah and Ash Sham so it shouldn’t matter if the start of the fast in North America differs from the start in Saudi.
I also have mixed feelings on this. However, I think it is a step in the right direction for Muslims in America. We are supposed to be one Ummah under One God and we should start somewhere, and what better than the holidays that God intended for us to celebrate together. As I am led to believe, the scientific calculations are pretty correct most of the time. God created the heavens and the earth for us to know and understand. I think by using the God given knowledge of science for a greater good such as this, will Inshallah this will be better for the Muslim Ummah at large. So it’s not really science prevailing, it’s the rich Islamic tradition facilitating science.
As much as I love the great occasion of sighting the moon or playing phone tag the night before, I don’t think this new method will prevent us from doing so. Inshallah, I’ll still carry on the tradition with my family of running out after maghrib and looking for that beautiful silver. Whether we know scientifically before hand, it’ll Inshallah be just as warming.
Also, I encourage everyone to read the announcement and the scientific method on the links provided above.
Assalamu alaykum,
As far as I know, it is required in the in the Maliki school (at minimum) to see the moon with the naked eye. Seeing it with the naked eye promotes sustaining a tradition of ours and connecting ourselves to the larger universe (which we hardly do these days). The major issue here though is this - to say that scientifically such and such WILL happen IS ARROGANT. Rather it should be said that we scientifically EXPECT such and such to happen but of course ALLH KNOWS BEST. Will science predict the sun’s rising in the west on the day it happens? At anytime Allah
may change something, especially in the end times with the coming of the Dajjal, etc. Thus we should definitly see it with our eye AND it is ok to use science to form an EXPECTATION but not to blindly rely on. Those who want to rely on this 100%, I’m sorry to say, have been disappointing me for years in their approach to Islam. In fact not too long ago Dr. Sherman Jackson resigned from the Fiqh Council because they couldn’t remain objective.
I totally disagree with the decision. This will not unite but devide the muslims. This decision just creates fitna and the practice of bida because it goes against the hadith of sighting the hilal. The term ‘New moon’ means that the moon is invisible and cannot be seen therefore the month cannot start the following day as stipulated by ISNA! Furthermore, the calculations are not for the probable sighting of the cresent in the USA. The counsil’s position is that “the new islamic lunar month begins at sunset of the day when the new moon occurs before 12 noon GMT!” This means if the moon is born anywhere in the world before noon grenich mean time then we have to start the month. I suggest why dont they calculate universal timings for salat so that the muslim ummah can be united further and we can all pray together anywhere in the world and make a mockery of local salat timings! I am most dissapointed in the ulemas and specially Dr. Muzamil Siddiqui because I expected better judgement from him.
The biggest problem with the announcement is the way they calculated the dates. It is totally un-Islamic. Why pick Universal time? Why choose 12:00 from the Universal time as the dividing line between the different dates? This has no basis in Shariah. This makes things too complicated.
It would have helped had they used the “possibility of moonsighting” calculations.
Moreover, they are trying to impose one international dateline, Universal time, for all Muslims. This has no place in Islam.
So the saga continues. Already, ICNA refuses to accept this.
This will not unite Muslims at all because observers have noted that:
1. In its first test, this new calendar is ahead of Saudi calendar by one day for Ramadaan. So now we have three dates to start Ramadaan with: ISNA date, Saudi date and the real moonsighting date.
2. Saudi government changes dates at the last minute as they did two years ago. So we stay different this anyway.
3. ISNA follows Hajj dates in Saudi Arabia regardless of moon dates in the USA. So this new calendar is useless for Eidul Adha. We need to wait for Saudi Arabia to decide dates for us.
4. If they really wanted unity and adopt one calendar for the world, which is not possible, they should have abandoned other calendars and adopted Saudi calendar. Coming up with a new one and expecting others around the world to accept it is stupidity.
5. Scholars are already disputing this new calendar citing Hadeeth and Ayaahs. ICNA has not endorsed it. There are ads in the newspapers against this announcement.
Islam made different regions autonomous regarding the calendar. It is impossible to unite them using lunar calendar. We have this problem in the world because some organizations are desperate to synchronize their dates with Saudi Arabia.
ISNA and Fiqh Council should forget about the world and concentrate on the USA. We have very good astromers who can tell us when we can see the moon and when it is impossible. We can use this information and come up with US-specific calculated calendar.
Let us be frank and honest.
When your drummer beats his drum you must dance.
It all boils down to who pays you and we know who pays ISNA.
It is ironic that the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia says go by local sighting and SA doctrine is do it with us.
Remember they see the moon before it is born because the ONE seeing the moon get money.
SA and its Salafi doctrine is destroying this Noble religion all over the world.