Ulama Association of North America: Calculations Not Permitted!
Published by Haseeb September 20th, 2006 in IslamIn the name of Allah 
, most merciful, most kind
Shariah’s rule regarding the beginning of lunar month and the decision of ISNA’s Fiqh Council of North America: A resolution of the Ulama Association of North America (UANA)
The Sahih Ahadith of Rasul-ullah (S.) have explained for us how to begin the lunar months. From the time of Rasul-ullah (S.) to the present the criteria for beginning the lunar months has consistently been the sighting of the crescent. It is, therefore, incorrect to say that this is a new issue or that it is ambiguous and requires Ijtihad.
There is a clear Hadith narrated in Bukhari: “Fast upon seeing it and end fasting upon seeing it. If it is cloudy complete 30 days.” The linguists of any language do not accept an allegorical meaning of a word if a literal meaning is possible. In the above cited Hadith, the literal meaning—i.e., physical sighting of the crescent—is possible. Thus, there is no plausible cause for an alternate explanation.
The other Hadith narrated in Bukhari, “We are illiterate people, we do not write nor do we count. A month is this or this [29 or 30 days],” only shows that the number of days in a lunar month is either 29 or 30 days. This Hadith has no bearing on the criteria for beginning a lunar month.
ISNA’s Fiqh Council has changed and adopted various decisions in the past regarding the commencement of Ramadan and the two Eid’s. The Fiqh Council of North America’s recent decision is that the commencement of the lunar months, according to Shariah, does not depend on the sighting of the crescent and that the lunar month will commence with the birth of the new moon anywhere in the world, before 12:00 afternoon Greenwich Time. In the light of Quran and Sunnah this decision is totally incorrect. It is regretful that the Fiqh Council of North America has stated that the Islamic Scholars in the past and the present have differed in their views regarding the use of calculation versus sighting to establish the beginning of lunar months. And it is yet more regretful that the council has used this misleading statement to justify its practice of announcing the dates of the 1 st of Ramadan and the Eidul Fitr in advance of the sighting of the moon. The reality is that Islamic Scholars in the past and the present have consistently agreed on the position that lunar months should begin with sighting not calculation. Assuming one or two or a few Scholars have held the opposite view ( i.e., that of calculation), their difference of opinion can not overrule the view of the overwhelming majority.
It is unclear whether the Council’s decision will be implemented for all 12 lunar months, including the determination of Eidul Adha, or just the 1 st of Ramadan and Eidul Fitr. If this decision is implemented it will become utterly difficult to bring unity among the Muslim Community at large.
The Ulama Association of North America hereby categorically states that lunar months should begin with sighting and not with calculation. This is the ruling of Shariah and we must abide by it. ISNA’s Fiqh Council has consistently created confusion in the minds of Muslims, due to its decisions. It should avoid doing so by adopting and sticking to correct criteria for announcing the beginning the lunar months.
18 Responses to “Ulama Association of North America: Calculations Not Permitted!”
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Learn English. Learn how to reason. Calling yourself ulama?
Inaccurate Decision of ISNA’s Fiqh Council Creates Controversy
Start fasting when you see the moon and end fasting when you see the moon. If you cannot see the moon because of clouds complete 30 days.
This Hadeeth has been transmitted in Sahih Bukhari. Moreover, it has been the criterion employed by the Hilal Committee of Greater Chicago since its establishment 35 years ago. According to the principle enunciated above, the sighting of the moon anywhere in North America marks the beginning of the lunar month.
In the past, ISNA’s Fiqh Council has repeatedly changed their criteria. This year, they have decided to alter their standards yet again. According to the new standards, if the moon is born before noon Greenwich Time, ISNA will declare the next day to be the beginning of Ramadan; the same will apply to Eid-ul-Fitr. Based on this, they have decided that September 23, 2006 will be the start of Ramadan.
On the 30th of August, the Hilal Committee of Greater Chicago, which comprises of learned scholars and jurists of Islam, held a meeting in this regard and concluded that the ISNA Fiqh Council’s decision was incorrect. In the past, the scholars of Fiqh have differed on whether the beginning of the month should start with the actual sighting of the moon or whether it should be based on mathematical calculations.
In all the Islamic libraries of the world, one will find only a handful of scholars in favor of using mathematical calculations to decide the beginning of the Islamic month. Over the last 1400 years of Islamic history, not a single instance exists wherein mathematical calculation (as opposed to the actual sighting of the moon) was used to determine the beginning of the Islamic month.
The Fiqh Council’s proposal to use the calculation method has been justified on the grounds of convenience. Yet earlier generations of Muslims have never considered convenience as sufficient justification for abandoning the Shari’ah, especially with regards to a matter as weighty as the month of Ramadan. Neither the contemporary American Muslim, nor any previous Muslims, have had any valid excuse for departing from the Shari’ah.
With this in mind, the Hilal Committee of Greater Chicago declines to accept the decision made by ISNA Fiqh Council and appeals to all Muslims to do likewise, as their decision is clearly in conflict and violation of the Shari’ah,. Fasting (Sawm) is the fourth pillar of Islam, as per the tradition laid down by our beloved Prophet Muhammad
(S), and thus under the guidance of the Shari’ah, American Muslims should begin and end their worship during Ramadan by sighting the moon. Such is the best way of ensuring that such worship is accepted by Allah 
.
The dates of Ramadan and Eid must be determined on the basis of conventional moon sighting principles. It is this method which the Hilal Committee of Chicago has held fast to in the past and intends to continue to abide by in the future.
since when has “unity among the muslim community at large” been so important when it comes to ramadan and eid? all i care about is that i celebrate eid on the same day as my next door neighbor for God’s sake. when it comes to ramadan and eid, we should be realistic. we don’t really need to have every muslim country in the entire world be on the same day. at least people in the same timezone!
Assalaamualaikum,
insha’Allah
you are all well. Baraa has raised a great point. Firstly, we love to be united in these days, but what about the rest of the time? why are we so ignorant? What about my brothers dying around the world? who are we now? Secondly, why the huge fuss when it comes to ramadhan, people don’t give a damn about the rest of the months - i have met very few people who keep track of all the months (emphasis on few) - and also, ISNA or any other group for argument’s sake, should use the same method they apply to find out when rajab, safar, shabaan, etc start. The Muslims of the past were so knowledgeable, each month they knew and love of Allah 
they had. God-willing we will be as good as them.
Fiamaanallah,
Raza
Thank you UANA!
Do not trivialize this issue! Doing this right decides eternity. For over a thousand years, our greatest scholars have been saying the same thing. Who are they to break from that?!
Asalamu alaikum,
I am going to come out and say this because I know this is the truth (at least at my masjid). What this boils down to, and it is very very sad, is that it is becoming a nationalistic issue. The Indo-pakistani faction wants to follow any other country but Saudi Arabia, and the Arabs want to follow Saudi. This is extremely sad. When it comes to Hajj and Eid-al-Adha, we must all follow Saudi, we have no other choice really, so dont argue this. I am not going to go into the shariah of this as I am not qualified, read the article above if you want evidence.
To discount these ulema and tell them to “go learn english” is very disrespectful, and I ask the person who wrote this comment to ask himself where scholars such as Hamza Yusuf and Zaid Shakir have studied and under whom. They will tell you that most of their shuyukh, if not all, were scholars exactlly like these ulema, with “limited” english, whether they be Desi or Arab.
Please, when it comes to issues like this let us not follow the traditions of our parents and follow these nationalistic ideologies that really do nothing but tear our ummah apart. We are all Muslim-Americans now and an issue like this is very important.
wasalamu alaikum.
Insh’Allah
I see the UANA doing good things for the UMMAH in the US of A in the coming years.
Oh yes its on!
After reading all the comments, I don’t have anything to add except that all of us nonscholars and nonexperts should really learn the adab of disagreement. I just think it’s really sad how disrespectful and inconsiderate, some of our responses have been toward the scholarly opinions on this matter. At least we should give them the respect of age. Unfortunately, we forget the fact that whether it’s UANA or ISNA, the people who are deliberating these issues are not your run-of-the-mill. Seriously, think about it, do we really think that the ahadith that are being quoted in our “intelligent” responses (as opposed to their “negligence”) were somehow left out of their analysis? Subhanallah, this reminds me of something Imam Suhaib web once said on MeccaOne - We spend the sacred month of Ramadan fighting. The first ten days of Ramadan we’re fighting about the start of Ramadan, and the last ten days about the end of Ramadan.
I am posting up on this discussion is to pass on ISNA’s own advise on this contested issue- “You should follow the decision of your Imam and your Masjid.” I encourage you to go on their website and read their “A Call for Understanding and Harmony”. This is called adab (aka manners).
Ramadan Mubarak to All!
I just wanna say that Saudis sight the moon also. There are allegations out there saying that they calculate and then say this is starting of Ramadhaan. It is not true. The Saudis have asked people in the kingdom to participate and encouraged them to sight the moon. To look for the moon. We need to give our brothers and sisters a chance and excuses rather than sealign them off and discriminating against them. Please have adab in arguments and also in how you treat and look at other muslims. Don’t hate your fellow muslims due to prejudices you have heard or your family have had. The poster is right, in USA and the Western world it comes down to nationalistic lines.
But either way, I am no scholar but I feel as long as it is based on moon sighting it does not matter whether one does fasting based on LOCAL moon sighting or global moon sighting because both are correct opinions within islaam. Or I should say opinions within Islaam(There are four of them and I dotn remember the other two) so it is okay to follow either and since when celebrating Eid be a sign of unity. I think we should not focus too much on that as being a sign of unity.
Asslamu ‘alaykum wa’rahmatullahi wa’barakatuhu,
Shaykh Humza Yusuf just did part 1 of a new paper examining the moon sighting versus calculation issue: http://www.zaytuna.org/articleDetails.asp?articleID=100
Abstract
“This paper will examine the issue of Muslims physically sighting the crescent moon as the basis for beginning the months that constitute their lunar calendar. The argument posed here is especially relevant in the United States and Canada where the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and its allied Fiqh Council of North America are attempting to establish a norm of using calculations as the basis for determining the beginning of the lunar calendar, and the timing of associated devotional acts such as the Fast of Ramadan and the Hajj…..”
Wasalam
The funny thing is.. the local moon sighting people say today is the 28th of Shaban, while ISNA/Fiqh Council says tommorrow is the first day of Ramadan (which the local moon sighters are calling the 29th day of Shaban).
So there can be a two day discreprency!
Btw ICNA has announced its position on its website
Assalaamu’alykum:
Insha’Allah
you are all well. Alhumdulillah it’s good to know that atleast much of New York will be following the local sighting this year. Mind you, I have no problem with global sighting, as one of the posters mentioned, either are permissible within the Shariah.
However, the other two opinions, following Saudi only (which is that you won’t take a sighting from Panama, but only from Saudi. Or for Egyptians, to follow Egypt, and Indians to follow India, so forth), or to rely on calculations alone. Two notes here, just so everyone knows, as the person above commented- Saudi does follow local sighting, and they do what the scholars in North America do. Which is to rely on calculations to predict when the moon will appear of their horizon, and then they look out for it’s appreance in those first 30 odd hours.
Nonetheless, these two opinions- of following one country alone, and the other that to follow calculations alone are not substantiated by the Shariah and do go against the Shariah. I believe Shaykh Hamza’s paper comprehensively makes the case for this argument.
As to the rest of it. Firstly, as we mentioned earlier on this blog, it has happened even in the time of the Sahaba that two places followed two different calendars, and that was fine. Only today do we have such an issue of “unifying” on this one thing. As someone else mentioned, there is no consistency, and neither has there been any consistency on ISNA’s part over the last 3 decades on this issue. One year, they follow one principle, the next it’s another. The safety in the opinion of our ‘Ulama, the masters of their sciences, is that they have held one policy all through, and this policy has never been questioned in it’s legitimacy. So it behooves us to just follow our local Shariah Boards on this issue of Ramadhaan.
If you look at ISNA’s statement, much of it has been well dealt with by Shaykh Hamza, but their manifesto bullet points lacked substantiation. Much of it was pointless diatribe about “the convenience” of it all. Which as the Chicago ‘Ulama have mentioned, has never taken precedence over the Shariah. It isnt that the ‘Ulama don’t use calculations, they are not illiterate in this matter. The question is whether calculations “alone” are “sufficient”. And the answer the vast majority of scholars have given is no.
Yes, there are scholars that ISNA mentions, that subscribe to this opinion. But that’s a handful in 1400 years of scholarship. And as the Prophet saw said, you follow not the obsolete but that which the majority of knowers have agreed on.
Alhumdulillah Allah
has honored the brothers and sisters at ISNA with such sincerity and concern for their Ummah, and I really do appreciate their efforts. Allah 
has chosen them to serve us, and they have done will by that. But they have certainly left the farm on this issue. Other than ISNA, there isn’t one organization, or any other group of scholars that has come to defend their position. Right now, the only defense the Fiqh Council has, is themselves. And I am afraid that just doesn’t cut it. Obsolete opinions, carried by a few people in this day and age, to suddenlt set precedent that has been shunned by every society in the past is a slippery slope that sees no end.
“UANA Grow up”. You are right brother. May Allah
swt raise amongst us and our progeny a generation of ‘Ulama who can take from our scholars. Unfortunately, most of our traditional ‘Ulama do not have much of a command over the english language, or have the knowledge to critically structure an argument for our audience. But Alhumdulillah, Shaykh Hamza stepped in at the right time.
May Allah
allow us the ability to take from our ‘Ulama and benefit from the coming days.
Wassalam
Moonsighting Debate:
JazakAllah Khayr :). You are very right. I was just giving “UANA Grow Up” the benefit of the doubt. I agree with you cent percent about Mufti Abdurrahman and Maulana Tahir Anwar. I wrote to Mufti Abdurrahman last night actually relating the dissatisfaction some have voiced to the effectivity, or lack thereof to the statement.
I have no doubt that Mufti Abdurrahman and Maulana Tahir can make an unparalelled case for traditional sighting of the moon. Alhumdulillah since this morning UANA has taken down it’s statement, and Insha’Allah
maybe it will be replaced soon.
Wassalam
Hussain
wa `alaykum salam Br. “UANA Grow up”
It seems you don’t know that Imam Tahir and Mufti `Abdal Rahman were Western-born and were raised in the West.
Wassalam