AS a child, I remember celebration of two Eidul-Fitrs in Pakistan. One on the day announced by the incumbent government and the other as declared by the Ulema, usually belonging to the opposition camp. These childhood memories were revived this year when there erupted an ugly controversy over the sighting of the moon at the beginning and at the end of Ramadan. It appears that not much has changed over the years in Pakistan, or for that matter, in the Muslim world in general. It is very strange, rather disgraceful, that we do not conform, even locally, to a uniform and universal practice.

If we examine rationally the significance of the moon in Islam, we shall come to the conclusion that it has no religious significance. We Muslims do not worship the moon; rather, we are supposed to govern it. This comes out very clearly in the Holy Quran with the anecdote of Hazrat Ibrahim (peace be upon him) who considered the moon as god and then rejected it at sunrise... [Al-Quran 6: 76-78].

Moreover, the Quran mentions, on several occasions, that the moon and the heavenly bodies have been subjected to serve us. “And maketh the sun and the moon constant in their courses, to be of service unto you, and hath made of service unto you the night and the day.” [14: 33]. “And He hath constrained the night and the day and the sun and the moon to be of service unto you, and the stars are made subservient by His command. Lo! herein indeed are portents for people who have sense.” [16: 12]. “And hath made of service unto you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth; it is all for Him. Lo! herein verily are portents for people who reflect.” [45: 13].

The same message is also conveyed in verses 31: 20 and 31: 29.

It is to be noted that these Qur'anic verses end with “... for people who reflect/who have sense.” Apparently we are doing against what is written in the Quran and are letting ourselves to be subordinated by the heavenly bodies instead of subjugating them. Fortunately, with time all apparent contradictions between religion and science have been resolved because the purpose of science and technology is to serve us. To cite a few examples, let us first of all take Salat' (prayer) which is more important and obviously more frequent than Eid.

According to Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), the timings of the Zuhar and the Asar prayers are determined by the shadow of a stick. The Maghrib, of course, is at the time of sunset. Ancient science and technology invented the clock followed by the wrist watch. Nowhere in the world now Muslims carry a stick with them to determine when they should offer Zuhar or Asar prayer. Hardly do they come out of their houses to look for the sunset to know the time for Maghrib, for they become aware of this by just a glance at their watches. It is not that they do not respect Hadith or Sunna; they are simply making use of the accumulated knowledge.

Even Azan, the call for prayer, utilizes technology through the loudspeaker and rightly so, for the voice of the Muezzin reaches much farther than that of one not using this scientific invention. The purpose of Azan, after all, is that it should be heard by the believers to make them aware of the time of a particular prayer.

God has informed us that the sun and the moon and the stars are in our service, but of what use are all these heavenly bodies? One answer is found in the following verses: “He it is who appointed the sun a splendour and the moon a light, and measured for her stages that ye might know the number of the years and reckoning.” [10: 5]. “And for the moon We have appointed mansions till she returns like an old shrivelled palm-leaf.” [36: 39].

So the moon, having no religious significance, is meant to serve the purpose of counting days, months and years. And all these heavenly bodies follow a fixed pattern. “The sun and the moon are made punctual.” [55: 5].

Science calculates the stages of the moon and, therefore, time. Certainly scientific calculation for a month can be erroneous sometimes, but the same is true of a calendar based on the sighting of the moon — as is regularly observed, and was so prominently evident in a serious controversy on the sighting of the Ramadan and the Eid moon in 2004 when Eidul Fitr was celebrated on four different days in the world. And the phenomenon repeats itself almost every year. It is indeed very strange that we accept science in the calculation of hours (watches and clocks) and years, but reject it in its calculations of days and months!

The adoption of a universal, or even regional, fixed pre-calculated lunar calendar is a very simple matter. This can only come from a central authority, for example, the central government, for if a decision is not taken at the central level it wiil not be implemented. The ministry of religious affairs should undertake the exercise and fix the calendar and the corresponding holidays well in advance. It is certain that there will be some dissent but the majority of the Muslim population will follow the central authority.

One may recall that only about 70 years ago the use of loudspeakers for the purpose of Azan was vehemently opposed by many religious leaders and groups initially, but it took not much long time before it was widely accepted without any reservation. And if the sole objection to the proposition of a fixed calendar is that this was not the practice at the time of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), then one may argue that there are many other things that we practice as a matter of routine that were not prevalent then. We hardly take a long journey on camel or horseback. Are not automobiles, trains, airplanes an example of science and technology being in man’s service? Are we going to give up the popular use of spectacles for the correction of eyesight simply because it was not in vogue at that time and so it is an innovation (bida’t)? We can go on mentioning many such examples.

The Quran repeatedly exhorts us to reflect, to ponder, to understand. But do we? “(This is) a Scripture that We have revealed unto thee, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revelations, and that men of understanding may reflect.” [38: 29]. It is primordial to understand the true sense of a Qur'anic verse or a Ahadith, and we should not make ourselves bound by the use of words. It is time which unveils the meanings of the words of the Holy Quran, in the light of the accumulated knowledge of the world.

To clarify this statement, here are some examples from Holy Quran and Ahadith.

(i) The words in the verse which exhorts the Muslims to perform the Pilgrimage (Hajj) are explicit: “And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men: They will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways.” [22: 27]. Now, nobody restricts himself to going for Hajj on foot or on a camel, although the words are specific in the Holy Quran. We go by ship, by train, by plane, which are the modern means – an outcome of science and technology.

(ii) Allah says in the Holy Quran: “Make ready for them whatever force and strings of horses you can, to terrify thereby the enemy of God and your enemy, and others besides them that you know not; Allah knows them.” [8: 60]. Now, in this age, we cannot obviously fight our wars with strings of horses. We have to have superior weapons which will terrify the enemy; and we cannot possess such weapons unless we achieve mastery over several branches of science.

(iii) A Hadith of the Holy Prophet states: “Look! Power lies in the (speed of) hurling or launching.” A military expert will appreciate this maxim, since it is the fundamental principle of modern weaponry and warfare. The greater the speed of an object, the greater will be its force and its impact. It is this principle which has started the race for the production of supersonic fighter and bomber planes and missiles. The Arabic word `rama’ means to throw, to launch, to hurl. In the 7th century of the Christian era, when the Holy Prophet lived amongst the Arabs, this word was used for shooting a bow. In the 16th century, the same word was used for shooting a musket or a gun. It is so used even today. The Holy Quran is for all time and, therefore, every generation will, and should, understand the meaning of the Holy Quran from its own particular frame of reference.

A pre-calculated fixed lunar calendar will pre-empt all possible political maneuverings. And the fact is that hardly anyone bothers for the sighting of the new moon except for the two months of Ramadan and Shawwal. Eventually, this proposition is open to all for acceptance or for rejection. However, no one can logically object to it — no one, except the person still using a stick to determine his prayer timings. “But only men of understanding will pay heed.” [39: 9].

Are we men of understanding?
(Courtesy: The Dawn internet edition, 11 November, 2006)