Moon Sighting - Shahid Khan - Email

[Dr. Shabbir]

E-mail

Misconceptions About Moon Sighting And Islamic Dates

The recent statements of certain politicians and
Muftis in Pakistan about determining Islamic dates
are disappointing. The demand of the Chairman of
the RHC (Central Moon sighting Committee) to ban
the private regional committees and make it
punishable offence is against Islamic norms of
Justice and tolerance as well as old Fiqah positions
about regional moon sighting (Ikhtalaful Matalay).

Many Ulemas of NWFP and Baluchistan are justified
in opining that instead of following the sighting
in deep East of the country their people should
follow the sighting in the nearest location even
if in another Islamic country like Iran, Afghnistan
or Gulf State that are nearest to them. The CRH
of Pakistan has modified the old Fiqah position
on Global Sighting (Ittehad –e-Matalay based on
sighting at Holy Kaaba) ignoring the fact that
Islam does not encourage Nationalism and lays
much greater stress on Unity of Ummah.

Allam Iqabl wrote:

“In taza khudaun main burra sub say watan hay
jo pairhan iss ka hay, woh muzhab ka kafan hay”

Nationalism the worship of the collective power of
a local human community and Sufis like Allam Iqbal
regarded nationalism as a form of incest, idolatry
and insanity.

Since the Crescent in deep West of Mecca is generally
visible a daily earlier than Mecca and in deep East
a day later, many Muslim communities follow either
the announcement at Holy Kaaba or the Ummul Qura
Calendar which is based on calculations of
appearance of crescent at Ummul Qura (mother of
all cities) the Holy Mecca and the Qibla of
Islamic World. Therefore, the demand to enforce
the decision of CRH Pakistan as a decision of
Supreme Court is unjust and despotic.

Shah N. Khan, Sweden