The Cosmic Cause and the Sharia Means Deconstructing the Dilemma of Proving the Ramadan Crescent

The Cosmic Cause and the Sharia Means: Deconstructing the Dilemma of Proving the Ramadan Crescent

By Dr. Hussein Yamani, Writer and Researcher.

Astronomical calculation is a tool for regulating a Sharia timing, not a substitute for the text.

We begin this article seeking to contribute to finding a solution to the recurring dilemma faced by Muslims in various parts of the world, which is the continuous disagreement in proving the crescent of Ramadan and the beginning of lunar months.

Before we dive into the details of this issue, we must stand at a methodological point of great importance, a point that students of knowledge are often required to master and understand accurately, because a flaw in it leads to a disturbance in the general understanding of Sharia rulings.

The Difference Between the End and the Means

The End is the supreme goal that is intended for itself, while the Means is the path or tool through which that end is achieved.

A person may have multiple ends, and each end often has multiple means leading to it. Here the important question arises: Are the means fixed and unchanging, or are they subject to change according to time, ability, and knowledge? The answer is that means, in many cases, are variable, unlike the ends, which remain constant.

The Example of Hajj. The End is Fixed and the Means are Variable.

Let us look at the obligation of Hajj. The end across the ages is one: that the Muslim intends to visit the Sacred House of Allah, performing the rituals of Hajj or Umrah in obedience to God Almighty. But the means have changed. In the past, people traveled in caravans and used camels, horses, and animals, and the journey took long months. Today, people travel by planes, cars, or modern ships. Has it been said that riding a plane is forbidden because it was not in the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him? Of course not. Because Hajj is the end, while the means of reaching it is left to what achieves the purpose in the easiest way and the most accurate means.

Applying the Rule to the Issue of the Crescents

We should first ask: What is the end, and what is the means?

The End: Fasting the month of Ramadan when it actually enters.

The Means: In the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, it was sighting the crescent with the naked eye.

Is the sighting an end intended for itself, or a means to prove the entry of the month? Understanding this difference solves a large part of the dilemma.

The entry of the month is the cosmic cause, and the sighting or calculation are both means to prove it in a solid, foundational way. The Quranic text said: They ask you about the crescents. Say: They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj. Al Baqarah, 189. The verse is explicit that the function of the crescents is to determine timings, which means they are a time sign, and not an act of worship intended for itself.

Analogy with Prayer Timings

Meaning of the Almighty saying: Whosoever of you witnesses the month shall fast it.

The word witness in the language does not only mean visual sighting, but rather means presence, perception, and knowledge.

So we say: Someone witnessed the incident equals he knew about it and perceived it. Witnessed the month equals he perceived its entry and was certain of it.

If we perceive the entry of the month by definitive calculation, then we have witnessed it by knowledge, even if we did not see it with our eyes.

Why do we not wait for the sighting in prayer?

The Almighty said: Establish the prayer at the sun’s decline, Duluk al Shams. Decline is a cosmic phenomenon, the tilting of the sun. Nevertheless, we do not monitor shadows in the streets, but rather rely on accurate astronomical calculations. If it is permissible to rely on calculation in prayer, which is the pillar of religion, is it not permissible to rely on it in fasting?

And if someone says the accuracy of the timing has been verified, and for this reason it is relied upon, then the astronomical calculation is one hundred percent certain.

Does Astronomical Calculation Provide Certainty?

Today, astronomy determines the moment of conjunction in minutes and seconds, and determines the possibility of sighting with high accuracy, so the calculation has become a scientific means to regulate the cosmic cause itself.

Also, there is no contradiction with the saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him: Whoever fasts the day which is doubted has disobeyed Aba al Qasim, peace be upon him.

Also, the foundational rule says: Certainty is not removed by doubt.

This means that we are truly certain that Wednesday is the first of Ramadan, and calculation in this case is closer to certainty.

Did the Prophet, peace be upon him, Prohibit Calculation?

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: We are an unlettered nation, we do not write and we do not count.

What must be noted is this prophetic hadith: Fast for its sighting and break your fast for its sighting, but if it is obscured for you, then estimate for it.

It is clear as the sun through the word estimate for it.

This word opens a wide field for using science and technology to regulate time.

The description of the nation as unlettered was a description of its state at that time, not a permanent devotional ruling.

The proof is: We write today. We calculate. We use planes for Hajj and Umrah. We use microphones. We determine the Qibla by satellites.

No one said these are innovations, because they are means. Just as the means of travel evolved, the means of regulating time evolved.

The Position of the Jurists

The majority of jurists, including the four schools of thought, went towards not relying on astronomical calculation independently in proving the entry of the month, but rather relying on sighting or completing the count. The opinion was based on the scientific reality in their time, as astronomical calculations were not as accurate as they are today, so relying on sighting was more Sharia reliable.

While some later and contemporary scholars went towards the permissibility of benefiting from astronomical calculation, especially in negating the impossible sighting astronomically, and even considering it a way to prove entry when certainty is achieved.

If it is scientifically proven that Ramadan entered on Tuesday, then whoever fasted on Thursday has fasted the second day, not the first of Ramadan.

Here the logical question arises: If we perceive that the month has entered, why do we break the fast? Scientifically, the month of Ramadan entered Wednesday night, so whoever did not fast Wednesday lost a day of Ramadan and will fast twenty nine days, and not thirty days.

And if we know that the month has not entered yet, why do we fast?

Worship is based on achieving the time, not on the method of proving it.

From here we say: The Sharia cause for fasting is the entry of the month. Sighting was the means available in the time of illiteracy. Calculation today is a more accurate means to prove the same cause. The Quran decided that crescents are timings. Means change, and ends are fixed.

The issue is one of Ijtihad, and it is not permissible for it to be a cause for dispute or labeling others as innovators.

For example, you know with certainty that the sun rose today at 6:00 AM based on the calendar, and because of clouds it is not permissible for you to say: No, the sun has not risen yet, after this certainty. In the same logic, if it is proven by science and definitive calculation that the crescent started the month, then denial is like denying the reality that has been achieved by certainty.

And astronomical calculation is not a substitute for Sharia, but a means to understand the cosmic sign that God made a timing for people.

As for the ruling on whoever broke the fast for a day of Ramadan by mistake or ignorance, the predominant saying among the majority of jurists is: If a Muslim breaks the fast for a day of Ramadan out of ignorance or error, such as lack of certainty about the entry of the month or misjudgment, he must make up for that day after Ramadan. No expiation is required, because the breaking of the fast was not intentional or a rebellion against God’s obligation, although if it was intentional, repentance, making up, and expiation would be obligatory.

This article is in the path of Allah.

And our final prayer is: All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.