China Muslim Travel Tips Ramadan: Hadith, Eid Moon Sighting and Local Imam Unity
Reposted from the web
Summary: This Ramadan reflection discusses recurring disputes about moon sighting, starting and ending the fast, following the local imam, and protecting unity in Muslim communities even when people hold different fiqh views.
This year's Ramadan has mostly passed. Some people have already ended the fast today, and some will end it tomorrow, but the hostile arguments on Moments have not stopped with the end of Ramadan. On the contrary, those who continue to fast today mock those who have already broken their fast today as radicals. In China, they blindly follow the trend of breaking the fast without seeing the moon. Those who continue to fast today mock those who continue to fast today as old-fashioned. Obviously, there is accurate information about the moon sighting abroad, so why not accept a distant moon sighting?
Every year, our group always quarrels and slanders each other over the issue of fasting and breaking fast. The root of all this is the famous hadith: “Fast when you see the new moon, and break your fast when you see the new moon. But if the sky is cloudy, then you have enough for the thirty days of Sha'ban (calculation based on this)! ". [the two Sahih collections], the differences in each Ramadan basically appear here, and there is also the situation of receiving the new moon from a distant place. There is also a hadith: Narrated by Qurayb ibn Abu Muslim Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith sent me to Sham to meet Mu'awiya. I was in Sham when the crescent moon of Ramadan appeared after I arrived in Sham to complete her mission. We saw the new moon on the Friday night. When I returned to Medina at the end of the month, Ibn Abbas mentioned the new moon when he asked me, "When did you see the new moon?" "I said: "We saw the new moon on the Friday night. He asked: "Did you see it too?" "I said: "Yes, everyone has seen it. They all fasted, and Mu'awiya also fasted. "Ibn Abbas said: "We saw the new moon on Saturday night. So, we will continue to fast until we are thirty days old or until we see the new moon. "I said: "Aren't you satisfied with Mu'awiya's sight of the moon and his fasting? "Ibn Abbas said: "No, this is what the Messenger of Allah ordered us to do. "Muslim Collection of Hadith." Today we are in the era of the "global village" with the explosion of information. People in the Western Hemisphere will know about the new moon one minute after seeing it in the Eastern Hemisphere, so people who see the new moon will naturally start or end the fast. However, those who refuse to accept a distant moon sighting believe that there is a time difference of several hours between the new moon seen by people in the Eastern Hemisphere and those in the Western Hemisphere, and the distance is far away, so they do not need to accept a distant moon sighting, so they delay starting or ending the fast.
Do the above two hadiths contradict each other? Not contradictory at all! On the contrary, there is strong complementarity, and it also reflects the inclusiveness of Islam in seeking common ground while reserving differences, and Islam is a religion that makes it easy for people and not difficult for others. On the contrary, it is our partial understanding or complete misinterpretation of these two hadiths that led to this situation of blaming each other. In the end, we all used these two hadiths to say that the other party was mistaken. In fact, similar and seemingly contradictory hadiths include "My disciples will be divided into seventy-three groups, only one group will enter heaven, and the others will enter hell." This group of saved people are believers who follow me, and they follow my disciples as examples. "Ibn Majah" and another passage "Whoever dies by reciting that there is no god but Allah will surely enter paradise, even if he steals and commits adultery." "[the two Sahih collections], these two hadiths seem to be contradictory and conflicting with each other. In fact, as long as these two hadiths are combined and understood, they encourage everyone to actively do good deeds and work hard to complete various meritorious deeds. Even if you are originally a person who has committed serious sins, as long as you work hard to improve, actively repent to Allah, and promise not to do it again, you will belong to the residents of heaven.
The same is true for the above two hadiths about the new moon. They must be combined to understand each other in order to truly understand their meaning. Otherwise, if we only understand a certain hadith alone, we will end up in today's situation of mutual accusations. If the two hadiths are combined and understood, then we can easily solve this problem. The choice of whether to accept a distant moon sighting from another place depends on the imam of our community. If the imam of our community chooses to accept a distant moon sighting, then we will follow the fast or break the fast. If the imam of our community chooses to not accept the distant moon sighting, then we will follow the imam and choose to postpone the fast or delay the fast. Because the Messenger of Allah said, "Fear Allah and obey the [Imam] among you, even if it is an Abyssinian black servant with a head like a raisin as your Imam." "Ibn Majah". The imam of this community will consider all factors and finally make the most correct choice. We can just follow him. Don't mess up the atmosphere of unity in this community or even surrounding communities for our own reasons. If we do this, we will violate the great mission of "Muslims should unite with each other" commanded by Allah.
Having said so much, I can only say one thing: Those who choose to accept a distant moon sighting and fast or break their fast, or those who choose to not accept a distant moon sighting and delay fasting and break the fast, both are fine. As for whether to choose to accept a distant moon sighting or not, it depends on the imam of the community! As for who is right and who is wrong, we just have to be ourselves. In the days to come, Allah will reward every servant according to their intention. Finally, I would like to end today’s tweet with a Hadith: “All work depends on intention, and everyone has the [reward] of his intention” [the two Sahih collections]!
Summary: This Ramadan reflection discusses recurring disputes about moon sighting, starting and ending the fast, following the local imam, and protecting unity in Muslim communities even when people hold different fiqh views.
This year's Ramadan has mostly passed. Some people have already ended the fast today, and some will end it tomorrow, but the hostile arguments on Moments have not stopped with the end of Ramadan. On the contrary, those who continue to fast today mock those who have already broken their fast today as radicals. In China, they blindly follow the trend of breaking the fast without seeing the moon. Those who continue to fast today mock those who continue to fast today as old-fashioned. Obviously, there is accurate information about the moon sighting abroad, so why not accept a distant moon sighting?
Every year, our group always quarrels and slanders each other over the issue of fasting and breaking fast. The root of all this is the famous hadith: “Fast when you see the new moon, and break your fast when you see the new moon. But if the sky is cloudy, then you have enough for the thirty days of Sha'ban (calculation based on this)! ". [the two Sahih collections], the differences in each Ramadan basically appear here, and there is also the situation of receiving the new moon from a distant place. There is also a hadith: Narrated by Qurayb ibn Abu Muslim Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith sent me to Sham to meet Mu'awiya. I was in Sham when the crescent moon of Ramadan appeared after I arrived in Sham to complete her mission. We saw the new moon on the Friday night. When I returned to Medina at the end of the month, Ibn Abbas mentioned the new moon when he asked me, "When did you see the new moon?" "I said: "We saw the new moon on the Friday night. He asked: "Did you see it too?" "I said: "Yes, everyone has seen it. They all fasted, and Mu'awiya also fasted. "Ibn Abbas said: "We saw the new moon on Saturday night. So, we will continue to fast until we are thirty days old or until we see the new moon. "I said: "Aren't you satisfied with Mu'awiya's sight of the moon and his fasting? "Ibn Abbas said: "No, this is what the Messenger of Allah ordered us to do. "Muslim Collection of Hadith." Today we are in the era of the "global village" with the explosion of information. People in the Western Hemisphere will know about the new moon one minute after seeing it in the Eastern Hemisphere, so people who see the new moon will naturally start or end the fast. However, those who refuse to accept a distant moon sighting believe that there is a time difference of several hours between the new moon seen by people in the Eastern Hemisphere and those in the Western Hemisphere, and the distance is far away, so they do not need to accept a distant moon sighting, so they delay starting or ending the fast.
Do the above two hadiths contradict each other? Not contradictory at all! On the contrary, there is strong complementarity, and it also reflects the inclusiveness of Islam in seeking common ground while reserving differences, and Islam is a religion that makes it easy for people and not difficult for others. On the contrary, it is our partial understanding or complete misinterpretation of these two hadiths that led to this situation of blaming each other. In the end, we all used these two hadiths to say that the other party was mistaken. In fact, similar and seemingly contradictory hadiths include "My disciples will be divided into seventy-three groups, only one group will enter heaven, and the others will enter hell." This group of saved people are believers who follow me, and they follow my disciples as examples. "Ibn Majah" and another passage "Whoever dies by reciting that there is no god but Allah will surely enter paradise, even if he steals and commits adultery." "[the two Sahih collections], these two hadiths seem to be contradictory and conflicting with each other. In fact, as long as these two hadiths are combined and understood, they encourage everyone to actively do good deeds and work hard to complete various meritorious deeds. Even if you are originally a person who has committed serious sins, as long as you work hard to improve, actively repent to Allah, and promise not to do it again, you will belong to the residents of heaven.
The same is true for the above two hadiths about the new moon. They must be combined to understand each other in order to truly understand their meaning. Otherwise, if we only understand a certain hadith alone, we will end up in today's situation of mutual accusations. If the two hadiths are combined and understood, then we can easily solve this problem. The choice of whether to accept a distant moon sighting from another place depends on the imam of our community. If the imam of our community chooses to accept a distant moon sighting, then we will follow the fast or break the fast. If the imam of our community chooses to not accept the distant moon sighting, then we will follow the imam and choose to postpone the fast or delay the fast. Because the Messenger of Allah said, "Fear Allah and obey the [Imam] among you, even if it is an Abyssinian black servant with a head like a raisin as your Imam." "Ibn Majah". The imam of this community will consider all factors and finally make the most correct choice. We can just follow him. Don't mess up the atmosphere of unity in this community or even surrounding communities for our own reasons. If we do this, we will violate the great mission of "Muslims should unite with each other" commanded by Allah.
Having said so much, I can only say one thing: Those who choose to accept a distant moon sighting and fast or break their fast, or those who choose to not accept a distant moon sighting and delay fasting and break the fast, both are fine. As for whether to choose to accept a distant moon sighting or not, it depends on the imam of the community! As for who is right and who is wrong, we just have to be ourselves. In the days to come, Allah will reward every servant according to their intention. Finally, I would like to end today’s tweet with a Hadith: “All work depends on intention, and everyone has the [reward] of his intention” [the two Sahih collections]!
