Haj: Some Observations - Arab news -Wednesday 2 February 2005 (22 Dhul Hijjah 1425)

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Wednesday 2 February 2005 (22 Dhul Hijjah 1425)

Haj: Some Observations  Raid Qusti, rqusti@arabnews.com — 

 

Once again, Haj is over and pilgrims from all over the world have begun to return home. Thanks to the grace of God and the efforts of the Saudi authorities, this year’s Haj was a success, mercifully free of any such disasters as fires, stampedes or contagious diseases. I agree with the columnist in Al-Madinah who wrote that Haj was successful; I also share his opinion that being successful does not mean that we rest on our laurels and make no further attempts to improve what needs improving. There is, and always will be, room for improvement.

There was one aspect of Haj that I hope is not repeated. Muslims everywhere in the world were caught off guard when the Kingdom’s Supreme Judiciary Council announced on Saudi Arabian Television that the day of Arafat would be on Wednesday, and not Thursday as had been announced earlier. The sudden announcement, which was based on the statement by some individuals in the desert who saw the crescent of the new moon, not only surprised everyone but created chaos among those who had already made reservations to come to the Kingdom. It also turned things upside down for domestic pilgrims who were making reservations to come to Jeddah and then to Makkah; the Mutawwifs who serve pilgrims were also caught off guard and plunged into confusion. What was ironic about the situation was that the announcement came two days into the new Islamic month. Suddenly, Dhul Hijja 9 was no longer a Thursday, corresponding to Jan. 20, but a Wednesday — Jan. 19. And this was announced on Jan. 13, in theory Dhul Hijja 2, according to the Umm Al-Qura Hegira Calendar.

What I fail to understand is why, in the year 2005, Muslims still rely on the naked eye to see the crescent moon in the desert. Has Islam taken no notice of science and technology — to say nothing of the ancient ability to calculate the phases of the moon? Should the acceptance of the good deeds of 1 billion Muslims on one of their religion’s holiest days really be left to chance? Should it be left to someone who goes out into the desert to see the crescent at a time when technology can send messages around the world in nanoseconds?

Sadly, the determination of the day of Arafat is not the only day for Muslims based on the appearance of the crescent moon. Something similar also marks the beginning and the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

I wonder what a non-Muslim would think of us on the eve of Ramadan. One thing that would be impossible to hide is that we Muslims are divided. Saudi Arabia and some Gulf countries announce that Ramadan will begin on a certain day; other Islamic countries announce it will begin on a different day. As a result of this failure to agree, Muslims everywhere never get the opportunity to celebrate the Eid ul-Fitr on the same day. In other words, Saudi Arabia might celebrate Eid on a day when other Muslim countries are still fasting. In the name of Islamic unity and Islamic brotherhood, can we not agree on this point? It is long past the time when leading Muslim scholars and others in the Islamic world should get together to solve this problem and in solving it, they should not overlook or rule out the role of science and technology. No doubt all Muslim scholars know very well that astrolabe was invented in the Muslim world. Scientific advances and scientific progress by Muslim thinkers did not turn them away from religion; what the advances did was to widen the horizons of knowledge and enable scientists to discover more of God’s wonders. Science was never the enemy of Islam but a dear friend. Unfortunately, we have forsaken that friend over the past 300 years while others have adopted it and reached the distant horizons that we Muslims have failed to arrive at...............

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