An Creedal Look at the Moon-Sighting Debate

I must confess that this post (if at all it is read) will be controversial. But then, I am a mere blogger, using this platform to post my thoughts for some clarity myself, and hence, I suffer no such danger.

When the Prophet (saw) and his companions (ra) were returning from Hudaybiyyah, it rained on one of the nights. Prevailing understanding at that time dictated that the alignment of certain stars caused rain to fall. And true to that understanding, it had so happened that the stars had aligned themselves in a particular manner, leading some of the people to claim that the alignment of the stars resulted in rain.

The Prophet (saw) woke up the following day and led the fajr prayer. Once this was done, he (saw) said, in what is one of the more famous hadith qudsis, that Allah had said that, whoever had said that the rain was caused by the stars had disbelieved in him and whoever said that the rain was caused by Allah, had believed in Him.

حَدَّثَنَا الْقَعْنَبِيُّ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ صَالِحِ بْنِ كَيْسَانَ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ الْجُهَنِيِّ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ صَلَّى لَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم صَلاَةَ الصُّبْحِ بِالْحُدَيْبِيَةِ فِي إِثْرِ سَمَاءٍ كَانَتْ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَلَمَّا انْصَرَفَ أَقْبَلَ عَلَى النَّاسِ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ هَلْ تَدْرُونَ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالُوا اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ قَالَ أَصْبَحَ مِنْ عِبَادِي مُؤْمِنٌ بِي وَكَافِرٌ فَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ مُطِرْنَا بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَذَلِكَ مُؤْمِنٌ بِي كَافِرٌ بِالْكَوْكَبِ وَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ مُطِرْنَا بِنَوْءِ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَذَلِكَ كَافِرٌ بِي مُؤْمِنٌ بِالْكَوْكَبِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Reference	: Sunan Abi Dawud 3906
In-book reference	: Book 30, Hadith 3
English translation	: Book 29, Hadith 3897

The above narration lays weight to an important principle of the Islamic creed, i.e. everything happens by the will of Allah and that nothing has power except Allah.

Elsewhere in the Qur'an, Allah jalla jalaluhu describes during the battle of Badr:

 وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ اللَّـهَ رَمَىٰ ۚ وَلِيُبْلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلَاءً حَسَنًا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (8:17)

"And you threw not, [O Muhammad], when you threw, but it was Allah who threw that He might test the believers with a good test. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing."

The above two evidences are my contention that the position of the ahl-al-qibla, with regards to this creedal aspect.

In Surah Mulk, Allah jalla wa'ala says, that he has control over all things.

How is all of this relevant to the moon-sighting debate? The debate over moon-sighting vs. calculations has gained momentum in the recent years. But it is my contention that the moon-sighting issue is not an issue that lies only within the realm of Islamic jurisprudence, but extends beyond, to Islamic creed.

When placing a heavy reliance on calculation, the Islamic leadership is implicitly implying that there is a certain power in calculations and it can, somehow, predict the qadr of Allah. Calculations are merely normative rulings; and causality cannot be assigned to them.

If causality were to be assigned to things, which is a form of a minor shirk, then we would have assumed that fire inherently has the ability to burn (but from the story of Abraham (upon whom be peace), we know that it isn't true); we would have believed that every man at every moment of life is denser than water (but from the fact the Jesus (upon whom be peace) walked on water, it isn't true); we would have insisted that a woman needed to be intimate with a man to have a child (but from Mary (upon whom be peace) we know that Allah can will otherwise).

By that same analogy, assigning a causality to a normative ruling is dangerous. It is the first step towards deism. It is one step away from a personal God, who sends His signs on to His slaves.

Many scholars, especially in the West, and many average Moes who are followers of these scholars, have claimed that calculations are better because it brings Muslims together, as one united Ummah. I argue otherwise - that the definition of Unity should be revisited. From a Western perspective, unity is being a monolith in our external actions. However, from an Islamic perspective, it is our internal states that determine unity. How much we love Allah, how much we love our Prophet (saw), how much we care about upholding the shari'ah, in our own ways, is what determines Muslim unity. Once we lose sight of that, we go astray.

To illustrate this point, that the case of the sahabah at the time of the battle between Ali (ra) and Mu'awiyyah (ra). They had their differences, and they killed for that - but under no circumstance would any Muslim from among the Ahl al Sunnah wal Jama'a would say that the sahabah's love for Allah and His Messenger had diminished. Which is why, when the time for prayer would come, they got together and prayed. In so doing, the demonstrated to us the meaning of true unity. Both parties were willing to give up their lives to stick to their belief that what they were doing was the best thing to do for the ummah.

My point of the above was to bring to mind the idea that sighting the moon is more of a creedal issue and not an issue related to jurisprudence. As to whether optical aids can be used or not remains under the realm of jurisprudence.

The Stages of Islamic Scholarship

Golden age: The age at the time of the Prophet (saw). There was a direct link between the ummah and Allah in every aspect of human life through the Prophet (saw).

Organic flourishing: This is the age which begins right after the death of the Prophet (saw) and continues till the time of the salaf. This is the age where differences of opinions started forming. Right after the death of the prophet (saw), the sahabah (ra) differed on the caliphate. However, much of these differences remained confined to legal matters. Another aspect of this age is that the opinions were fluid and there were no clear boundaries between the various opinions.

The age of crystallization: This age begins from the time of the salaf and continues till the 3^rd or 4^th Century. The ummah starts coming in contact with other civilizations and new ideas start getting incorporated. Boundaries become more defined. This age sees the rise of various groups, schools of thoughts etc. Schisms between the shi’a and sunnis become more apparent, and the theology between the two major strands of Islam start to differ.

The age of development: This age begins from about the mid of the 3^rd century and continues until the 8^th century; where the various schools that were formed in the previous age continue to evolve and great scholars emerge in each of the schools. This is the time of Imam al Ghazali, ibn Taymiyyah, ar-Razi and the likes – each making major contribution to their own school of thought. Law starts getting codified and commentaries on earlier books become more popular.

The age of preservation: This age begins at around the 8^th century and continues until the 13^th century. No real “development” happens at this stage – rather, the ‘ulema are more focused on the preservation of the knowledge of the previous generations. On a socio-political front, the empire has begun to decline, and therefore, the ‘ulema feel the need to avoid every single aspect of knowledge that may be imported from non-Muslim sources, even if it did not have anything to do with the deen. Unlike previous ages, where the good from all sources was taken in, the Muslim scholarship became close-minded.

The age of modernity and colonization: The turning point of the ummah begins when Napolean attacks the Mamluks. The symbolism is profound here – the Muslims were fighting with swords, bows and arrows, whereas the French had guns and canons. Elsewhere, in southern Asia, the uprising of 1857 fails and the Mughal sultanate is dead. An attempt to revive the ummah is made. For example, in India, the Deobandi movement focuses on education. In the Arabian peninsula, the Najdi da’wah begins. In Africa, inspired the Shehu Usman dan Fodio’s writings, the Tijani movement, Ahmadu Bamba’s movements get popular. This age was thrust upon the ummah and we’re effectively products of this age. Much of our understanding of the deen remains reactionary.

We pray that a revival occurs in due time.