Works of Abul Baraa Muhamad Amreeki

All the praises is for Allah the Lord of the Worlds and peace and blessings be upon His Chosen Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and his companions all of them.

   By the Student of Knowledge, Shaykh Abdurrahman Murad هداه الله 

War of the Moon – This is a longer write up about our situation in this auspicious time of year! It really hurts when I see what takes place during this beautiful time and brings me a lot of pain, so I decided to vent through a post and I hope that this will be of benefit to our Ummah…Ameen!

Brothers and sisters…its that auspicious, special time of year once again! A season of goodness, a time in which the good deeds are multiplied by Allah and a time wherein we can compete in Khair…but along with this goodness, comes the SEASONAL BATTLES OF MOON-SIGHTING… Is it a local sighting or a global one? Do we follow Saudi, or cast them aside?

Personally, after viewing the announcements of Eid al-Adha (those that agreed with Saudi announcement and those who took by a local sighting) in the West, I am compelled to believe that the only reason there is a difference is because PEOPLE DON’T LIKE THAT ‘WAH’HABI’ COUNTRY!

Some brothers, may Allah guide them, go as far as to discredit the local moon sightings by the committees in Saudi and deem them to be untrustworthy (although they are seasoned, full-time officials who only do this throughout the year). In the same instance, these ‘individuals’ who reject the moon-sighting of Saudi have their own people, who are literally ‘unknown, generic’ individuals living in ‘that country’ and other countries who sight the moon as a hobby on the side…and with their statements they are ready to issue blanket rulings…’that country’s authorities’ are rejected because our members didn’t see it!!! The hatred gets so bad, that they begin spinning rumors, ‘Saudi openly declared that they were wrong and paid Kaf’farah (atonement) on behalf of all those who took by their ‘wrong’ views! A’oodhbuillah…!!!

WE SHOULD FEAR ALLAH AND NOT SAY SOMETHING THAT WILL COME BACK TO BITE US ON THE DAY OF RESURRECTION!!!

It truly is a grave sin for one to issue statements of this nature…the Prophet, may Allah praise him, said:

كفى بالمرء كذبا أن يحدث بكل ما يسمع

 It is sinful enough for a person to pass on all the news they hear (without verifying it). (Muslim)

The reality is…Saudi has never announced through its history that they made a mistake in determining the beginning of a month. They don’t follow shoddy methods, or practice ‘hocus-pocus’ in this regard…they follow Shari’ principles, and whether we like it or not, the Haramain are in Saudi. That said, I must say, I AM IN NO WAY defending Saudi, or its political actions as the issue of Hajj has nothing to do with Saudi politics, it is a matter of Shar’ iah and an issue of Deen.

That said, I want to touch on three issues:
1. The brothers who discredit Global Moon-Sighthing are mostly from those who follow the Hanafi Madh’hab, and strictly adhere to it. So what did Abu Hanifah, may Allah have mercy on him, say? He indicated that one should go with a GLOBAL MOON-SIGHTING…and he never mentioned that you discredit a country because you simply dislike it or its ideology! On the contrary, Imam Abu Hanifah was among those who gave a special status to Ahlul-Qiblah and didn’t impute Kufr to them. This is very clear in the works of Aqeedah that outline the Aqeedah (belief) of Imam Abu Hanifah, may Allah have mercy on him.

2. Personal issues, in the most part, what leads a person to reject Saudi sightings for the month of Hajj is simply ‘BLIND HATRED’ of the people who live in that country. I personally had a run in with a brother who sends out ‘official’ reports for the beginning and ending of the Hijri months, and when I said to him that he had posted a wrong timing in relation to a month; he basically went off and began ranting on how corrupt the Saudis were…Honestly, even if there is corruption, is it fair to paint all Saudis with the same brush?

3. Although there is a Khilaaf in the issue, we take by the stronger view…(and if you strictly follow the Hanafi Madth’hab, then that would mean you follow the Hanafi Madth’hab – which goes by Global-moon sighting)…so let us view the stronger opinion.

A. The Prophet, may Allah praise him, said:

وَأضحاكُم يَومَ تُضَحُّونَ ، وعرفَةُ يومَ تُعَرِّفونَ
الراوي: عطاء بن أبي رباح المحدث: الألباني – المصدر: صحيح الجامع – الصفحة أو الرقم:4224
خلاصة حكم المحدث: صحيح

 The day of Adha is the day you all offer your sacrifices in (and thereafter) and the day of Arafah is the day you stand on Arafah. (Authenticated by Imam al-Albani)

B. In the Hadeeth the Prophet, may Allah praise him, said: “صيام يوم عرفة” (Muslim)
The wording of the Hadeeth is key here, the Prophet, may Allah praise him, attributed the fasting on the day of Arafah to a specific day, the day of Arafah, which, as in the previous hadeeth, is the day in which people stand on Arafah.

C. The Ummah for decades over the last century have been united that the Hajj was tied with the actions of the Huj’jaj who have come across the entire globe from all its corners. When they stand on Arafah, that is Arafah…and the next day afterwards is the Day of Eid! In essence, when a person blindly rejects this due to political reasons, they are indirectly indicating that the Hajj of the Huj’jaj is incorrect! The day of Arafah is the most important day of Hajj, as the Prophet, may Allah praise him, said: “The Hajj is Arafah!”

D. The Prophet, may Allah praise him, said:

ما من يوم أكثر من أن يعتق الله فيه عبداً من النار من يوم عرفة ، وإنه ليدنو ثم يباهي بهم الملائكة فيقول ما أراد هؤلاء

 There is no day in which Allah frees more slaves from the Hell Fire than during the Day of Arafah. Allah, the Exalted, will come close to His slaves and show them off to the Angels, and say: “What do they want?” (Muslim)

In another narration:

وفي رواية لأحمد ( 8033 ) وابن حبان ( 3852 ) وغيرهما ، من حديث أبي هريرة : ( إن الله عز وجل ليباهي الملائكة بأهل عرفات ، يقول : انظروا إلى عبادي جاؤوني شعثاً غبراً ) ، قال الهيثمي ( 3 / 253 ) : ” رواه أحمد ورجاله رجال الصحيح ” وصححه الألباني

 Indeed Allah will show off those who stand on Arafat and say to His Angels, ‘Look at My slaves, they have come to me shaggy haired and dusty…’ (Autenticated by al-Haithami and Al-Albani)

This proof, indicates that the Day of Arafah is specific…tied to the actions of the Huj’jaj!

E. The last proof that is very clear as well:

روى ابن أبي شيبة في ” مصنفه ” ( 3 / 97 ) ، عن إبراهيم قال : في صوم عرفة في الحضر : ( إذا كان فيه اختلاف فلا تصومن ) ، قال الشيخ الجبرين : ” وإسناده حسن ، إن شاء الله رجاله ثقات رجال الصحيحين ، عدا أبي العلاء، وهو أيوب بن أبي مسكين التميمي القصاب، فهو صدوق له أوهام كما في التقريب ص119 ” اهـ .

وروى عنه أيضاً قوله : ( كانوا لا يرون بصوم عرفة بأساً إلا أن يتخوفوا أن يكون يوم الذبح ) ، قال الشيخ الجبرين : ” وإسناده صحيح، رجاله رجال الصحيحين ” . ( انظر تحقيق الشيخ الجبرين لرسالة ابن رجب ص14 ) .

 If there is a discrepancy and the day of Arafah and Eid are not known or distinguished then do not fast the day of Arafah (for fear you would fast on the day of Eid).

Also: They would not see any problem in fasting on the Day of Arafah except if they feared that they would fast on the day of Eid! Both these two narrations are authentic.

These two narrations indicate the practice of the Salaf As-Salih (Sahabah-Tabi’een, Tabi’ at-Ta’bieen) the three generations of Muslims…they left for us the best example! Their actions and statements indicate that the day of Arafah and its fasting is tied with the actions of the Huj’jaj (who are performing the Hajj).

May Allah bless us all and grant us success in this life and in the next…Ameen