Assalam-o-Alaikum. Huzoor, the rotation of the Earth and the Moon is fixed. In this sense, can the date of Eid-e-Adhan be fixed first? Or like calendars, they have a time as well. What do you mean by fixed rotation? The Earth rotates around the Moon or around the Sun, and the Moon’s rotation is fixed, it is continuous. The rotation is fixed, it is continuous. So, if the date of Eid-e-Adhan is not fixed, can the calendar not be fixed? No, but the Moon’s rotation with the Earth is never fixed.
Because the Moon is rotating around the Earth in the same way as the Earth is rotating. But the angles of the Sun are changing. This is not related to the speed of the Sun, but rather to the angles of the Sun. The speed of the Sun is never fixed, but the Earth is rotating around the Sun as well as the Moon. So, the angles of the Sun are changing. If my thumb is pointing this way, and if my hand is pointing this way, then my thumb will be pointing this way, right?
So, the Moon’s rotation is changing because the Sun is rotating around the Moon. So, this is related to the speed of the Sun, and not to the speed of the Sun, but rather to the angles of the Sun. That is why some months are of 29 and some are of 30. They are not the same months. I saw that calendars are printed and the timing is fixed. Yes, I will tell you. I will tell you the next time. As far as calendars are concerned, they have been made by estimating from ancient times. But it is not 100% certain. One thing that has been investigated by science is that it has been proven that it is possible that the Moon will be visible on a particular date in a particular month. We cannot say more than that.
And the meaning of possible is that if the Moon is not visible, if there is no fog in the atmosphere, and if the Moon’s light can reach us, then the Moon will be visible. But it is not necessary. That is why in ancient times, when the months were determined according to the lunar eclipse, the calendars were made, but until the Moon was visible, the month did not start. Now that we know from science that the Moon can be visible, that is why we have decided that it will be visible on a particular date.
The announcement made by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is based on this scientific observation. We know that it is possible that the Moon will be visible on a particular date. When it is possible, then it can be seen. That is why the date is set accordingly. There was a visitor from Marrakesh who objected. Who objected? I will tell you what he objected to. He said that Eid is a kind of… Some people make fun of it that one day is Eid and the next day is Eid.
Sometimes Eid happens after three or four days. What is the problem then? He said that there can be no unity. No, no. The things that are related to the Moon cannot be one. It is impossible. Because the Earth is round, and the Moon cannot be visible on a particular date. There is a difference of two or three days. So when God has bound it to the Moon, it does not mean that one day is Eid. It means that there are Eids happening all over the world in two or three days. Okay? Where will you find that? Okay, fine.
The question was regarding the Moon and the Sun and the Earth, which according to the Holy Quran and also according to the scientific observations, have fixed speeds which never change. The Earth moves around the Sun at a fixed speed. Sun moves around itself and around the whole universe at a fixed speed. Moon also rotates around the Earth at a fixed speed. So the question was, why is there any change in the lunar month? When these speeds do not change, then why should some months be 29 days, some 30 days, and why all this confusion about Ramadan and Eid and so on and so forth?
So my answer was that although the speeds remain the same and fixed, yet the sighting of the Moon is not related to the speeds alone. It is also related to the angle of vision. And as such, some months are bound to be of 29 days and some months are bound to be of 30 days. So I explained how the angle plays a very important role in this. You see, this is my fist. On the little finger, I have wear this ring.
Now, my hand, if this is Sun and this is Earth and this is the Moon, then my hand will move on a fixed speed around the Sun. But this Moon would be sometimes on the opposite direction of the Sun and sometimes on the same direction of the Sun. And when this also is moving around the Earth, the angles would change. So the changes in the angles cause the difference in the month. Because of these changing angles, sometimes on the 29th day or the end of the 29th day, the Moon cannot be visible, whatever one may do. You have to wait another day so that the angle comes in the right place.
So that is the difference, why the months vary and why sometimes Moon is sighted and sometimes not. The second question raised by him was about some… Who was he? Moroccan or what? Some Moroccan who met him on the way to here was mocking at the system. He said, what is this nonsense? Some people say Eid on one day, some on the other and everybody makes joke of us. You can’t even have one single Eid.
So I told him that this was not designed by God because those days which are celebrated in relation to the Moon sighting, they are bound to be different days on the entire globe at different places. Because Moon cannot be sighted on the single evening all over the world. So when God has not designed it to be one day, why is he hurt about several days? Instead of having one celebration, if we have many celebrations, let them be. It’s enjoyable and it suits us all right. And moreover, the fun of this uncertainty and the effort to sight the Moon, that is a part of the celebration.
You know, the pleasure which one receives or experiences when he sights the Moon and shows it to others, that also is a part of that enjoyment which is related to the celebration. So this is the design of Allah and we are quite happy with it. Assalamu Alaikum. In relation to the Moon sighting, I have a question in my mind. Because if the Marathas have asked this worldwide, then it is true that in relation to the Moon sighting, it is bound to be at different times all over the world.
But it is possible that they mean, or in my mind, that the way it happens in Pakistan, usually the people of Peshawar go ahead. What is the correct treatment for that? Is it that they will be accepted on the basis of their martyrdom? Or is it a lack of coordination? Look, the Holy Qur’an has used the word, for example, And whosoever of you witnesses the month, let him fast. This means that the beginning of Ramadan can be gathered for that particular direction, the direction in which the Moon can be seen. He will not be able to apply this to every direction because the word martyrdom can be applied to the direction of Peshawar, but it cannot be applied to the direction of Karachi because there is a great distance between the two in terms of north and south.
And the direction of Peshawar can be applied to the direction of Kabul. This is what happens. Because the direction of the direction is not to see which country has started. That is a law created by God and it will be followed. So, this is not the intention of the Holy Qur’an that one day people should fast and one day the whole nation should fast. And this is not possible for a universal religion because the Earth is round and it is rotating and the Moon can be seen in different days.
And today it is night and on the other side it is day and there is a difference in the dates as well. So, even if there was no connection with the Moon, at the same time there can be no fasting or Eid in the whole world. That is why the Holy Qur’an is a scientific book and it is based on facts. It is an emotional thing that the whole nation should gather. On the day of Eid, when God does not want to gather, then there is no need to gather. When God wants to gather, then there is no need to gather. And to gather, the Hajj has been kept in one place so that there is no disagreement there. There should be a place where everyone can gather. Your question is correct. It could also mean why there is disagreement in London. That becomes the second question.
The question you asked has not been answered yet. You gave an example of Peshawar and changed the tone of the question. I thought of it when you said that people who live in London or Karachi sometimes celebrate Eid in two or three days. It is the same in Pakistan and here as well. It is related to the differences of sectarianism and it is also related to understanding. Now, the intellect of the Mullah will decide and his people will follow him. That is why they cannot force each other. When there is no unity in the system, then there is no unity in the actions. The real basis is the unity of the system.
If there is no unity in the system, then it is the same thing that Zahid drinks alcohol in the mosque or he goes to a place where there is no God. He can go wherever he wants to go. When there is no unity in the system, then there is no unity in the actions. If you look at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in England, they will celebrate Eid in the same day. There will be no difference. It is not a question of London, it is the same in all of England. In fact, we tell Europe that according to us, this and that day of Eid will be celebrated.
All the Ahmadis in Europe celebrate Eid on that day. So, the real problem is not that there is a difference due to the lack of knowledge of the Qur’an, God forbid. The difference is due to the differences of the hearts of the people. This question was also a part of the first question regarding the Eid. He suggested a possibility on behalf of the Moroccan who raised this question. He said maybe it was not the global situation which he had in mind, but what he might have had in mind was what sometimes we witness in Pakistan that in Peshawar, people start Ramadan a day earlier or two days earlier and sometimes they have Eid also differently.
And also people in different cities have variation of their Eid and Ramadan beginning. So, I told him that this is possible, but it may also be unavoidable. Because the Holy Qur’an says, whoever among you witnesses the coming of the month, it is obligatory on him alone to start Ramadan, not on others. Which means, if the horizon of a place has… If the moon has arisen on the horizon of an area, people of that area are then obliged to start Ramadan or Eid, whatever it may be. But people of such areas where this verse is not applicable, they are neither obliged nor they are permitted to do so.
So, the Holy Qur’an has never designed these things to start simultaneously. Because our geographical borders are artificially made and God is not concerned with them. They may change into different shapes and different limitations. So, if a country is elongated north-south, it would have many ufaq, as we know, many horizons. And in one single country, you can have different months of Ramadan and different days of Eid. So, there is no harm in it. As long as ufaq changes, we must follow the ufaq according to the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.
The second part of the question, which I suggested, was that perhaps what he meant was that one single city. He was not talking of a larger area having one horizon, one common horizon. But perhaps he was thinking of people saying Eid on different days in London or in Manchester, etc., like it has been happening. So, there I told him it was not a question of the horizon or moon-related events. It was simply a question of split among the Muslims. If there is no unity among the Muslims, if there is not single leadership, if there is no Khilafat, then they will never remain united. Whether the moon is sighted on one day or the other, it is irrelevant.
These mullahs are bound to differ with each other and those who would follow them would follow their verdict. So, these differences are man-made artificial differences.
