Ramadan 2001 opens the issue, with fasting rules from the Quran, lunar months, and why astronomical new moon times replace moon sighting, giving this year's start, end, and Night of Power dates. A Thanksgiving reflection after September 11 links Lincoln's and Washington's proclamations to Quranic warnings against being unappreciative of God's blessings. A closing appeal seeks sponsors and volunteers to place Qurans in libraries.
Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein
…that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify GOD
for guiding you, and to express your appreciation. 2:185
Ramadan
is the ninth lunar month in the Islamic calendar. Muslims (submitters)
all over the world fast every day of this month from dawn to the sunset.
During fasting, the Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and sexual encounter
as ordained by God in the Quran:
…You may eat and drink until the white thread of
light becomes distinguishable from the dark thread of night at dawn.
Then, you shall fast until sunset. Sexual intercourse is prohibited if
you decide to retreat to the masjid (during the last ten days of Ramadan).
These are God’s laws; you shall not transgress them. God thus clarifies
His
revelations for the people,
that they may attain salvation. (2:187)
What is a Lunar Month?
A lunar month is approximately 29.5 days. It is the time it takes for
the moon to orbit the earth. Therefore, the number of fasting days during
Ramadan may sometimes be 29 days, and other times 30 days. Since a lunar
month is, on the average, one day shorter than a solar month, a lunar
year is 10-12 days shorter than a solar year. Therefore, the Month of
Ramadan comes about 11 days earlier each year. This way one gets to fast
when the days are very warm and long in summer as well as when they are
cool and
short in winter. This beautiful design by
God is also a test for the submitters to see if they will fast regardless
of the length or temperature of the days of Ramadan.
The beginning of a new lunar month is the moment, during the moon’s
orbit around the earth, when the moon is in conjunction with the sun,
with the sun’s light hitting the side of the moon away from the
earth. In this position, the moon is said to be a “new moon,”
with its dark side turned toward the earth. By definition, a new moon
is not visible from the earth as the sun’s light is shining only
on the side of the moon not facing the earth.
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Ramadan
As the moon continues to orbit around the earth, it starts forming
a crescent. This will be minutes after the new moon even though
the crescent will not visible for several hours.
In some traditional Islamic countries, Muslims do not start fasting
until they can see the crescent in the sky. In those countries people
who sight the crescent first may also be rewarded. To get the reward,
some people camp on hilltops where the visibility will be the best.
Do we need Moon Sighting?
God gave us scientific knowledge to determine exactly when a lunar
month will begin and end for any year. Therefore there is no need
for trying to sight the crescent of the moon to start fasting. Any
observatory or astronomy center should have that information for
your area. There are many sites on the internet that provide the
detailed information on phases of the moon. One such site is US
Naval Observatory’s Astronomical Application Department:
(http://aa.usno.navy.mil/
data/docs/MoonPhase.html.)
Also, some almanacs, magazines or newspapers report the times for
the phases of the moon. To determine when one should start fasting,
compare
the time the new lunar month begins
with the time of sunset, the beginning of a day in the Islamic calendar.
What is an Islamic Day?
The Islamic day is the same as the Hebrew day. It begins at sunset
and ends at the next sunset. In this system, the night comes before
the day. Therefore, in some traditional Islamic countries, when
they talk about, for instance, Friday night, they are actually referring
to Thursday night. This is because that night actually belongs to
Friday according to the definition of a lunar day.
Beginning of Ramadan
To determine when Ramadan (or any lunar month) begins, we need
to know mainly two facts. The first is the time of the “new
moon,” and the second is the time of sunset of the same day
as this new moon. Even though the lunar month theoretically begins
with the new moon, in practice the month begins on the first sunset
following this new moon.
If the new moon time for the month of Ramadan is before the sunset,
one starts fasting the next day at dawn (fajr). However, if the
new moon time is actually past the sunset, then that particular
night is considered to belong to the last day of the previous month
(Sha’ban). Therefore, even if the new moon time may fall before
the dawn, the first day of Ramadan does not start until the next
sunset. Thus one starts fasting at dawn following this sunset.
Ending of Ramadan
One has to use the same system to
determine the ending of the month to
be consistent. If the new moon time for the month following Ramadan
(the month of Shawwal) is before the sunset, one ends fasting at
that sunset because the next day will be the first day of Shawwal.
If the new moon time is past the sunset one must fast the next day
also since that day will belong to Ramadan.
Ramadan This Year
The new moon times to be used for determining the beginning and
ending of Ramadan are given below for GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).
6:40 A.M. on November 15
8:48 P.M. on December 14
The actual time for each time zone is relative to GMT. For example,
New York is five and Los Angeles is eight hours behind GMT, but
Mecca is three hours ahead of GMT. Based on the above information,
God willing, the first day of Ramadan for USA is November 16, the
last day is December 14. The Night of Power starts at the sunset
of Dec 11, 2001.
The starting date for Ramadan and the date of Night of Power,
are practically valid for all countries of the world. The ending
date, however, is valid for only the North and South American continents.
The submitters in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and
New Zealand should end Ramadan on December 15. Thus they get the
opportunity and blessings of fasting for one more day.
God willing Ramadan Mubarek or Happy and Blessed Ramadan to all.
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THANKSGIVING
What Does It Really Mean?
In light of the horrific
events of September 11 and with the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching,
it’s a good time to reflect on God’s blessings. Immediately
following the attacks on New York and Washington, DC, people turned
to God in droves. All over Tucson, as I’m sure in every city
and small town in America, signs outside of stores, which normally
displayed weekly specials or witty sayings to draw in customers,
all suddenly said, “God bless America;” or “Pray
for the victims and their families;” or “In God We Trust.
United We Stand.” In a society where the mention of God is
frowned upon and prayer in school prohibited, suddenly it was “cool”
and popular to invoke God.
I say, “Thank God.” Maybe it’s
not too late. Maybe we can find our way out of the darkness of today’s
immoral lifestyles and back to the path of God. This nation was
founded on the understanding that we need to turn to God for everything.
Our forefathers recognized this and acknowledged it in many ways,
including putting on all our money: In God We Trust. Somewhere along
the way we’ve lost sight of those principles, and it’s
time to find our way again.
Appreciative vs Unappreciative
It won’t be the first time someone has tried
to right our path. Abraham Lincoln recognized that, less than 100
years after our becoming a nation based on “In God we Trust,”
we were in danger of losing the understanding of what made us great.
Lincoln recognized the need to make Thanksgiving Day a permanent
Federal holiday. He said: “We have been the recipient
of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved these
many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth
and power as no nation has ever grown.
“But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten
the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and
enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly
imagined, in the deceitfulness
of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior
wisdom and virtue of our own.”
Doesn’t that sound eerily like the Quran?
He is the One who moves you across the land and
sea. You get onto the ships, and they sail smoothly in a nice breeze.
Then, while rejoicing therein, violent wind blows, and the waves
surround them from every side. This is when they implore GOD, sincerely
devoting their prayers to Him alone: "If You only save us this
time, we will be eternally appreciative." But as soon as He
saves them, they transgress on earth, and oppose the truth. O people,
your transgression is only to the detriment of your own souls. You
remain preoccupied with this worldly life, then to us is your ultimate
return, then we inform you of everything you had done. 10:22-23
If the human is touched by adversity, he implores
us, but as soon as we bestow a blessing upon him, he says, "I
attained this because of my cleverness!" Indeed, this is only
a test, but most of them do not know. 39:49
And the Quran gives us a very specific example of
what happened to one community when they failed to remain appreciative
of God’s blessings.
GOD cites the example of a community that used to
be secure and prosperous, with provisions coming to it from everywhere.
But then, it turned unappreciative of
GOD's blessings. Consequently,
GOD caused them to taste the hardships of starvation and insecurity.
Such is the requital for what they did. 16:112
Plus, God gives us the example of Sheba's homeland.
When they became unappreciative, God turned their beautiful and
well-producing gardens into gardens with thorny plants and skimpy
harvest (34:15-17)
So Abraham Lincoln recognized both that Americans
were turning unappreciative of God’s blessings, and the peril
that posed for the nation. Certainly, we are no better now; in fact,
we are much farther from the right path. Is this one reason why
this horrible event happened here and now? God allowed this strike
against the very symbol of today’s “idol:” wealth,
the “almighty dollar.” If it causes people to remember
God, to investigate for themselves the teachings of true Submission,
to foster what’s right and eliminate what’s wrong in
our lives, then it is truly a blessing in disguise.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, let’s
remember that we need to be appreciative and thankful every single
day.
Your Lord has decreed: "The more you thank Me,
the more I give you." But if you turn unappreciative, then
My retribution is severe. 14:7
It was George Washington, our first president, who
first called for a day of national thanksgiving. If we look at excerpts
from the Proclamation he issued in 1789, we see clearly the righteous
principles upon which America was founded. We need to reassert those
principles, putting God foremost in our thoughts and actions, and
remember especially to thank Him for His blessings and His guidance.
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Thanksgiving Proclamation
“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge
the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His
benefits and humbly to implore His protection and favor….[we] recommend
to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer,
to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal
favors of Almighty God….[a day] to be devoted by the people of these
States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent
author of all the good that was, that is, or will be; that we may then
all unite in rendering unto Him our service and humble thanks for His
kind care and protection;…for the great degree of tranquility, union
and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the civil and religious liberty
with which we are blessed and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing
useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors
which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
“And also that we may then unite in most humbly
offering our prayers and supplication to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations,
and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable
us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our duties properly
and punctually; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion
and virtue, and the increase of science among us; and, generally to grant
unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows
to be best.”
I think this Thanksgiving Day will find thousands more
Americans flocking
to churches than ever before.
For us, Thanksgiving falls during Ramadan, so we will have even more to
be thankful for. Thanksgiving—it means so much more than turkey
and football. It means giving thanks to Almighty God, turning in times
of prosperity AND adversity to our Creator, as individuals, as communities,
as a nation, as one world. And carrying this sense of grateful appreciation
beyond one day, to make giving thanks to the One God part of every single
day.
And He gives you all kinds of things that you implore Him
for. If you count GOD's blessings, you can never encompass them. Indeed,
the human being is transgressing, unappreciative. 14:34
Lydia
Sponsors/Volunteers
We are looking for Sponsors and/or Volunteers who will help us to place
the Qurans in Public, University, Prison, or Hospital libraries. There
is a high demand for the Quran translations in the libraries to learn
more about Islam because of the tragic events that happened on September
11, 2001. Let us make an effort to spread the message of True Islam (Submission)
to the people looking for information on Islam.
SPONSORS, God willing, are to provide the funds to cover
the expenses to put the Qurans in the libraries. Your donations are tax
deductible. We can send you a receipt upon request. We will inform you
the results of our efforts.
VOLUNTEERS are needed to take the Qurans to the libraries
in person and talk to the librarians about placing the Qurans in the library.
God willing we will provide the Qurans to you, for free. Just write to
us when you know of a library where you can place a Quran. It is our experience
that mailing the Qurans to libraries does not accomplish much.
Please get involved. This could be your chance to earn extra credit
in the cause of God. You can write to
ICS/Masjid Tucson,
PO Box 43476
Tucson, AZ 85733
God bless you.
About this work
Kind
Document
Author
International Community of Submitters
Publisher
International Community of Submitters / Masjid Tucson