November , 2001 Vol. 17 No.11
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Submitters Perspective
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Blessed is the Month of
RAMADAN
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. There-fore, 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.
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 hill-tops 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. There-fore 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 in-formation 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 ac-cording 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.
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. Some-where 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 write 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.
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 benefit-cent 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 en-joyed; 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 en-compass 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.
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