Muslims begin Ramadan fasting
THE glint of a crescent moon in Sunday’s twilight sky (or the eve of Monday in the Hijra calendar) will beckon the world’s more than a billion Muslims that the holy month of Ramadan has begun even as many Islamic scholars THINK THE fiRST DAY OF THE FAST WILL MOST likely fall on Tuesday, April 13, considering THAT SCIENTIfiC CALCULATIONS REVEAL THE NEW moon will appear before noon on Monday.
Aleem Said Ahmad Basher, a graduate of the College of Islamic Propagation from the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, in an interview with The Manila Times, said the first day of Ramadan will most likely be on April 13, equivalent to Ramadan 1,1442.
Aleem Basher, also the chairman of the Imam Council of the Philippines and the Integrated Movement Access on Moonsighting (IMAM), added the new moon signals to Muslims all over the world that they can already start their first day of fasting.
According to him, it is not absolutely necessary for each and every locality to sight its own moon; rather, if the moon is sighted in one region and the others have received the information in time for them to act upon the same, they can start fasting.
He cited that Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was believed to have said: “Fast when the moon is sighted, and break your fast when the moon is sighted. If the skies are cloudy, and you are unable to sight
it, then complete 30 days of Sha’ban and fast the next day.”
Aleem Basher said members of the Muslim community should be united in this regard and the imam of the masjid (mosque) should observe unity in the beginning and ending of the fasting.
Hence, every Muslim should step forward toward unity even in some rituals and acts of worship.
He said it is now very clear that April 13 is the first day of fasting in this month of Ramadan.
According to him, by April 11 moonset by 5:36 p.m. and sunset at 6:08 p.m. and new moon is at 10:30 a.m. April 12 moon will not be seen so “we have to complete the month of Sha’ban for 30 days as according to ‘Hadith’ Prophet Muhammad, the New Moon is not seen, then complete it to 30 days.”
In most Arab countries and other Muslim nations in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, including the Philippines, which has a Muslim minority, the first day of the fast takes place while the faithful are still under a state of pandemic because of the Covid-19 or coronavirus disease 2019.
“Ramadan, which is the 9th month of the Muslim calendar, is a golden chance to purify our hearts and unite our efforts,” Aleem Basher said.
Also, according to him, it is not absolutely necessary for each and every locality to sight its own moon; rather, if the moon is sighted in one region and the others have received the information in time for them to act upon the same, they can start fasting.
Aleem Basher said members of the Muslim community should be united in this regard and Imam of the masjid (mosque) should observe unity in the beginning and ending of the fasting.
The Al-Azhar scholar explained that proper fasting means more than abstinence from food and drink and sexual activity from dawn to sunset but it also means abstinence from slander, backbiting and ill conduct.
This explains why the reward God gives for proper fasting is so generous, he said, also citing the hadith qudsi (divine hadith), Prophet Muhammad quotes God as saying: “All actions done by a human being are his own except fasting, which belongs to Me and I reward it accordingly.”
“Perfection of fasting can be achieved through restraint of one’s feelings and emotions,” Aleem Basher said.
“This high standard of self-restraint fits in well with fasting, which is, in essence, an act of self-discipline. Islam requires Muslims to couple patience with voluntary abstention from indulgence in physical desire. This is indeed the purpose of fasting,” he added.
Grand Mufti of Region 9 and Palawan
Ustadz Abdulbaki Abubakar, the grand mufti of Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9) and Palawan and also head of Darul Ifta, the Juris Consult being highest religious authority in the Philippines, has announced that the first day of fasting on the month of Ramadan starts on April 13 and ending at sundown on May 11. He said they are all set to conduct the moon sighting on April 12.
Hence, as fasting officially began on April 13, the one-month period for Muslims to observe fasting will end on May 11, Ustadz Abdulbaki said.
Holy month
For Muslims, Ramadan is the month in which the first verses of the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book, were revealed to Prophet Muhammad more than 1,400 years ago.
The fast is intended to bring the faithful closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of the less fortunate.
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, along with the Muslim declaration of faith, daily prayer, charity and performing the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Makkah (Mecca) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Ramadan and Covid-19
The age-old advice given more than 1,400 years ago by Islam’s Prophet Muhammad has gone viral in 2020, as the world wrestles with the coronavirus outbreak.
Hence, Muslim Filipinos are set to still observe fasting during the whole month even under the Covid-19 pandemic.
Disinfection activities were conducted outside the Hassanal Bolkiah Grand Masjid in Barangay Kalanangan 2 in Cotabato City as well as at the Golden Mosque compound in Quiapo, Manila, and other masjids in the Philippines.
Also, health protocols, such as physical distancing, are strictly to be observed during the month-long Ramadan.
1st day of Ramadan on April 13
Ustadz Abdulbaki Abubakar said the first day of moon sighting should be held in the afternoon of April 12, 2021, few minutes after sunset around 8 p.m.
If the moon is sighted, he added, First Day of Fasting can be started the following day, April 13.
If the moon is not sighted in the afternoon of April 12, then in all probability, the First Day of Fasting should commence on April 14, 2021.
Thus if by the time the moon cannot be seen by 10:30 a.m. of April 12, Muslims have to complete the month of Sha’ban for 30 days, according to the Hadith where Prophet Muhammad emphasized if still the moon cannot be seen.
On April 13, the moon can be seen in almost the whole world.