A
Confounding Situation
By Dilawar Asghar
Calabasas, CA
After reading the letter of
Mawlana Mohammad G. Nadvi, President, Ulema Council
of N. America (Eid on Nov 3 Means You Missed the
Last Day of Ramadan,Pakistan Link 12/09/05), I
was under the impression that we have finally
come to our senses, but to my dismay and astonishment
we were back to square one when on the occasion
of Eid Al Adha the same issue cropped up again.
Here is an excerpt from the ISNA.org site:
“Eid Ul-Adha Announcement
In the Name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful
Fiqh Council announces that Eid Ul-Adha will be
on Tuesday, January 10, 2006.
First day of Dhul Hijjah 1426 is Sunday, January
1, 2006 and so the Idul Adha will be InshaAllah
on Tuesday, January 10, 2006. The Fiqh Council
of North America has made this decision based
on its criteria to determine the day of Eid Ul-Adha
in solidarity with the Hujjaj who will have the
Day of Arafah this year on January 9, 2006. We
pray to Allah subhanahu wa taala to bless us all
and to accept the devotion of millions of Muslims
who are gathered in Makkah for Hajj. Ameen.
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi
Chairman
Fiqh Council of North America
With utmost respect to ISNA, I would like to ask
a very basic question. Which Islamic rationale
did ISNA follow when it decided about the day
of the celebration of Eid ul Adha? The reason
why I pose this question is that ISNA is not consistent
in its own decision making when it comes to the
determination of Eid. For Eid al Fitr, ISNA relied
on moon sighting and for Eid al Adha it disregarded
moon sighting altogether and followed the logic
of showing solidarity with the Hujjaj!
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