Question
A group of people in my country has come with the idea of starting Ramadan and holding Eid based on the astronomical new moon, rather than with the hilâl. They argue that the moon at conjunction is the hilâl. They use the time of conjunction to calculate the start of the month. What is the Arabic word for conjunction? Is it "mihâq" or "iqtirân"?
Answer
The term iqtirân is used in Arabic for the astronomical term conjunction, which can be defined as: "the movement when two bodies in the solar system have the same celestial longitude."
The Arabic word mahâq refers to "the astronomical new moon" itself.
The Arabic word hilâl refers to both the waxing and waning crescent and has nothing to do with the new moon.
Al-Fayrûzabâdî in al-Qâmûs al-Muhît defines the hilâl as:
Allah says: "They ask you about the crescent moons. Say: 'They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time in human affairs, and for the Pilgrimage'." [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 189]
Allah clearly refers to the "hilâl" in this verse. The new moon has nothing to do with the fixing of the calendar dates in the Islamic calendar.
The issue of using calculations or relying solely upon visual sightings to determine the presence of the hilâl (waxing crescent) might arguably be a matter of legitimate disagreement among Muslims. Nevertheless, Muslims must all at least agree that the month starts with the hilâl and not with the new moon.
All of the texts indicate that the new month starts with the appearance of the hilâl. Had the new moon been intended, the Prophet (peace be upon him) could have ordered us to begin fasting after the night when the moon disappears.
Those who are claiming that the Islamic lunar month begins with the astronomical new moon and not with the first crescent need to furnish their proof from the Qur’ân and Sunnah to back up their claim.
We believe the matter may originate in some confusion people have regarding terminology, since some people mistranslate the term hilâl as “new moon”. This unfortunately has been the case with a number of popular English translations of the Qur'ân.
The Arabic word mahâq refers to "the astronomical new moon" itself.
The Arabic word hilâl refers to both the waxing and waning crescent and has nothing to do with the new moon.
Al-Fayrûzabâdî in al-Qâmûs al-Muhît defines the hilâl as:
The first appearance of the moon (ghurrah al-qamar), or for two or three to seven days, and for two days near the end of the month, the 26th and 27th. During the rest of the month, it is referred to as the moon.This conjunction of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, is indeed the time of the astronomical new moon, which has nothing to do with the start of a new month in the Islamic lunar calendar. A new month is determined by the first appearance of the waxing crescent.
Allah says: "They ask you about the crescent moons. Say: 'They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time in human affairs, and for the Pilgrimage'." [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 189]
Allah clearly refers to the "hilâl" in this verse. The new moon has nothing to do with the fixing of the calendar dates in the Islamic calendar.
The issue of using calculations or relying solely upon visual sightings to determine the presence of the hilâl (waxing crescent) might arguably be a matter of legitimate disagreement among Muslims. Nevertheless, Muslims must all at least agree that the month starts with the hilâl and not with the new moon.
All of the texts indicate that the new month starts with the appearance of the hilâl. Had the new moon been intended, the Prophet (peace be upon him) could have ordered us to begin fasting after the night when the moon disappears.
Those who are claiming that the Islamic lunar month begins with the astronomical new moon and not with the first crescent need to furnish their proof from the Qur’ân and Sunnah to back up their claim.
We believe the matter may originate in some confusion people have regarding terminology, since some people mistranslate the term hilâl as “new moon”. This unfortunately has been the case with a number of popular English translations of the Qur'ân.
-islamtoday.net
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