I write this at a time when the topic is not at its peak, so we can all digest the issue as deep as possible, away from high emotions or assumptions. It’s easy to escalate a fitnah, and definitely many individuals and centres are going to assume it is directed at them, and they will become defensive about it.

This is not an academic, scientific ‘ilmī paper, but just me venting my frustration about how toxic we have become on this topic, and the repeated ugly scenarios we go through every Ramadhan.

It has been nearly ten years that I’ve decided not to make any announcements for beginning of the holy month, or for Eid. It’s just too draining, and when I weigh it all out, it’s not worth the energy or the problems. Too many people want to show their muscles, that they hide for the rest of the year. If only we were that passionate about our akhlāqī state of affairs, or about having better youth programs.

I’ve had so many good discussions, pointless arguments and, frankly, offensive conversations about this. How many times have I heard the comment some people share that “we’re not sheep, we can think on our own”. In an email interaction I had with a highly educated person, he said, “the Marājeʿ need to put their ego aside and sit on one table and stop this childish behaviour”.

The most common question I get during the holy month is on how you can change your taqlīd to match the person you want to celebrate Eid with. Sadly, some start to follow pseudo-Marja’s, and some even leave taqlīd altogether.

We have changed shahr Ramadhan into a festive season. We are using it as a substitute for Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. When was the last time you saw someone really showing solidarity with the poor, by eating less at iftar time, or cooking less variety. Is fasting not about consoling with the poor? We see exactly the opposite. People can’t wait until the holy month for the feasting. It’s the worst time for women, because they must slave in the kitchen, and best time for men, because they jump from one sahrah to another.

I have a lot to say about this sad phenomenon of losing the spirit of shahr Ramadhan, but I’ll leave it for another time. What we need to try and eliminate, or at least minimise, is the tension that erupts every holy month, around the issue of when it starts and when it finishes.

We have to solve this problem. It has created enough conflict in our communities.

Yes, every year we have the same issue. However, we forget that it is a fiqhī matter. I will try to break this down as easy as possible, to show that all this drama can be avoided.

Shahr Ramadhan is a lunar month, and a lunar month begins with the commencing of a new moon cycle, which means the new moon cycle must be established, and a sign for that is the crescent. This is called ‘establishing the crescent’ (thubūt al-hilāl). So, it’s a simple sharʿī issue, like all other sharʿī issues.

But is there just one opinion about this? No, there are different opinions. In brief, here are the views regarding thubūt al-hilāl:

1. Astronomical calculations, no relevance to witnessing of the crescent.
2. United horizon. If crescent is seen in one place in the world, it will be established for other places in the world as long as they share a night (even part of it).
   1. By naked eye only.
   2. With optical aid.
3. Individual horizon. Each area must see the crescent locally.
   1. By naked eye only.
   2. With optical aid.

The question here is why? Why do scholars of both Shīʿah and Sunni schools have different fatwas over one fiqhī matter? We know there are different fatwas, and we accommodate to that, without objection, but on this issue, we become defensive, because we’ve built this mentality that we must all wake up the same morning and celebrate Eid together.

Ideally, it would be wonderful to do that. The dua we recite in the qunūt of Salat al-Eid is:

اَسْاَلُكَ بِحَقِّ هذَا الْيَومِ الَّذي جَعَلْتَهُ لِلْمُسْلِمينَ عيداً

I ask You, by the right of this day which You have made an Eid for the Muslims.

But living in the era of Ghaybah, we are obliged to abide by the laws that define our duties towards the Almighty. It makes no sense that we have no objection to other fiqhī issues, yet struggle to accept or overly complicate the issue of thubūt al-hilāl.

This difference of opinion is in two aspects:

(1) Difference of opinion in the fiqhī principles the faqīh adopts, and
(2) Difference of opinion in how a faqīh applies those principles in practice.

The faqīh spends his whole life mastering all areas of Islamic law in order to define for us our sharʿī obligations we have towards everything. As Muslims, everything must be defined for us, as far as wājib, ḥarām, mustaḥab, makrūh and mubāḥ.

The Quran is a primary source for legislation, as are the narrations. While few Quranic verses deal directly with legislative law, there are many narrations regarding aḥkām. The role of the faqīh is to go through them, even the conflicting narrations, and determine how they should be understood and reconciled. Why are there conflicting narrations? There are many reasons for this: fabricated narrations, narrations based on taqiyah to protect the Imams and their Shīʿah, the gradual introduction of laws, or a specific answer to a specific circumstance. In addition, a narrator might report the meaning of what the Imām (a.s.) said, and not the exact wordings itself – that understanding may be accurate, or it may not.

The faqīh doesn’t simply copy and paste the conclusions of another faqīh. He may understand the apparent meaning of the narration in a way different to another faqīh. Then there are the many sciences a faqīh must master in order to derive a fiqhī ruling.

Try for yourself and look into the vast research and detailed analysis of just this one hadith narrated from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.):

إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُ اَلْهِلاَلَ فَصُومُوا، وَإِذَا رَأَيْتُمُوهُ فَأَفْطِرُوا، وَلَيْسَ بِالرَّأْيِ وَاَلتَّظَنِّي، وَلَيْسَ اَلرُّؤْيَةُ أَنْ يَقُومَ عَشَرَةُ نَفَرٍ يَنْظُرُونَ فَيَقُولَ وَاحِدٌ مِنْهُمْ هُوَ ذَا هُوَ ذَا وَ يَنْظُرَ تِسْعَةٌ فَلاَ يَرَوْنَهُ، وَلَكِنْ إِذَا رَآهُ وَاحِدٌ رَآهُ أَلْفٌ.

When you see the crescent, fast, and when you see it again, break your fast. This is not based on conjecture or speculation. Seeing the crescent does not mean that ten people look for it, and one of them says, ‘There it is, there it is,’ while the other nine do not see it. Rather, when one person sees it, it is as though a thousand have seen it.”^[1]

The key point to understand is that the understanding of a narration and fatwa of the faqīh is ḥujjah^[2] for himself and for those who do taqlīd of him. This does not mean what is claimed by other sects – that the opinion of a faqīh must be followed, even if one is certain it is incorrect . We Shīʿah say if you are certain the faqīh is wrong, you cannot follow his fatwa. Rather, what we say is it is wajib for you to follow the faqīh even if you do not have certainty on the evidence or reasoning upon which the fatwa is based. That is precisely what taqlīd is.

The difference might not be in the fatwa itself, but in its application. For example, evaluating the two witnesses that sighted the moon: one person may regard both of them are just (ʿādil), while another may believe one of them does not meet the required standard of being ʿādil.

For religion to be preserved and to flourish, it must remain intact, without internal clash or conflict. How can we rely on a religion that has differences within it? Such differences have existed throughout human history. Not only in aqeedah, but in legislation as well. How many sects exist, and how many views are there regarding the method of performing wudhu`?

The only thing that will make us prosper is whatever our beloved Prophet (s.a.w.) gave to us, and the further we distance ourselves from his guidance, the more problems we have. The question then arises: But why would religion allow difference and dispute? Could a fatwa actually be wrong?

In practical terms, this reality cannot be undone. It all goes back to our beloved Imams (a.s.) not being given their rightful position of authority and leadership. If our Imams (a.s.) were in their rightful position, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in. This is definitely not the Prophet’s fault, because we as Shīʿah believe he laid out the whole plan of Islam. Others, however, do not share this view, maintaining instead that the matter was left open and undefined.

Our Imams (a.s.) exerted every effort to preserve religion, so much so that they were killed, and ultimately that our final Imam (a.a.f.) had to go into hiding, to safeguard the religion. During this period, he appointed fuqahā͗ to be followed by the community.^[3]

Alhamdullilah, we have inherited a structured and coherent system; what remains is to trust and accord it the respect it deserves. This is not a system born yesterday. It has endured for over 1200 years, carried forward by generations of the most exceptional scholars, each standing on the shoulders of those before them.

Every generation has scrutinised the one preceding it: questioning its principles, interrogating its methods, testing its proofs, and refining its rulings. Nothing was accepted casually, and nothing was preserved merely out of habit. What remains today is the product of relentless intellectual discipline, sacrifice, and responsibility before God.

To dismiss such a system lightly is not sophistication; it is ignorance of the weight of history and the depth of scholarship that stands behind it. Just because some people see it to be a problem today in the 21^st century, does not necessarily make it a problem. Just because some are fasting, and some are not, it doesn’t mean you become hostile and attack our ‘Ulama. Astronomers themselves have different views, why can’t our ‘Ulama?

If we all have Eid on one day, all of a sudden we are all good; but if not, it’s war.
Is it a political issue? No.
Is it the Marja’s duty to announce? No.
Is it our duty to announce? Also, no.

Just because a Centre or a Turban announces, does not necessarily mean they are right as well.

This is where we suffer. This is the problem we must stop.

Throughout the whole year regarding moonsighting (or even other matters), there is no involvement or communication. Yet, when the times comes that attention is guaranteed –receiving tens of phone calls– they suddenly emerge.

Yes, I am saying, in a lot of cases this is driven by ego and love for fame.

It becomes even more confusing when individuals who don’t even know basic concepts like latitude and longitude insist on making an announcement. They repeat the same mistake, year after year, undermine themselves, and fail to recognise that they are not qualified for it.

It’s a big fitnah. Not the difference over the day of Eid itself, rather the fitnah is in the announcements made by centres and clerics.

I’ve had conversations with colleagues who were brought to tears after being attacked on YouTube and through voice messages, merely for sharing a position from Najaf which was different to what the local mu’ammam announced.

This is why I humbly implore my fellow colleagues, muballighīn and active members of our communities: Step back, and do not engage. Do not issue announcements. Do not go head-to-head with bigger personalities, or large centres publicly – even if you are certain that the individual or the centre is wrong (this happens a lot). They will take it personally, and drag you into conflict, and pull the community down with you.

Especially on social media, where it has become so easy to attack, and people can get away with it, with no accountability.

Have husn al-dhan towards someone who has different view. Their different view could be in their understanding of the evidence, or their evaluation (tashkhīs), as long as it is grounded in proof. Each person follows their taklīf and their tashkhīs.

My Recommendations:

1. Educate yourself about our Shī’i fiqhi methodology, about taqlīd, and about the philosophy of fasting and the spirit of shahr Ramadhan.
2. When the holy month comes, stop panicking about when it starts and when it finishes. As passionate as you are in wanting to fast, and know when Layali al-Qadr will be, just go with the flow and don’t drain yourself.
3. Don’t share messages and announcements. Just don’t. For whatever reason. Don’t add fuel to the fitnahs that are spreading around. Ignore it. You don’t need to tell others when the beginning of the month is, or when it’s Eid. Let others find out themselves. It’s not your duty. If you share, and that Centre/Sheikh/Sayyid is wrong, you will be responsible.
4. Don’t engage in arguments about these things. If anything, shut down any arguments about this topic and tell people to follow their own taqlid. It’s as simple as that. Don’t ruin everything spiritual and moral you’ve accomplished and achieved during the holy month.

اللهم ان كنت بلغتناه وإلا فأخر آجالنا إلى قابل حتى تبلغناه في يسر منك وعافية يا أرحم الراحمين،
 وصلى الله على محمد وآله الطيبين الطاهرين الاخيار
وسلم كثيرا طيبا
ورحمة الله
وبركاته

Notes:

[1] Al-Kafi, vol. 4, book 2, ch. 6, h. 6.
[2] The word ḥujjah here is a fiqhī term that means it holds substantial evidence enough for it to be of authoritative status that a person can use to justify what they are doing.
[3] Please watch this explanation [in Arabic]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO8bRf6f-j0