Vector illustration of a young smiling man standing in front of his refrigerator searching for food.
من أفطر ظانا غروب الشمس ، ثم تبين له أنها لم تغرب ، فعليه القضاء ، في قول جمهور العلماء .
Whoever conducted iftar, thinking that the Sun had set, then it became clear to him that it had not set yet, then such a one must make up the sawm broken at the wrong time and this is the statement of the vast majority of the scholars.
قال ابن قدامة رحمه الله في “المغني” (4/389) :
Imam Muwaffaq ud-Din Ibn Qudamah,[1] may Allah have mercy upon him, mentioned in his work, The Enricher[2] on this very topic:
” هذا قول أكثر أهل العلم من الفقهاء وغيرهم ” انتهى
“And this is the statement of the preponderance of the People of Knowledge from the Fiqh scholars and others besides them”.[3]
و يدخل فيه من سمع صوتا يظنه أذانا أو أذن قبل الوقت و أفطر فيلزمه الإمساك والقضاء
The same ruling holds for the one that heard a sound or voice, believing that it was an Adhan or if someone made the Adhan before the time and made an iftar, then such a one must observe imsak[4]for the rest of the time up until the actual iftar and then make up the sawm after the month of Ramadan.
كتبه جمال الدين عبد الغني الوطاسي
And this was written by Jamal ud-Din `Abdul Ghani Al-Wattasi.
[1] 541-620 (AD1146-1223). He is Muwaffaq ud-Din Abu Muhammad `Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Qudamah. One of the Revivers of Islam in his time, scholar of fiqh, hadith, ihsan, math and many other disciplines, he is one of the highest voices of authority in the school of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. Please see Ibn Rajab’s Adh-Dhail, vol.4, pp.105-119
The hilal on Tuesday 29th Ramadan 1445 at 8:15pm at the hillock at 53N, 49E sighted by our troop
As-Salaamu `Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,
May Allah bless all the believers on this noble `Eid and accept our siyam, qiyam and qira’ah. And may He purify all the aforementioned with the Zakat ul-Fitr that He commanded with His Mercy and Righteousness.
This month’s climb up to the hillock was rainy and muddy with thick bogs of mud all over the place. I still have yet to scrub my boots due to the high amount of dirt. Despite this, while on the hillock we were able to witness the hilal.
Keep this point in mind: We had just gone through a solar eclipse, which can sometimes be a hassle when having a moonsighting right after. We were fortunate though. The solar eclipse happened during the new moon (Ar.mahaq) and passed long before the Moon would come out of new moon status and reach crescent moon (Ar.hilal).
The sighting group was not sure if the time would be enough to then have the Moon illuminated with light from the Sun that would cause the crescent moon. This would be the first day after the new moon and unless we had near pristine atmospheric conditions, we could miss a thin crescent moon.
Allah blessed us with these near pristine conditions, and we witnessed the crescent moon. We had not seen the crescent moon in the UK for the ending of Ramadan and beginning of Shawwal in some four years. Not only did we witness the crescent moon, we witnessed one extremely thin.
Our Righteous and Holy God showed us the truth and negated those that poo-poo’d and said there was no point in moonsighting. The reward for negating this fard kifayah was not being able to appreciate sighting the Moon every month and considerations that needed to be made for the Sun undergoing eclipse.
Allah also blessed us this year to complete the discharging of Zakat ul-Fitr, in which £9430.00 was distributed to some 26 families that fit the ruling of the 8 categories. The practicality of this Religion and the necessity of knowing fiqh is what informs us of the rulings of Zakat ul-Fitr, sighting the Moon and more.
An example of a parcel of Zakat ul-Fitr to be distributed to one family out of 26 in total
So what’s the big deal?
Zakat ul-Fitr is a purification for the wealth and the sawm and any other shortcomings that were brought about in the month (for the sawm) and the year (for the wealth).
So for those who have savings over the year from Ramadan to Ramadan that has not decreased – in the form of gold and silver (not jewellery) or taken from wealth through commerce – this requires purification, an expiation (Ar. kaffarah).
Those who will fast this month of Ramadan that is to commemorate the Revelation of the Qur’an, they will need to purify any mistakes made in sawm. Remember that mistakes in sawm in Ramadan also require an expiation or compensation.
We serve a Holy (Ar. Quddus) and Righteous (Ar. Barr) Lord and He has given us the means to carry out the worship in the way that is pleasing to Him. When we fall short, He accepts our efforts if they are accompanied with sincerity and accompanied with the conditions he requires.
Zakat ul-Fitr is just one example of this point.
A picture of the completed parcels
The Rights of Others – Now Picture This…
When examining the eight categories mentioned by the marja` people in previous posts, we can see that one area may have all eight, another some of them but there will always be one category.
There is always someone getting out of jail, who was a prisoner, who is a widow, who is travelling, who is burdened with debt, who is a warrior headed out to the theatre of war (Ar.jihad), who is destitute (Ar.faqir), who is needy (Ar.miskin) and who has come to the Religion or is inclined and is a potential ally and deserves help.
These are all people who have their rights. What would have happened if people who are unabashed enemies to Islam today were given Zakat ul-Fitr along with the other seven categories?
Even if they never became Muslim, they would perhaps have developed a different understanding of Muslims as a group of people, no matter where they resided.
Envelopes bearing just a little over £170.00 for each of the 26 families. This is their right
The Future
Zakat ul-Fitr, as I mentioned above, is purification for us. No matter what… we all have shortcomings, days when we were not at our best, groceries that possessed that one item that we were “sure” of but in reality had some doubt and may have went back to a doubtful or impermissible matter.
Zakat ul-Fitr given in food is not only the best option, it is crucial and the only option to bring together the weak and indigent in this Ummah and gain nearness to Allah and be purified simultaneously.
This is the best way. Anything else is income tax.
We have now reached the third and final session of our text The Illuminating Light by the Imam, `Abdul Qadir ibn Badran Ad-Dumi (d.1346), may Allah have mercy upon him. The class and listeners sought to benefit as much as possible and we hope that those that will listen thereafter will also benefit.
This text includes the original Arabic of the matan and has a concise translation with ample notes. This will be available shortly, if Allah wills.
It is the writer’s hope that these works and similar like them can be of assistance to Slaves of Allah, Muslim and non, student of knowledge and otherwise.
We have now reached Unit 2 which covers the physical and social characteristics of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Please feel free to join us as we seek to gain benefit in this month of Ramadan.
This text includes the original Arabic of the matan and has a concise translation with ample notes. This will be available shortly, if Allah wills.
It is the writer’s hope that these works and similar like them can be of assistance to Slaves of Allah, Muslim and non, student of knowledge and otherwise.
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