• Says no basis for controversies and rift on moon-sighting
A notable Islamic scholar and the Chief Missioner of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh AbdulRahman Ahmad says fasting in the holy month of Ramadan commences with the sighting of the new crescent of Ramadan or counting 30 days in the month of Sha’aban, stressing that those who dissent with the Sultan of Sokoto on the commencement and termination of fasting in Ramadan are not only unnecessarily controversial but mischievous.
He said the appropriate authority to announce the beginning and end of fasting in Nigeria is the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, who is the President of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).
Sheikh Ahmad said this in an exclusive interview with Muslim News on Sunday, March 10, as the faithful prepare to search for the crescent of Ramadan after sunset today, Sunday.
Muslim News reports that the Sultan, the spiritual leader of Nigeria’s Muslim Ummah has directed the Muslim faithful to search for the new moon on Sunday evening while urging them to report credible and positive sighting to the members of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), whose phone numbers are already in the public domain.
Sheikh Ahmad, who is a member of NMSC said his Eminence, Alhaji Abubakar Saad III does not make arbitrary announcements, but relies on sighting reports collated and verified by the committee, which are further authenticated by a body referred to as the Sultanate Council.
He explained that the 30-man moon-sighting committee comprises Ulamas (Islamic scholars), scientists and other dedicated members from different parts of the country which includes the like of Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, Sheikh Bala Lau, Prof. Usman El-Nafaty, Habeebullah Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilory and Sheikh Abdur Rasheed Mayaleke among others.
No dissent during moon-sighting committee meetings
The Chief Missioner of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, however, noted that there is usually no dissent during their meetings, saying, it is often surprising to see some members do something contrary even when they had not raised objections at the meeting.
He said, “The NMSC is a committee set up by the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) under the leadership of His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar. We report to him and we defer to him because of the Qur’anic injunction that we should follow Allah, His messenger, and people in position of authority.
“About a week ago, we held an online meeting of the National Moon Sighting Committee. We agreed on the criteria, there was no dissent. It was a well-attended Zoom meeting. There were no dissenters.
“Our committee is charged with the responsibility of directly sighting the crescent every month and and collating sighting and authenticating reports from the states. The Supreme Council provided a total of six high powered binoculars distributed to the six geopolitical zones in the country to assist the committee in its sighting assignment.
“It is therefore the duty of the committee to sight the moon, collate sighting reports and advicse the Sultan. It is the responsibility of the Sultan to make the announcement.
“The National Moon-sighting Committee has representative from each state of the federation.
“The committee receives sighting reports from state committees and individuals, collate and verify the authenticity based on established criteria and advise the Sultan as appropriate. The Sultan has a small body, the Sultanate Council, with representatives of The National Moon Sighting Committee.
“This body meets in Sokoto on 29th Sha’aban and reviews all sighting claims, including those from the Emirates (which doesn’t usually come to the NMSC) and advise the Sultan on accepting or rejecting the claims. So, it is not that the Sultan sits somewhere and arbitrarily announces anything.
“It is only surprising that, people who do not raise any objections during the committee’s deliberations and conclusions will, at the end of the day dissent and make bogus claims!”, he said.
‘We can only have one leader at a time’
The eloquent scholar said there must be leadership in Islam, adding that everyone cannot be the leader.
Sheikh Ahmad stressed that there is no negative implication even if the leader makes a sincere mistake in the announcement of moon-sighting.
“The aim of the Shari’ah is not to create confusion. That’s why there must be leadership in Islam. Everyone cannot be the leader. It is the responsibility of the leader, after the verification and authentication of sighting claims, to announce.
“Now, what is the implication if the leader makes a mistake. There is no negative implication, unless it is wilful in the exercise of judgement by the leader. If there is a sincere mistake, then the leader and the followers have done no wrong. So, all these are unnecessary distractions.”
‘No controversy in moon-sighting’
Sheikh Ahmad also emphasised that there is no controversy in the way the moon is sighted, adding that people only bring unnecessary controversy into the issue.
“These are issues that are not controversial. People are only trying to bring unnecessary controversy into this issue. For the avoidance of doubt, at the Moon Sighting Committee of the NSCIA, there are principles with which we operate. We believe that the Prophet (SAW) said fasting of Ramadan should be based on sighting the crescent. We have not, at the Moon Sighting committee of NSCIA, rejected science. What we have done is to subject science to the principles of Islam because we see no contradiction between the use of telescopes to sight the moon and the instruction of the Prophet (SAW) to sight the moon as the basis for the commencement of Ramadan,” he said.
“If you look at that hadith carefully, the Prophet (SAW) said start fasting when you see it, stop fasting when you see it. That’s the first part of it. And if, for any reason, you could not see it, perhaps due to unfavorable weather, then count 30 days in Sha’aban. No need to wait for any sighting again because it is there. It’s just confusion people are trying to create. And it is like playing on the intelligence or the ignorance of the majority of the people.
“There is a fundamental difference between fact and truth. A fact may not necessarily be the truth. It is possible to sight the crescent with the naked eyes. Sometimes, it is not possible to sight it with the naked eyes. The Ulamah have accepted that we can use scientific instruments like telescope to sight it. There is no controversy about it,” Sheikh Ahmad said.
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