Moon Sighting

Minister for Science and Technology has picked up the cudgels against Mufti Muni bur Rehman – Chairman Ruet e Hilal Committee, who thinks it is his and his alone prerogative to tell us when to celebrate or not to celebrate Eid in Pakistan, that is throughout Pakistan from one end to the other end, be it the East-West or the North-South !

Isn’t there a Hadees that says, “If you arrive at a place where Eid is being celebrated and you are fasting, you should break your fast and join them for the Eid – and vice versa”?  Now, by any stretch of imagination could such a place be 30, 40 or even 50 miles away from where you started with Som (Roza).  That means during the times of the Holy Prophet SAW there were  places 50 miles or less apart where one was celebrating Eid and the other one observing fast.  Then why can’t it happen the same in a country 1100 mile long and 400 to 500 miles wide ?  I don’t want to go in to the geophysical technicalities but it is quite POSSIBLE in a country of this size that the new moon could be sighted at some part of it and not seen at other places.   Then why must there be one Eid throughout the country?  If it is necessary to have one Eid – for some administrative reason, then can such necessity over ! ride the Shariah?

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)