Question: For sake of accuracy should the Islamic calendar be predetermined by scientific data or established by the crescent vision only? Isn’t a combination of both methods possible and a better solution?

The questions listed in the Makkah calendar’s invitation are questions I ask myself twice a year. It is so true that one wonders every year which part of the Islamic world has started fasting and ended Ramadan at the right time, when some nations start or end Ramadan up to 3 days after the others, and one error leading to another, Eid el Adha being celebrated separately from a country to another. I lived in a country where lacking of Islamic Authority I recall within some cities different mosques celebrated Eid al-fitr or Eid el Adha on different dates. One just remains stunned in front of such display of disunity.

Isn’t this our No.1 weakness? It is true that we are not responsible towards anyone but Allah, does this mean we shouldn’t care about what others think of us? I do not recall such teaching in the Sunna. Our religious celebrations (the two main and only celebrations according to the Coran and Sunna) and other dates and events are source of such discords and doubts. Looking at these facts and display of such chaos it is clear that we are lacking of responsibility not only towards the world we are living in but even towards Allah.

From my perspective I always thought that people who are extreme in one approach than another must be wrong. Doesn’t Islam teach us that best of things are median one should weight evenly all sides? I perceive that taking in consideration the traditional approach only means refusing the great gift of knowledge given to mankind. How can we refuse something given to us by Allah. Or we must refuse everything that was given by Allah when it comes to religion but not for worldly matters? Do we refute anything that has come after the death of our beloved Prophet (SAAS)? In this case shouldn’t we stop enjoying buildings, cars, computers, planes …etc? Can anyone claim that with the information provided to us from the only source of everything, “He (Allah)” would accept our justifications of the Fitna that rise in the Islamic world? What is logically better or worse? Science or Fitna? Deep inside of ourselves shouldn’t we ask what is best to do to face “Him” knowing we’ve made the right choice? Or at least best effort? Isn’t this the true Islam? Seeking at all times and by all means Allah’s satisfaction only?

Islam is an exact religion; no doubt about that; our brain limitations set by Allah for a reason do not allow us to understand everything, which led the mankind to label all he could understand as scientific while everything else could be as various as non-scientific, unexplainable, non-sense…etc. This is the difference between Islam and others religions, Muslims and non-Muslims, as we believe in Allah, his power and that everything has a purpose established by “Him”, the ability to explain a fact is only God’s will to enlighten us.

Islam is not a philosophy like some would like to display it to give it a more human aspect, it is not a constitution, it is not a book of charades to guess it is not a script on how to act in our lives, but it is a science, a science of life, Unfortunately the human born so called Muslim by tradition has excelled in reversing its straightforwardness and simplicity to confusion, complication and doubts which in results has driven the majority of our nation far from the love of its guidance.

I congratulate Makkah Calendar for their effort, I really hope all the Islamic authorities, Schools, Imams, Individuals would adopt the concept of Makkah Calendar, It is a real compromise between modern “science”, Shari’a and Sunna. This effort could truly lead to Muslim world unity from the religious, and all of us as Muslims accepting and completely submitting ourselves to the guidance of Allah.

Salam Aleikum.