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Eid Mubarak!

A

AppleLight

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 19, 2008
68
0
Hala,

Eid Al-Fitr (1st of the month of Shawwaal) was announced by the Higher Judiciary Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Friday 10th September 2010.

In a Hadeeth (prophetic saying) from the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) he said:

((Fast when you see the crescent. If it is obscured to you, then complete thirty days of Sha'baan. And break your fast when you see the crescent. If it is obscured to you then fast thirty days)) [Transmitted by Al-Bukhari]

That means the month of Ramadhaan will be 30 days long.

For those of you who don't know; the Islamic calendar is a lunar one. We follow the moon cycle with our eyes, and each time the moon is sighted (the new crescent) the new month begins.

We also have 12 months in our calendar:-

Muharram
Safar
Rabee' Al-Awwal
Rabee' Ath-Thaani
Jumaada Al-Oolaa
Jumaada Al-Ukhraa
Rajab
Sha'baan
Ramadhaan - Famous for the month of fasting.
Shawwaal
Dhul-Qi'dah
Dhul-Hijjah - Famous for the Hajj pilgrimage that takes place in Makkah in this month.

Our calendar began when the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) migrated (in arabic Hijrah) from the city of Makkah to the city of Madinah (Where I live :D)

Since then it's been 1431 years. So now we're in the year 1431 AH (after Hijrah).


Mabrook to all the Muslims on the forum, and for any non-Muslims, feel free to ask questions, or to congratulate us :D

!عيد سعيد كل عام و أنتم بخير
 
I assume Eid Mubarak is the proper term to use? If so then

Eid Mubarak! And may you have many more in peace and health!

I am intrigued by some of the ways that religions/cultures that rely on lunar calendars cope with becoming global.

My (probably wrong) impression is that not all Islamic communities rely on the sighting of the crescent moon in Saudi Arabia - but instead use local sightings, or at least sightings in places other than Saudi Arabia. I've wondered how that affects Muslims living in the polar regions where the visibility of the moon is very different than in the mid-east.

For example, a Mosque is currently being trucked/barged up to Inuvik in the Canadian arctic. This Mosque will be 200 km north of the arctic circle (i.e. where there are periods of 24 hour day or night, depending on the season). This Mosque will only be the second most northerly one.

How the heck does one work with moon sightings in these circumstances??

Thanks for the opportunity to ask questions....
 
Much learned, but much still to learn.

For starters, what does "Eid Mubarak" mean? I assume it's a sort of greeting, but I can't place it.
 
Hi all,

Thank you for your replies, I'll get back to them soon, I have to go to the Mosque for the last night of Ramadhaan prayers (called Taraaweeh).

Check it out, 2 million people all in Makkah right now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkQKnmwizBc

Have a look, I'll post responses soon!
 
I assume Eid Mubarak is the proper term to use? If so then

Eid Mubarak! And may you have many more in peace and health!

I am intrigued by some of the ways that religions/cultures that rely on lunar calendars cope with becoming global.

My (probably wrong) impression is that not all Islamic communities rely on the sighting of the crescent moon in Saudi Arabia - but instead use local sightings, or at least sightings in places other than Saudi Arabia. I've wondered how that affects Muslims living in the polar regions where the visibility of the moon is very different than in the mid-east.

For example, a Mosque is currently being trucked/barged up to Inuvik in the Canadian arctic. This Mosque will be 200 km north of the arctic circle (i.e. where there are periods of 24 hour day or night, depending on the season). This Mosque will only be the second most northerly one.

How the heck does one work with moon sightings in these circumstances??

Thanks for the opportunity to ask questions....
Click to expand...

Thank you :D

Yes, we use the lunar calendar which is 29 or 30 days per month rather than 30 or 31.

Yes that's true, not all people rely on Saudi Arabia to sight the moon, even though it is probably one of the countries with the clearest skies (seriously, clouds are rare). However, there is a Hadeeth (prophetic tradition) in which a man came to Prophet Muhammad from a place far away, and found them not fasting. So he said we have sighted the moon in such and such place, so the Prophet ordered that the Muslims then fast, based on the sighting.

Therefore we conclude that the sighting of the moon by a single trustworthy person is enough for us to start the month of Ramadhaan, and to end it. No person is better than another, except in terms of piety. It doesn't matter if the person was African, nor Arab, nor European. As long as there is nothing to discredit the Muslim person from his trustworthiness, then we accept it from him.

So in many cases you will find Saudi Arabia will accept the sighting from people in Qatar, Kuwait, and the Emirates amongst others.

One moon one world. :)

Any other questions?


Tomorrow said:
Much learned, but much still to learn.

For starters, what does "Eid Mubarak" mean? I assume it's a sort of greeting, but I can't place it.
Click to expand...


Eid Mubarak; means have a blessed Eid.

So people will say that after Eid prayers (usually in the morning) when they meet each other, hug each other, they may say Taqabbal Allaha Minnaa Wa Minkum (May Allah accept our deeds during the month from us and from you), they may say Kull 'Aam Wa Antum Bi Khayr (May you have good health every year).

Muslims will usually greet others with the term As Salaamu 'Alaykum (Peace be upon you).

:)
 
So if you use a lunar calendar, then Rahmadhaan, and the months could come at different times of the year. For example, the month of Safar could come during winter here in the Rocky Mountains, and they a few years later it could come in the middle of summer.

Out of curiosity, how come you use the lunar month?
 
ucfgrad93 said:
So if you use a lunar calendar, then Rahmadhaan, and the months could come at different times of the year. For example, the month of Safar could come during winter here in the Rocky Mountains, and they a few years later it could come in the middle of summer.

Out of curiosity, how come you use the lunar month?
Click to expand...

Yes that's correct. So I remember when I was in the UK a few years back, we used to have Ramadhaan in the winter, meaning the days very short and fasts very easy (No food, drink, intercourse). Currently in the UK due to fly back in a couple of weeks, I fasted the month of Ramadhaan here in London, where it is summer, days are long, and fasts much harder. So yeah, it varies each year, brings it back about 11 or 12 days each year.


Customs and traditions is one reason. Saudi life comes from a very bedouin background. People in the desert surviving on little (that's all changed now though!) using the moon and stars to navigate and keep track of things.

Secondly and probably more importantly, is that Muslims believe the Jesus was a prophet of God, but he was not killed on the cross. Rather he was taken up to heaven and is still alive, and another person was put in place of Jesus who died on the cross. So while we accept the years BC (Before Christ) such as ancient Greek, Roman, and other civilisations, we do not accept what comes before it which is AD (Anno Domini [The year of our Lord]) as we do not believe that Jesus was a Lord, rather, a Prophet and servant of his.


I hope that answered the question, feel free to ask anymore though :)
 
AppleLight said:
Yes that's correct. So I remember when I was in the UK a few years back, we used to have Ramadhaan in the winter, meaning the days very short and fasts very easy (No food, drink, intercourse).
Click to expand...

Are you not allowed to drink water during the day? I knew about the food, but not that you weren't allowed to drink. Isn't that dangerous in a desert climate?
 
Are you not allowed to drink water during the day? I knew about the food, but not that you weren't allowed to drink. Isn't that dangerous in a desert climate?
Click to expand...

Nope, we don't drink or eat anything from the moment the sun rises till the sun sets. Yes it can be dangerous during the summer especially, in Saudi it can sometimes reach up to 55 degrees Centigrade (131 degrees Farenheit), which is why it is really a must to drink plenty of fluids at night, and when we eat just before the sun rises.

However, although it is dangerous, most of us have cars and houses in buildings with air conditioners, every mosque is air conditioned every restaurant, pretty much every room. So it's not too bad. :)

I find it much easier fasting in London though!
 
Just a note, tomorrow will be the last fast of Ramadhaan 1431 (2010), so if you want to try, you're more than welcome. Post your experience here if you wish, how far did you go? Did you make it all the way till sunset? How did it feel?

Let us know! :D
 
Tomorrow said:
The equivalent is actually very similar, some people say Amen, we say Aameen
Click to expand...
You mean...you're NOT people?!? :eek:
Click to expand...



Sorry I can't see the mistake? :p

Lol, I meant some.

But come to think of it, our cultures our probably so extremely different, we are almost like aliens. When I went to Abu Dhabi, I saw people from the US and the UK walking in, looking at bewildered at men wearing 'dresses' with 'red pieces of cloth' on their heads, speaking a language that is completely and utterly new to them. It's probably because when we wear the clothes in the UK or the US they are like WAAA! But for Muslims it's a normal thing, wear loose clothing, protect yourself from others eyes.

Whereas when I wear traditional dress (I leave off the red and white scarf :p) in London people are really bemused. People find it baffling why someone would want to wear the clothes that we choose to wear, but then again, I'm sure many would say the same about your clothes, or clothes from traditional China and so on.

There's a lot of work to be done in understanding other cultures. :)
 
Eid Mubarak to you too!

And -aggie-, why don't you start a separate thread about that? since the OP was talking about Ramadan/Eid. Cause I doubt this thread was meant to be anything PRSI.
 
-aggie- said:
Explain how your religion promotes the killing of all infidels (non-believers of Islam) and that those who kill these infidels are promised a place in heaven. Explain how Islam believes that there is God (Allah), but does not believe this God is the same as that of Christians and Jews.
Click to expand...

Explain to me how you learned to ask questions. Surely, you're not asking because you want to know something?
 
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