Issue: The phenomenon of performing the Fajr prayer before the true dawn in many countries due to the astronomical timings found in the calendars.
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The Shaykh : And after the dawn has become clear, and we have reports from Kuwait where they pray Fajr before its time, and reports from Morocco from Shaykh Taqi al-Din al-Hilali (may Allah have mercy on him), who was a professor at the Islamic University, who authored a treatise on this issue, and it has been printed.
And about two years ago, I was also informed of a man in Ta'if who said that they also call the Fajr adhan before its time. And in Oman, problems arose during Ramadan because they call the adhan after Maghrib in Ramadan, just as on other days. But we single out Ramadan because there is iftar after the sun sets. I see the rising of the dawn and the rising of the sun, and I also see the setting of the sun with my own eyes. The sun sets, so I break my fast as is the Sunnah, with dates. I wait ten minutes until they call the adhan, knowing that the mu'adhdhin who calls the adhan is in a very high place in Oman, called al-Ashtariyyah, and the great mosque in Oman is in the middle of the town, meaning in the valley.
So it is known to everyone who pays attention to the difference in horizons that if the sun sets for me ten minutes before their adhan, then it must have set for those in the valley fifteen or twenty minutes earlier. All of this is due to what? The astronomical timings found in the almanacs and calendars.
But if it is in accordance with the Shari'ah, as I told you and drew your attention to time after time, if it is in accordance with the Shari'ah, then there is nothing wrong with it, just like any book that contains what does not conform to the Shari'ah. Recording it facilitates things for people so they can know the times. But the reality is that these times are astronomical times. And so now you hear on your radio that it is now the time for the 'Isha' adhan, or Maghrib in Riyadh, taking into account the difference in what? The times in other countries. Who takes that into account? No one takes it into account now.
The questioner : The jurist
The Shaykh : Because the mu'adhdhins, yes
The questioner : The jurist takes it into account
The Shaykh : Yes, the jurist. The mu'adhdhins do not know the Shari'ah times. And this is, in truth, what has afflicted the Muslims today in the present age. So do not take the recording of the Shari'ah times, but hold them to the fact that this timing is incorrect and not Shari'ah-based.
And about two years ago, I was also informed of a man in Ta'if who said that they also call the Fajr adhan before its time. And in Oman, problems arose during Ramadan because they call the adhan after Maghrib in Ramadan, just as on other days. But we single out Ramadan because there is iftar after the sun sets. I see the rising of the dawn and the rising of the sun, and I also see the setting of the sun with my own eyes. The sun sets, so I break my fast as is the Sunnah, with dates. I wait ten minutes until they call the adhan, knowing that the mu'adhdhin who calls the adhan is in a very high place in Oman, called al-Ashtariyyah, and the great mosque in Oman is in the middle of the town, meaning in the valley.
So it is known to everyone who pays attention to the difference in horizons that if the sun sets for me ten minutes before their adhan, then it must have set for those in the valley fifteen or twenty minutes earlier. All of this is due to what? The astronomical timings found in the almanacs and calendars.
But if it is in accordance with the Shari'ah, as I told you and drew your attention to time after time, if it is in accordance with the Shari'ah, then there is nothing wrong with it, just like any book that contains what does not conform to the Shari'ah. Recording it facilitates things for people so they can know the times. But the reality is that these times are astronomical times. And so now you hear on your radio that it is now the time for the 'Isha' adhan, or Maghrib in Riyadh, taking into account the difference in what? The times in other countries. Who takes that into account? No one takes it into account now.
The questioner : The jurist
The Shaykh : Because the mu'adhdhins, yes
The questioner : The jurist takes it into account
The Shaykh : Yes, the jurist. The mu'adhdhins do not know the Shari'ah times. And this is, in truth, what has afflicted the Muslims today in the present age. So do not take the recording of the Shari'ah times, but hold them to the fact that this timing is incorrect and not Shari'ah-based.