Your Eminence! There is a matter that has confused me, which is that some people say: The day of 'Ashura is not fixed, for the Jews and Christians date by the Gregorian calendar.
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The questioner : He says: Your Eminence! There is a matter that has confused me, which is that some people say: The day of 'Ashura is not fixed. For the Jews and Christians date by the Gregorian calendar. And you know, Your Eminence, that there is a difference of ten days between the two calendars. So, according to their thinking and this statement, 'Ashura must be delayed by ten days every year. We ask for details in both cases?
The Shaykh : In reality, if this is madness, then it is madness. Are we not required only to fast the tenth of Muharram? We are required only to fast the tenth of Muharram. How is there a difference? That is, one person fasts the tenth, and the second fasts the twentieth, and the third: the thirtieth, and the fourth: the tenth of Safar, and so on. Does anyone say this? I say: The tenth, or 'Ashura, is known. There is no problem. Count nine days. The tenth is 'Ashura. But the problem is: Did the crescent of Muharram appear on the thirtieth of Dhu al-Hijjah, or on the night of the thirty-first? This is where the problem lies. So what do we do if we are in doubt whether the crescent of Muharram appeared on the night of the thirtieth of Dhu al-Hijjah, making the month of Dhu al-Hijjah incomplete, or do we say: It appeared on the thirty-first, making it complete? The way is clear, and praise be to Allah. If we see it on the night of the thirtieth, we consider Dhu al-Hijjah incomplete. If we do not see it, what is obligatory? Completing Dhu al-Hijjah to thirty days. And so now: This year, the calendar set Dhu al-Hijjah to how many days? Twenty-nine. And it entered Muharram on Wednesday. So, according to this calculation, Thursday is the ninth. And Friday is the tenth. But according to the sighting and according to the Shari'ah, the month of Muharram did not enter until Thursday. So the ninth is Friday and the tenth is Saturday. If one is among those who habitually fast three days of every month, these three days suffice for the days he used to fast.
Yes.
The Shaykh : In reality, if this is madness, then it is madness. Are we not required only to fast the tenth of Muharram? We are required only to fast the tenth of Muharram. How is there a difference? That is, one person fasts the tenth, and the second fasts the twentieth, and the third: the thirtieth, and the fourth: the tenth of Safar, and so on. Does anyone say this? I say: The tenth, or 'Ashura, is known. There is no problem. Count nine days. The tenth is 'Ashura. But the problem is: Did the crescent of Muharram appear on the thirtieth of Dhu al-Hijjah, or on the night of the thirty-first? This is where the problem lies. So what do we do if we are in doubt whether the crescent of Muharram appeared on the night of the thirtieth of Dhu al-Hijjah, making the month of Dhu al-Hijjah incomplete, or do we say: It appeared on the thirty-first, making it complete? The way is clear, and praise be to Allah. If we see it on the night of the thirtieth, we consider Dhu al-Hijjah incomplete. If we do not see it, what is obligatory? Completing Dhu al-Hijjah to thirty days. And so now: This year, the calendar set Dhu al-Hijjah to how many days? Twenty-nine. And it entered Muharram on Wednesday. So, according to this calculation, Thursday is the ninth. And Friday is the tenth. But according to the sighting and according to the Shari'ah, the month of Muharram did not enter until Thursday. So the ninth is Friday and the tenth is Saturday. If one is among those who habitually fast three days of every month, these three days suffice for the days he used to fast.
Yes.