What is the difference between the true dawn and the false dawn?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : How is our Shaykh doing?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : I have a few questions, Shaykh, is that possible?
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : One of these questions relates to the white thread.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Honestly, I have a great deal of ignorance about this topic, even though I have followed what you said in "The Series."
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : We find it difficult to distinguish the white thread from the black thread in the Fajr prayer, especially here in al-Nuzhah.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : My words are somewhat well-known among the worshippers in the mosque.
The Shaykh : Yes, praise be to Allah.
The questioner : I remind them when the iqamah is called.
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner : Yes, so I am trying, as much as possible, to have a scientific background.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Clearly, so that I can convince them, especially since our area is open.
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner : So I want you to give me the end of the thread so that it can be a starting point for me.
The Shaykh : I will give you the end of the thread so that you can know the thread.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : It is very simple.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay; have you tried it?
The questioner : I have tried it, yes. I see, first of all, a dimness.
The Shaykh : What is confusing you?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : What is confusing you or making the matter unclear for you? Let us see?
The questioner : What makes the matter unclear for me is that the hadith says: if the whiteness comes out long across the width of the sky, not, I mean, not extending in width from both sides?
The Shaykh : No, on the contrary, on the contrary, the hadith says.
The questioner : Yes, I mean, the false dawn appears, I mean, the false dawn, if the spread of whiteness is on the horizon of the sky, not in width?
The Shaykh : What do we need the false one for now?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Do we want to know the false dawn or the true one now?
The questioner : We only want the true dawn.
The Shaykh : Okay; I am asking you.
The questioner : So that it becomes clearer.
The Shaykh : My brother, I am asking you now, what is confusing you regarding seeing the true dawn? What is the problem?
The questioner : The problem is that I do not know how to distinguish it; I mean, I find.
The Shaykh : Okay; imagine with me now that you are standing in a place from which you can see the eastern horizon.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay; suppose now that the dawn comes out, I think at five and a bit, maybe half past, suppose now that you woke up not at five thirty, but at five, or four thirty.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And you looked toward the east.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : What will you see in the east?
The questioner : I want to see a dimness of redness, the first redness, just a dimness.
The Shaykh : No, no, no, no, you are right, you will not see anything. I am telling you: if you woke up an hour before the time
The questioner: Nothing, of course.
The Shaykh : And you looked at the eastern horizon, what do you see?
The questioner : Darkness.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is the answer. So if you turned toward the west, what would you see? Darkness.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Oh?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Darkness. So you are going to do a new exercise, one you have never done before.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : An exercise related to your neck.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Sometimes you turn this way to the east, and sometimes this way to the west. When the eastern horizon, from its darkness, begins to differ from the western horizon, from this same aspect, you are now prepared to discover the true dawn. But this difference between the two horizons is the beginning of what? The rising of the true dawn. Are you with me up to here?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay; so now you are standing facing the east only.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : You will start to see this slight difference you noticed between the east and the west begin to grow and grow.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : But its growth will be in the form of an extension of this simple light from the east, I mean, from the south to the north. You may see the light stretching into the sky like the tail of a camel.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is the false dawn, which has nothing to do with us. You may see it, or you may not see it.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : The important thing is that you see the light of the true dawn. So if you see this light extend and its whiteness appear on the horizon, extending from the north to the south.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Then this is the true dawn. At first, there will be whiteness in it and you will see it, but the verse says:[Al-Baqarah 2:187] to the end of the verse.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "The true dawn does not become a true dawn if two people are looking at the true dawn, one says: it has become clear, and the other says: it has not become clear." The saying of this other person is acted upon: it has not become clear; until the two agree: Ah, now the true dawn has become clear. Is that clear?
The questioner : Up to here, I do not know, but I still have some doubts about the topic.
The Shaykh : Good, if Allah wills.
The questioner : So do we understand from in the verse "it becomes clear" that the intended meaning, from the implications of this word, is the extension of the light from the north to the south?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Yes, so if it does not extend, is it considered a false dawn?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Ah, okay; Shaykh, I do not know, just a question, not, for example, if it happened ... during two or three days; can you give me exactly the time it came out during these two or three days, is that not enough?
The questioner : We have become, we are now, my brother, praying Fajr without looking at the dawn; because we know. Look, you now, after you do this experiment and confirm what I say.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Put the "calendar" in front of you.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And follow the "calendar" with a delay of half an hour minus at least five minutes.
The questioner : From the, yes, that is right.
The Shaykh : From the "calendar."
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Ah, and we now have a mosque here after this legal reality, which contradicts the calculated "calendars," became clear.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : We now hear the iqamah in the nearby mosque at the time of the legal adhan, so often I am calling the adhan at home while he is calling the iqamah in the mosque; do you understand me?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So, is there a difference between the "calendar" and the appearance of the true dawn? It is fixed at twenty-five minutes, always the same, though it may sometimes vary due to atmospheric disturbances. This is what is calculated.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So now, since you are in a place from which you can see the true dawn, observe it two, three, four times, and you will see this difference clearly.
The questioner : Excuse me, Shaykh, regarding us in al-Nuzhah, in the 'Ammar Mosque, it is on the way to Independence Street, our area is very open, so I am really following it every day; and that is why the matter became unclear for me and I called you. What I notice is that within twenty-five minutes, the light does not extend from both sides, but it remains, approximately, the first appearance of the light after twenty-five minutes.
The Shaykh : No, I do not think so. In any case, repeat the experiment, and as soon as you see the light spread right, left, south, north, that is the true dawn.
The questioner : Okay; excuse me, last question on this point.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : If that is the case, it seems that perhaps, I mean, we cannot give it with second-by-second precision, like?
The Shaykh : Second by second? Did Allah oblige us to the second?
The questioner : So that is what we cannot do.
The Shaykh : We brought you the athar of Ibn Abbas (may Allah guide you) for this issue.
The questioner : Okay; Shaykh, is there a second question possible?
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner: Peace be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.
The questioner : How is our Shaykh doing?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, I am well.
The questioner : I have a few questions, Shaykh, is that possible?
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The questioner : One of these questions relates to the white thread.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Honestly, I have a great deal of ignorance about this topic, even though I have followed what you said in "The Series."
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : We find it difficult to distinguish the white thread from the black thread in the Fajr prayer, especially here in al-Nuzhah.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : My words are somewhat well-known among the worshippers in the mosque.
The Shaykh : Yes, praise be to Allah.
The questioner : I remind them when the iqamah is called.
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner : Yes, so I am trying, as much as possible, to have a scientific background.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Clearly, so that I can convince them, especially since our area is open.
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner : So I want you to give me the end of the thread so that it can be a starting point for me.
The Shaykh : I will give you the end of the thread so that you can know the thread.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : It is very simple.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay; have you tried it?
The questioner : I have tried it, yes. I see, first of all, a dimness.
The Shaykh : What is confusing you?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : What is confusing you or making the matter unclear for you? Let us see?
The questioner : What makes the matter unclear for me is that the hadith says: if the whiteness comes out long across the width of the sky, not, I mean, not extending in width from both sides?
The Shaykh : No, on the contrary, on the contrary, the hadith says.
The questioner : Yes, I mean, the false dawn appears, I mean, the false dawn, if the spread of whiteness is on the horizon of the sky, not in width?
The Shaykh : What do we need the false one for now?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Do we want to know the false dawn or the true one now?
The questioner : We only want the true dawn.
The Shaykh : Okay; I am asking you.
The questioner : So that it becomes clearer.
The Shaykh : My brother, I am asking you now, what is confusing you regarding seeing the true dawn? What is the problem?
The questioner : The problem is that I do not know how to distinguish it; I mean, I find.
The Shaykh : Okay; imagine with me now that you are standing in a place from which you can see the eastern horizon.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay; suppose now that the dawn comes out, I think at five and a bit, maybe half past, suppose now that you woke up not at five thirty, but at five, or four thirty.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And you looked toward the east.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : What will you see in the east?
The questioner : I want to see a dimness of redness, the first redness, just a dimness.
The Shaykh : No, no, no, no, you are right, you will not see anything. I am telling you: if you woke up an hour before the time
The questioner: Nothing, of course.
The Shaykh : And you looked at the eastern horizon, what do you see?
The questioner : Darkness.
The Shaykh : Yes, that is the answer. So if you turned toward the west, what would you see? Darkness.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Oh?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Darkness. So you are going to do a new exercise, one you have never done before.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : An exercise related to your neck.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Sometimes you turn this way to the east, and sometimes this way to the west. When the eastern horizon, from its darkness, begins to differ from the western horizon, from this same aspect, you are now prepared to discover the true dawn. But this difference between the two horizons is the beginning of what? The rising of the true dawn. Are you with me up to here?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Okay; so now you are standing facing the east only.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : You will start to see this slight difference you noticed between the east and the west begin to grow and grow.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : But its growth will be in the form of an extension of this simple light from the east, I mean, from the south to the north. You may see the light stretching into the sky like the tail of a camel.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is the false dawn, which has nothing to do with us. You may see it, or you may not see it.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : The important thing is that you see the light of the true dawn. So if you see this light extend and its whiteness appear on the horizon, extending from the north to the south.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Then this is the true dawn. At first, there will be whiteness in it and you will see it, but the verse says:
And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]
وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِThe questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "The true dawn does not become a true dawn if two people are looking at the true dawn, one says: it has become clear, and the other says: it has not become clear." The saying of this other person is acted upon: it has not become clear; until the two agree: Ah, now the true dawn has become clear. Is that clear?
The questioner : Up to here, I do not know, but I still have some doubts about the topic.
The Shaykh : Good, if Allah wills.
The questioner : So do we understand from
It becomes clear
يَتَبَيَّنَThe Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Yes, so if it does not extend, is it considered a false dawn?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Ah, okay; Shaykh, I do not know, just a question, not, for example, if it happened ... during two or three days; can you give me exactly the time it came out during these two or three days, is that not enough?
The questioner : We have become, we are now, my brother, praying Fajr without looking at the dawn; because we know. Look, you now, after you do this experiment and confirm what I say.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Put the "calendar" in front of you.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : And follow the "calendar" with a delay of half an hour minus at least five minutes.
The questioner : From the, yes, that is right.
The Shaykh : From the "calendar."
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Ah, and we now have a mosque here after this legal reality, which contradicts the calculated "calendars," became clear.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : We now hear the iqamah in the nearby mosque at the time of the legal adhan, so often I am calling the adhan at home while he is calling the iqamah in the mosque; do you understand me?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So, is there a difference between the "calendar" and the appearance of the true dawn? It is fixed at twenty-five minutes, always the same, though it may sometimes vary due to atmospheric disturbances. This is what is calculated.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : So now, since you are in a place from which you can see the true dawn, observe it two, three, four times, and you will see this difference clearly.
The questioner : Excuse me, Shaykh, regarding us in al-Nuzhah, in the 'Ammar Mosque, it is on the way to Independence Street, our area is very open, so I am really following it every day; and that is why the matter became unclear for me and I called you. What I notice is that within twenty-five minutes, the light does not extend from both sides, but it remains, approximately, the first appearance of the light after twenty-five minutes.
The Shaykh : No, I do not think so. In any case, repeat the experiment, and as soon as you see the light spread right, left, south, north, that is the true dawn.
The questioner : Okay; excuse me, last question on this point.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : If that is the case, it seems that perhaps, I mean, we cannot give it with second-by-second precision, like?
The Shaykh : Second by second? Did Allah oblige us to the second?
The questioner : So that is what we cannot do.
The Shaykh : We brought you the athar of Ibn Abbas (may Allah guide you) for this issue.
The questioner : Okay; Shaykh, is there a second question possible?
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.