Is determining the hilal of Ramadan with a telescope an innovation?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
A message was received by the program from one of the listening brothers from the Eastern Region. He says: Taha Muhammad Musa, our brother, has a case in which he says: My question is: If bid'ah (religious innovation) is any act that is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, or any act that came after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not command it, then what about determining the hilal of Ramadan using a magnifying glass at a time when it is difficult to see the hilal with the naked eye? It is known that this magnifying glass did not exist in the era of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1081b. Is the intention here not vision with the naked eye?
Answer:
Bid'ah is what people have introduced as a means of drawing near to Allah, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not legislate. This is called bid'ah, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1718b, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 1718a, meaning: in our religion.
So innovations are the newly introduced acts of worship that Allah has not legislated; these are called bid'ah. For example, building on graves and making them into mosques, celebrating birthdays, celebrating the night of Isra and Mi'raj, and the like. These are called bid'ah.
As for using a telescope to help see the hilal, this is not among the means of drawing near to Allah, and it is not among the innovations. Rather, it is something used to assist in seeing, just as one uses being in a high place like a minaret or high rooftops, or moving away from places where there is dust or the like that obscures the vision. The basis in this is the eye. So a telescope or anything else that assists in seeing does not harm, because seeing is only by the eye. This merely assists in perceiving the visible object, which is the hilal. So if one uses being on a high rooftop or in a minaret or in places far from visual obstruction, and among that is the telescope, it does not harm if the basis is seeing it with the eye, and the telescope only assists. So this does not harm.
What is prohibited is relying on calculation regarding whether the child was born this night or not. Calculation is not relied upon by the scholars. Rather, it is the consensus of the respected scholars that calculation is not relied upon in establishing the hilal. The basis is only seeing with the eye, not calculation. So a telescope that is only used to assist in seeing, where the basis is the eye, is like a minaret or a high roof where one uses its presence and sits there to see. And success is from Allah. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. So bid'ah is what has a direct connection to worship?
The Shaykh: Yes. As for what relates to customs and worldly matters, even if it came after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), such as cars, airplanes, telephones, and the like, and trains, these are not called bid'ah in terms of the Shari'ah, even if they are called bid'ah in terms of language, because they are new.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
A message was received by the program from one of the listening brothers from the Eastern Region. He says: Taha Muhammad Musa, our brother, has a case in which he says: My question is: If bid'ah (religious innovation) is any act that is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, or any act that came after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not command it, then what about determining the hilal of Ramadan using a magnifying glass at a time when it is difficult to see the hilal with the naked eye? It is known that this magnifying glass did not exist in the era of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Observe fast on sighting it (the new moon) and break (fast) on sighting it (the new moon)
صوموا لرؤيته وأفطروا لرؤيتهAnswer:
Bid'ah is what people have introduced as a means of drawing near to Allah, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not legislate. This is called bid'ah, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملًا ليس عليه أمرنا فهو رد'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.
من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو ردSo innovations are the newly introduced acts of worship that Allah has not legislated; these are called bid'ah. For example, building on graves and making them into mosques, celebrating birthdays, celebrating the night of Isra and Mi'raj, and the like. These are called bid'ah.
As for using a telescope to help see the hilal, this is not among the means of drawing near to Allah, and it is not among the innovations. Rather, it is something used to assist in seeing, just as one uses being in a high place like a minaret or high rooftops, or moving away from places where there is dust or the like that obscures the vision. The basis in this is the eye. So a telescope or anything else that assists in seeing does not harm, because seeing is only by the eye. This merely assists in perceiving the visible object, which is the hilal. So if one uses being on a high rooftop or in a minaret or in places far from visual obstruction, and among that is the telescope, it does not harm if the basis is seeing it with the eye, and the telescope only assists. So this does not harm.
What is prohibited is relying on calculation regarding whether the child was born this night or not. Calculation is not relied upon by the scholars. Rather, it is the consensus of the respected scholars that calculation is not relied upon in establishing the hilal. The basis is only seeing with the eye, not calculation. So a telescope that is only used to assist in seeing, where the basis is the eye, is like a minaret or a high roof where one uses its presence and sits there to see. And success is from Allah. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. So bid'ah is what has a direct connection to worship?
The Shaykh: Yes. As for what relates to customs and worldly matters, even if it came after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), such as cars, airplanes, telephones, and the like, and trains, these are not called bid'ah in terms of the Shari'ah, even if they are called bid'ah in terms of language, because they are new.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.