Escape to Hell and Other Stories by Muammar Gaddafi

Author:Muammar Gaddafi [Gaddafi, Muammar]
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Stop Fasting When You See The New Moon

The prophet Muhammad said, "Begin fasting when you see the new moon, and end your fasting when you see the new moon again. If it is overcast, continue your fasting for thirty days." This is the Islamic tradition followed by Muslims in this matter. However, following this tradition every year gets Muslims into difficulties concerning the beginning and end of the month of Ramadan, as well as the Hajj,50 except for this year, and we will see if this difficulty gets resolved this year. The ability to see the new moon varies from one region to another, and even one continent to another, since Islam has spread worldwide and local ways of observing these things are no longer adequate. Seeing the new moon in the Arabian peninsula, in Mecca and Medina, was probably what was meant at the time, since means of communication were practically non-existent. One could not have expected that news from Yemen about seeing the new moon would arrive in Mecca and Medina, since the journey would have taken more than one month.

Nowadays, the world has become completely interconnected, at the speed of sound, or 340 metres per second. It is very possible for information about sighting the new moon to spread quickly throughout the world today, but the problem has not been solved by this dangerous, scientific transformation. Rather, the problem has become more complicated since we know more about the world than we did before. Consequently, disputes have become greater between Muslim learned men and laymen, sultans and common people. The Saudis do not want the Hajj to fall on a Friday because of the great crowds and the resulting problems, and they have every right to be worried about this. And they would be even more justified should it be confirmed that the Hajj falling on a Friday leads to the death of a member of the royal family, God forbid. Thus, our brethren in Saudi Arabia are quite unenthusiastic about the Hajj falling on a Friday; let it be on a Saturday or a Sunday, rather than facing the risk of losing a prince... God forbid!

With all of these facts and new types of information and faster communication, we assumed that having a unified beginning and ending to the month of Ramadan, and thereby a unified Hajj, would become easier. However, it became clear to us that Friday in Indonesia is Thursday in Libya; in other words, it could be 30 Shaaban51 in Libya, and the beginning of Ramadan in Indonesia or the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. If Indonesia were to telephone and announce that the new moon had been sighted, Libya would be in the month of Shaaban. Thus, sighting the new moon is limited to a certain region, and very limited, as each region should begin and end its fasting according to its own sightings. But the real difficulty lies elsewhere. Practically speaking, the beginning and ending of fasting do not create any problems, unlike the Hajj.

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