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They essentially constitute the nourishment required for the growth and development of our souls to make it to Heaven. They are for our own good, and to express our appreciation to God’s blessings. God is in no need of any of our prayers and worship.
We have endowed Luqmaan with wisdom: "You shall be appreciative of GOD." Whoever is appreciative is appreciative for his own good. As for those who turn unappreciative, GOD is in no need, Praiseworthy. (31:12)
Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the obligatory duties for the Submitters. Since Ramadan is a lunar month and the lunar calendar moves through our Gregorian calendar, it makes Ramadan move through the seasons. Fasting allows us to learn self-discipline and restraint. It allows our soul to control our body and not our physical appetites and desires to control us. Fasting is therefore important for our salvation:
O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation. (2:183)
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on phases of the moon. The only widely used purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar, whose year always consists of 12 lunar months (9:36). A lunar month is approximately 29.5 days, which is the time it takes for the moon to orbit the earth. Because a lunar month is, on the average, one day shorter than a solar month, a lunar year is 10-12 days shorter than a solar year. Therefore, the Month of Ramadan comes 10-12 days earlier each year. This way we get to fast when the days are very warm and long in summer as well as when they are cool and short in winter.
This beautiful design by God is also a test for us to see if we will fast regardless of the length or temperature of the days of Ramadan.
The Muslims during the time of Prophet Muhammad did not have the technological advantage we have today. They needed to see the crescent moon before they started fasting. God tells us that He rendered the sun and the moon as calculation devices (6:96, 10:5, 17:12, 55:5).
We have the technology to determine precisely when the different phases of the moon will appear for any given month, now or in the future, according to the design of God. So we don’t need physical sighting of the moon to decide when the month of Ramadan will start or end. We can easily verify it for ourselves using the resources available for us. God has given us the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and we are responsible for using them (17:36).
The Islamic day is the same as the Hebrew day. It begins at sunset and ends at the next sunset. In this system, the night comes before the day. Therefore, in some traditional Islamic countries, when they talk about, for instance, Friday night, they are in fact referring to Thursday night because that night actually belongs to Friday according to their definition of a day.
For determining the beginning and ending of Ramadan, you need to know the times of the New Moon and Sunset times at your location. For example, to calculate the Ramadan start date, compare the time of the New Moon with the Sunset at your location. If the new moon is before sunset, you should fast the next day, God willing.
Similarly, to determine the last day of fasting, compare the time of the next New Moon with the sunset at your location. If the new moon is before sunset, the month of Ramadan is complete on that day. Otherwise one needs to fast the next day.
of For those who started the first day of Ramadan on July 20, 2012, the Night Destiny (Night of Power) will be, God willing, on Aug 14, 2012, starting at sunset. The Night of Destiny is the 27th night of Ramadan. (Start counting from July 19, the first night of Ramadan). You can visit Ramadan page at our web site www.masjidtucson.org for more information.
Have a happy, peaceful and blessed Ramadan, and a wonderful Night of Destiny, God willing.
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The 27th annual conference of the United Submitters International was held in Anaheim, California on July 13-15, 2012. It was right across from Disneyland, dubbed “the happiest place on earth.” Certainly for those three days, the Anaheim Plaza Hotel lived up to that billing. What could be a happier place than the place where submitters from around the world come together for the purpose of commemorating God? The only thing happier will be reminiscing about the experience in Paradise, God willing.
The Friday Khutba was delivered by brother Jamshid. He quoted from Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” This is a challenge for us to live the message. We all want to see God’s victory come, and our role is to be examples to the world. [3:104] Let there be a community of you who invite to what is good, advocate righteousness, and forbid evil. These are the winners.
We were then blessed with the joy of meeting all the submitters who were attending their first conference. It took so long for them to introduce themselves because there were so many of them! That’s very exciting.
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