Muhtarrum Mufti Saheb.
I hope this letter finds you in the best of health.
Please can u help regarding the following.
On the advise of local Ulamaa we have adopted the salaah timetable of Prof Abdul Latif University Of Karachi as the base for setting our salaah times. In ramadaan fajr is read early to accommodate musallees. We are using the subhe saadiq times on Prof Latif’s timetable. As a precaution sahri is completed 7 minutes before the time stipulated and fajr azaan is read 15-18 minutes later.e.g fast begins 5:08am Fajr Azaan: 5:23 Subhe Saadiq: 5:15am.
Other masjids refuse to accept these times stating that there is no basis for setting subhe saadiq at 18 deg. they have presented a long document with shia and scientific references stating the subhe saadiq should be later 12 deg. is there any islamic proof and scientific proof to confirm or deny this.
Some quotations from the document they have presented to us.
“Until the white thread becomes distinct unto you from the black thread” (2:187) the words unto you emphasize that the people in general (not just astronomers and scientists) should be able to observe the true dawn. This is also supported by the fatwa of imaam al Khumayni when he says ” the occurence of fajr is a hiss (commonly perceptable) occurence not a hissi (scientific ) occurence.
Mariners celestial navigation:
Astronomical twilight the period while the suns center is between 18 degrees and 12 degrees below the horizon. To both navigators and the civil population it is then ‘night time’ with little discernable sunlight diffusing the sky. The horizon would be too indistinct for sight-taking.
Since astoronmical twilight is too indistinct for sight taking by civil population it cannot qualify as true dawn. How can shariah expect its followers to say prayers and begin fasting by a natural phenomenon which cannot be seen by common people?
These are some of the points presented to us, yet we and our ulamaa are following prof latif’s 18 degrees as subhe saadiq. Please inform us who is right is there any scietific proof and religious proof.The document presented to us is 12 pages long and refers to many scientific books and shia imaams. It is written by Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi in 1989 published in the light (Dar es Salaam in feb 1991. entiteld al fajr as sadiq: A new perspective. Sorry could not send document to you its too long.
Jazakallah for your assistance
