Settling for a common stance

Muslims of Ghana have all become scholars, vitiating the promulgation of the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu.

This sort of deliberate confusion had been boiling for decades now, anytime it’s time for the commencement of fasting. Imagine if we had had two Gods controlling the universe, what would the line of command postulate? The answer is mentioned

Read full articlein Qur'an 21:22 “Had there been within the heavens and earth Gods besides Allah, there would certainly be disorder.”

Therefore it must be noted that we have only one National Chief Imam whose orders must be regarded by all and sundry. Qur'an 4:59 clears the air that reverence accorded to Allah and His Messenger has to be conferred on those in authority too. In other words, disobeying those in authority is as defying Allah's decree.

Sighting the crescent of Ramadan, for this reason, Ghana has an impeccable Hilal Committee, whose job is to search for the crescent and announce the commencement of Ramadan. Now every Muslim would want to behave as a Hilal Committee member. Would parliament comfortably sort for fiscal policies from the road ministry other than the minister of finance?

If Muslims have to dissent, they should constructively criticize, in order to help raise the standard of the Hilal Committee. But it shouldn’t be an ad-hominem critique, making it seems that those in authority are there purposely for misguidance.

The worry, ideally, must rather be put to the speedy retrogression in the media space by Muslims in these modern times. We need to work towards a national television or radio station. When this is achieved, half of this confusion is curtailed, because critical information of this nature would be diffused nationwide. The yearly brawl of following Saudi or the Hilal Committee of Ghana would be mitigated. Doubts would be cleared when the National Chief Imam speaks.

We know that the variances in Islam started long ago. Therefore we should be tolerant. Fasting is to sharpen and elevate our good deeds to excellence. If one has started fasting today, and one would want to start it tomorrow, we are all for the greater good. Over wisdom shouldn’t force anyone to think that those who started fasting today would go to heaven before those who are to start it tomorrow.

The entire globe would definitely observe fasting by tomorrow. Anas bun Malik(ro) was reported to have said: “We used to travel with the Messenger of Allah, some of us fast while others did not fast. But those who fast never criticise those who did not fast.” Maybe this hadith would be a guide, though the context is a bit different.

Let us repose faith in the Hilal Committee. They’re there for harmonization and unification. That will make us law abiding Muslims who are not poised to enrich any unproductive innuendos.