Views of the Eminent Imams on the Time of Fajr & Imsak
The various Imams’ views on this issue include the following:
Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal said, “If one has any doubt in his mind about whether fajrhas arrived, he may eat until he is certain of its arrival.”
Imam Nawawi states, “Imam Ash-Shafi`i’s followers are unanimous on the fact that it is permissible for anyone who doubts the arrival of dawn to eat until he is certain of its arrival. The evidence for this is that Allah has allowed for us to eat and drink until the arrival of dawn; the one who doubts the Fajr is not certain of its arrival.”
And Imam Ibn Kathir writes in his famous tafsir: “Leniency and flexibility with regard to partaking of suhur has been reported from a great number of pious predecessors. It has been reported from Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Ali, Ibn Mas`ud, Hudhayh, Abu Huryah, Ibn `Umar, Ibn `Abbas, Zayd ibn Thabit and a considerable number of successors, including Muhammad ibn `Ali, Al–Husayn, …Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, ….`Ataa’, Hasan, ..Mujahid, `Urwah b. Az–Zubayr, etc.” This is the reason why Ibn Hajar, the great authority on Hadith and fiqh, denounced those who laid unnecessary restrictions in regard to partaking of suhur:
Among the reprehensible innovations of our times is the practice of calling the second adhan of fajr quarter hour earlier in Ramadhan and putting off the lights signaling that the one fasting should stop eating-under the false pretext that they would like to exercise caution in the practice of the acts of worship…Such an unwarranted caution has also led them to delay the adhan of magrib for some time. In this way, they end up delaying iftar (breaking the fast) and advancing the suhur and thus violate the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). No wonder then you find them bereft of virtue and rampant in corruption.
Conclusion
In light of the above incontrovertible evidence, it should be rather easy for us to conclude that relying on astronomical dawn to determine the time of imsak is unwarranted, and that we cannot go wrong if we consider the nautical dawn, if not the civil dawn, as the starting time of imsak and beginning of fajr. Furthermore, there is no basis for compelling people to start the imsak way before fajr, for, as it has been clearly demonstrated, the companions were in the habit of standing up for fajr soon after finishing their suhur.
Furthermore, it has been clearly demonstrated from the Sunnah and the practices of the pious generations that the time of imsak and fajr is not determined by minutes, seconds, or degrees, but by sufficient latitude, ease, and flexibility. Hence, there is no compelling reason for us to insist on the astronomical definition of dawn.
Still another point to note: When we consider the above statements and reports carefully, it is clear that their approach to the issue unravels another fundamental principle of jurisprudence. This has been often phrased as “That which is certain cannot be removed by doubts.” When we apply this principle to the issue at hand, since the night precedes dawn, that is a certainty, as such, it cannot be ruled out until we can clearly determine that the dawn has arrived.
Closely allied with the above is the importance of taking into account our own times and circumstances. No one can doubt we are living at a time where Muslims are showing increasing complacency and are slipping away from the practice of Islam. Moreover, since the day hours are excessively long, such rigidity when determining imsak can be viewed as only dampening one’s spirit about fasting.
We saw all of the above leniency and latitude as pointed out above were demonstrated in standard time zones like those of Makkah and Madinah. So one might legitimately ask: By applying a far more stricter rule in calculating the time ofimsak, are we trying to prove to be more pious than the Prophet’s companions and successors, and end up causing greater and greater hardship for people, who reside in less than standard time zones?
In this regard, therefore, let us recognize that the juristic traditions in all of the acceptable schools of jurisprudence have taken into account the circumstances of people and countries, for they knew too well that Shari`ah is based on tangible maqasid (higher purposes) and masalih (benefits). They also understood that the function of an `alim (scholar) is to render ease where there is difficulty. Long ago, Imam Sufyan Ath-Thawri said, “A true scholar is one who finds (based on sound principles) an easier way for people, because as far as making things difficult is concerned, one need not have any knowledge to do that!”
It is perhaps pertinent to mention here that, according to one of the great jurists of the Hanafi school of the twentieth century, the late Shaikh Mustafa Az-Zarqa, Muslims living in time zones where daylight hours are unusually long may base their times for imsak and iftar on the regular timetables followed in Makkah and Madinah.
If this is the inference of an eminent Hanafi jurist, coming as he is from a long lineage of authentic representatives of the Hanafi school, how can we be faulted for going by a time-table which calculates the Fajr in a slightly flexible manner?
As a final word, it would be wise to remind ourselves of the dire warning of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “There are among you those who simply drive people away from Islam.” (Bukhari and Muslim).
I pray to Allah to guide us to the straight path, make us instruments of guidance and gather us all under the banner of the seal of prophets and messengers.
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