Ahkam al-Ikhtilaf fi Ruyat Hilal Dhi al-Hijjah
- Author died
- 795 AH
- Editions
- Dār ‘Ālam al-Fawā’id lil-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Ahkam al-Ikhtilaf fi Ruyat Hilal Dhi al-Hijjah (Legal Rulings on Disagreements in Sighting the Crescent of Dhu al-Hijjah) is a legal treatise by the Hanbali jurist and traditionist Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (736–795 AH / 1335–1395 CE) examining the legal status of Islamic rituals when moon-sighting reports for the month of Dhu al-Hijjah conflict or are rejected by authorities .
Background and Composition
The treatise was written in response to a specific event that took place in 784 AH (1382 CE) . In that year, the new crescent of Dhu al-Hijjah was obscured by clouds, leading the general public to complete thirty days of Dhu al-Qa'dah in accordance with standard legal procedure . Subsequently, reports circulated that several individuals had sighted the crescent, but the presiding judge or ruler did not accept their testimony .
As a result, confusion and controversy arose among the populace: some individuals refused to fast on the apparent ninth of Dhu al-Hijjah (the Day of Arafah), contending that, based on the unadmitted sighting, it was in reality the tenth of Dhu al-Hijjah (the Day of Sacrifice, Yawm al-Nahr) . It was even reported that some performed their sacrificial slaughter on that day . Ibn Rajab composed this treatise to clarify the jurisprudential rulings governing the situation, to settle public unrest, and to outline the consensus and differences among the Companions, Successors, and leading juristic imams .
Content and Legal Themes
The work centers on whether a day of doubt regarding the entry of Dhu al-Hijjah may be fasted, and how individuals should act when private sightings diverge from the official determination of the community and the judiciary . Ibn Rajab also discusses related matters concerning discrepancies in sighting the crescents of Ramadan and Shawwal .
A central legal principle highlighted in the treatise is the validity of the acts of worship performed by Muslims when an inadvertent error occurs in calculating the start or end of lunar months such as Dhu al-Hijjah and Ramadan . The author favors rulings that uphold the unity of the community, adhering to the collective practice and avoiding individualist divergence, discord, and fragmentation .
Title and Publication
Ibn Rajab did not assign a specific title to the treatise in the text itself . The Hanbali bibliographer Ibn Abd al-Hadi listed it in his biographical work al-Jawhar al-Munaddad under the title Qa'idah: Ghumm Hilal Dhi al-Hijjah (Rule: When the Crescent of Dhu al-Hijjah Is Obscured), drawn from its opening sentence . In manuscript collections, it has also been titled Risalah fi Ruyat Hilal Dhi al-Hijjah (Treatise on Sighting the Crescent of Dhu al-Hijjah) .
The text was edited and studied by Dr. Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Jibrin, who gave it the title Ahkam al-Ikhtilaf fi Ruyat Hilal Dhi al-Hijjah to reflect its core subject matter . This edition was published in Majallat al-Buhuth al-Islamiyyah (Issue 41, 1414–1415 AH) and has also been incorporated into published compilations of Ibn Rajab's collected treatises (Majmu' Rasa'il Ibn Rajab) .
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