I started thinking about the difference that existed in the Eid festivals of Kerala and the Island of Minicoy in 1960s. I belong to Minicoy Island in Lakshdeep. Before 1956 the only means of transport from Kerala to the Islands which lay about 200 miles away from the coast of Kerala was the sailing vessel and the voyages took more than a week! We knew very well that the Day did not change between the Islands and Kerala. They have the same Day.
Whenever we come to the mainland after an Eid in the Island we enquire about the Day on which they observed the Eid in Kerala. There was a difference. I used to wonder how there could be a difference in the Day of Eid in Kerala and Lakshdeep. The Prophet had forbidden the fat on the Day of Eid and if the Day differed people may fast on the two Days and the words of the Prophet would become meaningless! This was unbearable to me. But people told us that it was like that always. I was not satisfied with their answer.
The ship service, which began as a part of the development program of the Islands in 1956, brought the Islands more in touch with the mainland. The Islanders got the news of daily happenings of the mainland through telecommunication. They could talk to people in the mainland through telephone. They were no more cut off from the mainland even in the monsoon.
An unhappy incident that took place in 1965 made me worry about the difference of Eid of Kerala and the Islands. After the Eidul Fitre of that year, the Administrator of the Islands departed for the Islands in the ship, which sailed from Calicut after the Eid celebration. When he reached an island on the next day he was surprised to see that the boats from the Island did not come to the ship to receive him as usual. The Islanders
were celebrating their Eid after the fasting of Ramadan! How could they come to the ship? The Administrator was sorry; he did not know that there would be another Eid on that day because he left Calicut after the Eid celebration! Communities observe their festivals on the same Day everywhere.
He ordered the captain to sail the ship to Minicoy. He was running out of his time. The ship had to return according to the schedule to Calicut and then to Bombay for dry-docking for the annual maintenance work of the ship. Late in the evening when the ship reached Minicoy, he learnt through walkie-talkie that the people of Minicoy were preparing for their Eid on the morrow. People would not work and he would not be able to return to the mainland in time. So he summoned the 9 Mooppans of Minicoy to the ship to discuss and take a decision about the unloading of the cargo, which he has brought for the Islanders.
At first the Mooppans were reluctant, but after the Administrator’s request to unload their own requirements which he had brought, the Moopan of the Wahabi movement of Minicoy agreed to unload the cargo after the Eid prayer which will be over by 9AM. They returned to the Island after the discussion late at night.
Some people of the other group did not like the decision of the Wahabi Moopan even though all Moopans had agreed in front of the Administrator. They thought that the Wahabis were going out of the way in everything. They wanted to teach them a lesson. They planned and lodged a treacherous complaint with the police against the Khatheeb of the Wahabi mosque and he was summoned to the police station. When the police came to take him the Khatheeb was on the pulpit delivering the sermon of the Eid prayer. The police had to wait till he came out after the prayer.
The people of Minicoy have a custom of a joint feasting after the Eid prayer. The nine villages conduct the feast separately. The men bring the provisions and the women prepare the food. On this happy occasion when they were preparing to eat, the police took away their Khatheeb to the police station. Some hefty followed them and waited outside the police station.
During the questioning the police behaved rudely and beat the Katheeb. The companions waiting outside could not bear. One of them pulled the gun of the watchman at the door. In his rage he dashed the gun on his knee and broke it into pieces. In the pandemonium that followed the Khatheeb found his way to the crowd in his village. They have not even washed their hands after the feast when they heard the unhappy news at the police station. In a moment all were in front of Minicoy police station, which had only five constables.
At first the people of the Wahabi group only were standing at the police station. In half an hour the rumor that the police has beaten the Khatheeb spread throughout the Island and people from all villages joined the group standing there. Now they were at a common cause. They forgot all their differences for the time being. They were sanctifying Allah chanting the ‘thakbeer’ of the Eid day celebration!
The Administrator was now in the Dak Bungalow situated near the police station. The Islanders surrounded the Dak Bungalow. Adminstrator Mr.Ramunni had served in the Nagaland. He knew the psychology of the Islanders who were similar to them. He knew very well that the Islanders were a harmless people who did not even harpoon their fishes. Ramunni wanted to come out and calm the crowd. But the officials prevented him
lest some untoward incident may happen. The frightened mainland officials around him thought that the Islanders would attack and finish them. What could five policemen do with the crowd? One gun was broken into pieces in front of them. They judged the Islanders with their experience of the mainland Maplas.
The Islanders did not retreat even for their food or prayers. They performed the prayers and chanted the Thakbeer in the open air in front of the Bungalow. The mainland officials grew more and more panicky. In the meantime the Administrator managed to send a telegram to mainland requesting immediate assistance. Within eight hours a warship fully equipped with armed forces to deal with the situation reached the Island.
At the sight of the warship the crowd dispersed and the people went to their houses. The place became calm and quiet. The armed troupes with all paraphernalia and their commanders in full-fledged suits landed the shore in their boats. They marched towards the Dak Bungalow and met the Administrator. They felt they were fooled. The place looked as if nothing had happened. Even the weak fencing of the Dak was intact. The angry commander enquired why they were called for. Poor Administrator had to arrest some 300 Islanders to justify his position. A case was filled against them.
The root cause of this notorious incident is the indefinite nature of the Eid festivals of Islam. Every thing in Islam is in perfect order. I had to spend a lot of time to study and find out whether the perfect Islamic Shariah could contain such an indefinite ritual, which could create confusion and disharmony among the people. Are the festivals celebrated without fixing the date in advance? Are the festivals of Islam to be celebrated in the way we do it now? I wrote letters to the world Ulema and organizations. I examined many books and Fatwas on the subject. I got clear evidence that the Islamic Shariah does not forbid calculating and fixing the Day of Eid in advance.
The Islamic dates are definite and the calendars could be drawn thousands of years in advance by using the lunar calculations. The dates and days of Eid could be fixed well in advance and the concerned authorities could communicate the message all over the world at the appropriate time. Islam allows calculating and fixing the prayer times indicated by the Sun’s angle and making calendars in advance. We use the watches made with calculations to know it. Then how could Islam forbid the use of calendars, which too are made with calculations of the Moon’s angles that show us the dates? The Qur’aan says: “The Sun and Moon are with calculations” (55:5). If the calculations of the Sun are allowed the calculations of the Moon also should be allowed. I request the Ulema to issue a Fatwa on the subject without further delay.
Islam lays great stress in observing punctuality. The prayers have to be performed at stipulated times. Jumu’a has to be performed on Friday at noon. It cannot be postponed to another day or time. The canonical prayers cannot be postponed. Thus Islam lays great stress on keeping time, days and dates. The compulsory fasting has to commence on the first on Ramadan. The Eiidul Fitre has to celebrated on the first of Shawwal. The Day of Arafat must be observed on the 9th and the Youmunnahar or Eidul Adha on the 10th of Zul Hajj. New year day is on the first and the Ashura on the 10th of Muharram. From this list of religious days we can see how important the dates are in the Islamic calendar.