Bulletin on Islam and Contemporary Issues
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IAIS MALAYSIA BULLETIN ON ISLAM AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES No. 28 Sept-Oct 2015 KDN no. PP 17302/02/2013 (032210) ISSN 2231-7627 FREE FOCUS: RELIGIOUS DUTIES IN ABNORMAL TIME ZONES Fasting during Ramadan is observed according to the lunar calendar. In most parts of the Muslim world, the duration of fasting days in Ramadan is generally between 14 and 16 hours. However, in the Northern Hemisphere, days are extremely long in summer and nights extremely short in winter. Midnight sun phenomenon Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Alaska (USA), St. Petersburg (photo credit: buzzle.com) (Russia) and northern Canada experience extreme variations in the length of days and nights in summer and winter. Regions to the north of the Arctic Circle experience what is known as the ‘midnight sun’ in summer. From June 12 to July 1 the sun stays up around the clock and does not set. In some parts of Norway and Sweden the sun never goes down for nearly two months in summer and there is broad daylight around the clock. In winter the Northern Hemisphere experiences what is known as dark ‘polar nights.’ From November 25 to January 21 the sun does not rise above the horizon. (More p. 3) Midnight sun in Sweden (photo credit: wikipedia) Ruling on Vaping Th e issue on ‘vaping’ or smoking e-cigarettes has recently attracted much debate in Malaysia. Youngsters are widely picking up this trend for two reasons: as a cheaper alternative to ‘smoking’ cigarettes (whose price has exorbitantly gone up), and as a means to quit smoking. In recent developments, the cabinet had come to a decision that there is no plan to make vaping illegal. Th e Ministry of Health however, did issue a statement that both cigarettes and vapes are enormously harmful as they contain nicotine—which is medically proven to lead to cancer. (More p. 5) SMIIC’s (Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries) Standards on Halal: A Milestone Towards Standardisation Th e rising demand for Halal foods and services has contributed to the mushrooming of Halal certifying bodies. Currently, there are four hundred (400) Halal certifying bodies rendering their services in Halal certifi cation landscape. Each of them would apply its own standards in the Halal certifi cation process. Despite the fact that they may share certain similarities in the standards, diff erences in certain critical areas such as acceptable method of stunning, mechanical slaughtering, or ethanol concentration still exist.1 Th is situation has created confusion in the market and led to abuse of Halal certifi cates. In some instances, Halal certifi cates were reported to be easily purchased and it has become a ‘Murky Business’.2 (More p. 6) In This Issue Connect With Us • Articles • Event Reports • Hikmah • Join our mailing list • Humour without Malice • Quotable Quote • Photos • Facebook O GOD: YOU are Peace, YOU are the source of Peace, Peace belongs to YOU. So welcome us (in the Hereafter) O LORD with the salutation of ‘Peace!’, and admit us into Paradise the Abode of Peace. Blessed and Exalted are YOU our LORD, Possessor of Majesty and Reverence. (Hadith from al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa’i) EDITORIAL Warm greetings! We have in this edition of the IAIS Bulletin a highly variegated selection of articles for your interest and enjoyment. Th e fi rst is my Focus article on “Religious Duties in Abnormal Time Zones”. How does a person living near the Arctic Circle manage (or even survive!) when fasting in Ramadan when daylight hours can reach 20 hours in summer time? From June 12 to July 1 each year the sun does not even set! I discuss some merits of the diff ering scholarly views in the light of the higher objectives of the Shari‘ah and the concept of taysir (facilitating ease). Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil addresses in his article “Ruling on Vaping”, a very topical and somewhat controversial subject. With phenomenal growth in this industry, ‘vaping’ was pronounced as Oxford Dictionary’s ‘Word of Th e Year’ for 2014. It was fi rst used however, in 1983 when Rob Stepney described a hypothetical inhaler device, noting - “if the new habit catches on, it would be known as vaping”. Given its potential for Professor Mohammad causing harm, the author has called for national and state fatwa councils to rule decisively on the matter. Hashim Kamali Apnizan Abdullah in her article, “SMIIC’s (Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries) standards on Halal: A Milestone Towards Standardisation” provides a clear exposition of the birth, role, output and challenges remaining for SMIIC in its eff orts towards providing clear, practical standards for development of the vibrant halal industry. Member countries are all encouraged to cooperate towards actualising such global halal standards. Ahmad Badri Abdullah in “Weighing the Benefi ts and Harm of Big Data from the Shari‘ah Outlook” says it is an important privacy requirement that a person may conceal certain information about himself from others. He cites Kamali who believes that ‘right to privacy’ in Islam includes privacy of personal correspondence. Badri suggested the adoption of suitable oversight legislation so that Muslim data brokers are governed by ethical principles underpinned by the maqasid al-Shari‘ah. All Muslims would aspire to having a better understanding of the Qur’an and good advice is provided in Abdul Karim Abdullah’s article, “Towards a Better Understanding of the Qur’an”. In “Th e Art of Shadow Play in the Islamic World”, Tengku Ahmad Hazri has analysed this traditional performing art form of the Malay world while noting its original embrace of Hindu- Buddhist cosmology, teachings and story-telling. Th e penetration of Islamic teachings in the archipelago resulted in its reinterpretation and changing people’s former beliefs in the way of “intercultural dialogue through art”. I would like to thank all the contributors and the Bulletin Editorial team for their continued support. ANNOUNCEMENTS • Call for papers for the ICR. We invite interested scholars and researchers to contribute to the IAIS refereed research journal, Islam and Civilisational Renewal. ICR carries full articles, and shorter viewpoints, signifi cant speeches, and book reviews. Please consult our Website, iais.org.my, for details. • Free online access for all issues of the ICR older than two years. In keeping with our policy of implementing open access, we are pleased to announce that all issues of the ICR older than two years are now available on our Website for free. Bulletin Editorial Team Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Daud Abdul-Fattah Batchelor, Abdul Karim Abdullah, Tengku Ahmad Hazri, Norliza Saleh Published by: International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia, Jalan Ilmu, Off Jalan Universiti, 59100 Kuala Lumpur | Tel: 03 - 7956 9188 | Fax: 03 - 7956 2188 | www.iais.org.my Printed by: Vinlin Press Sdn Bhd, No. 2, Jalan Meranti Permai 1, Meranti Permai Industrial Park, Batu 15, Jalan Puchong, Selangor Darul Ehsan | Tel: 03 - 8061 5533 | Fax: 03 - 8062 5533 2 Sept - Oct 2015 Sept - Oct 2015 3 FOCUS Religious Duties in Abnormal Time Zones cont’d from page 1 by Mohammad Hashim Kamali The extremely long days in summer and long nights in generally follow the Makkah and Madinah times for winter in the Arctic Circle raise questions about the timing prayer and fasting. of prayer and fasting. The traveller-historian Abu’l-Hasan There is a good deal of confusion about fasting al-Mas’udi (d. 345/957) and the astronomer Abu Rayhan times in many parts of northern Europe, mainly due to al-Biruni (d. 440/1059) have mentioned that days and absence of a consensus among scholars and jurists about nights in the regions located near the poles are unusually prayer and fasting times in the Northern Hemisphere. long. An eminent Turkish scholar Haji Khalifah (d. 1658 Muhammad Abduh (d. 1905) suggested that the times CE) raised the question about determining the timing of for prayer and fasting, which are stipulated in the Quran prayers and fasting in the regions near the poles. and the Prophet’s Sunnah based on the arrival of dawn, Since the early 1980s, massive numbers of Muslims, sunrise and sunset are applicable to regions that have mainly immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, have normal or moderate days and nights. He suggested that settled in northern Europe, and the number is rising. the prayer and fasting times in the Northern Hemisphere More than 42,000 Muslims are living in St Petersburg. should be calculated in accordance with the timing of Finland has a Muslim population of approximately regions which have normal or moderate days and nights. 60,000. In the Qur’an and Hadith, the times of prayer Whereas some Muslim jurists have suggested that and fasting are stipulated on the basis of such natural the Makkah and Madinah times for prayer and fasting signs as dawn, sunrise, sunset and the disappearance should be followed in the Northern Sphere, others are of of twilight. Since these signs are markedly different the view that the timings of the nearest regions should in the Northern Hemisphere in summer and winter, follow those with normal or moderate days and nights. Muslims living in the region are faced with a dilemma. Muhammad Abduh held that both opinions are valid In Makkah the variations in the duration of fasting days and either could be adopted and consistently observed. throughout the year are within 2 hours and 44 minutes. Abduh’s views have been endorsed by fatwa centre of In Oslo, there is a variation of 12 hours in the length Egypt, the Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah, as well as several of days in summer and winter.