In addition to the sawms that are ordered and recommended in Islam, there are also sawms that are prohibited or not welcomed in certain times and situations. Sawm on the thirtieth day (yawm al-shakk) of the month of Shaʿbān, when the month of Ramaḍān cannot be decreed to have started, is one of them. The Prophet mentioned that Allah allocated the hilāls for people to arrange the times and in principle, he wanted to start fasting with the sighting of the (...) moon, and to calculate the amount of the month in case of cloudy weather in order to avoid any doubt. Despite this, different narrations have emerged in the ḥadīth literature about fasting on the yawm al-shakk and this situation has even been reflected in the sectarian jurisprudence. As a result, three basic views and practices emerged during the time of ṣaḥabah, tābiʿūn and tebeʿu’t-tābiʿīn that considered it makruh to fast except for the usual fast that coincided with the day in question, that fasting could be kept, and that the decision of the administration should be taken into account in order to prevent possible conflicts. In this article, the riwāyahs about fasting in the yawm al-shakk pertaining to the Prophet, the ṣaḥābah, tābiʿīn and the later period are discussed and analyzed with their practical aspects, and finally, the views of the sect imams are also included. (shrink)

Fasting of women on the days of her menstruation period is an issue that takes place in current fiqh discussions. Some contemporary researchers say that there is no religious obstacle for women to fast during these times. Moreover, they state that there is no reason to interrupt fasting, on the contrary, claim obliged to fasting. Meanwhile in traditional fiqh, it is stated that is religiously forbidden for women to fast during this period, rather it is claimed that fasting in this (...) period is ḥaram. The evidence brought to the views of all the mujtahids, who expressed their opinions on this matter was a narration from ʿĀʾisha Bint Abī Bakr (d. 58/678), a wife of Prophet (p.b.u.h). When a woman asked her if she should have fulfilled her ṣalāt (prayer) later, which she could not perform while she was in menstruation period, she responded to her as “are you Ḥarūrī?” then explained the answer. In some variants of this narration, matter of fasting is included in the question or answer. In this article, the issue of women's fasting during menstruation is discussed from a perspective based on isnād-matn analysis in the context of this narration which is called the “Ḥarūrī Ḥadīth”. In the matn of 71 riwāya identified on this article, it has been determined that the issue of fasting was added to the matns narrated by Ma'mer bin Rās̲h̲id and to some other narrations which in their corroborative (mutābī) matns not includes fasting. In later times, the version of the text with the mention of fasting was accepted as the original and became the proof that fasting of the menstruating woman was forbidden by religion. Considering the hadiths, which do not include issue of fasting, it is seen that the woman tābiʿī (Successor of the Companions) named Muâze asked ʿĀʾisha what the sunnah was about menstruating woman’s ṣalāt. Because in that era a sect called K̲h̲ārid̲j̲ites had claimed that women had to fulfill the ṣalāt that they could not perform during their menstruation, later. There are also other narrations mention the fasting of the menstruating woman. All these narrations indicated that the Prophet did not forbid fasting when menstruating, on the contrary, he just pointed out that fasting was interrupted due to menstruation. As fasting is not a worship like ṣalāt from which the woman is exempted from, a woman may interrupt fasting but must unconditionally fulfill this worship later. Thus, the situation of a woman in such a situation is equaled to the sufferer and the travelers who have a break from fasting. It is stated in traditional fiqh that a menstruating woman will not have to perform ṣalāts later that she couldn't fulfill in time. The necessity of performing a worship must be determined by a clear order of the prophet. However, a clear order regarding the prohibition of fasting during menstruation was not sought. Consequently, it is seen that the narrations are more clear evidence of the absence of any prohibition than they reveal the prohibition of fasting. It has been emphasized in the narratives that it is permissible for a woman to postpone her fast, but she is absolutely obliged to compensate the fasts that she did not fulfill, and she is not exempt from fasting as she is exempt from ṣalāt. (shrink)

The imsāk time, which was declared by adding the tamkīn time to the time when the sun was 19 degrees below the horizon until 1982, was changed to -18 degrees as of 1983 with the new application of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, and the tamkīn practice was completely abolished. The change decision, which caused heated discussion and confusion in the public, caused some criticism and accusations to the Turkish Presidency of Religious Affairs. In particular, it is seen that criticism (...) focus on two issues: The first is whether the moment when the enlightenment of sun first appears or the moment when it spreads well will be taken as the basis for determining the al-fajr al-sādiq, which is the beginning time of fasting. The second is whether the altitude angle of the sun will be -19 degrees or -18 degrees in determining the al-fajr al-sādiq. According to the claimers, on both issues, Islamic scholars prefer the first view, while European Christian astronomy scholars prefer the second view. The Presidency of Religious Affairs, on the other hand, abandoned the view of Islamic scholars and adopted the view of Christians. This article deals with the examination, analysis and criticism of the criticism made by Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şimşirgil about the change in the beginning of the fast and also expressed by some calendar makers. The aim of the study is to determine whether the arguments put forward in the criticisms expressed by the claimants are correct. In other words, this study deals with the criticism of the criticisms directed at the change in the time of imsāk. In the study, whether the of the parties to the relevant decision of the Presidency of Religious Affairs and the evidence they put forward overlap with the information in the basic fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and astronomy works, based on text analysis, is discussed in a comparative way. There is no consensus among the scholars of fiqh and astronomy on the both issues according to the obtained results, and the evidence put forward for the criticism does not prove the claims. The research is important in terms of making a critical contribution to the current imsāk debates, which occupy a large part of the society, and placing the discussions on a scientific basis. (shrink)