Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Brother Burhan, AssalaamOAlaikum

Thank you for answering my questions. I have another question.

The Bohras have fixed dates for Ramazaan, Moharrum, both the Eids,Haj, etc. What do the Quran and the Sunnah teach us regarding this?When my non-bohra freinds ask me why our dates are fixed, I don't have an answer. Secondly, I was told by a Bohri acquaintence who has performed Haj that the Bohra guide or the bhai saheb tell the bohras to perform the acts of haj, like stoning the shaitans, secretly so that the authorities do not find out that someone is performing haj on a different day. This tells me that bohras are doing something wrong. I do not know if this narration to me by someone I know is true.

regards,

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Answer:

Fixed dates for Ramadhan

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your comment: The Bohras have fixed dates for Ramazaan, Moharrum, both the Eids, Haj, etc. What do the Quran and the Sunnah teach us regarding this?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verse 5:It is He (Allah) Who gave the sun his brightness and the moon her light, and ordained the moon's phases precisely so that you may calculate years and dates from this.

In Islam, the sun is used to determine the times of the obligatory prayers, and the moon is used to determine the months and years.

In an authentic narration, the Prophet (saws) mentioned Ramadan, and said, "Do not fast unless you see the crescent of Ramadan and do not give up fasting till you see the crescent of Shawwal, but if the sky is overcast, then act on estimation and count Sha'baan as 30 days.”

In light of the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet (saws), the muslims at the time of the Prophet (saws) always determined the number of days of every Islamic month, including the days of Ramadan, Hajj, Eids, etc. through the sighting of the moon. That Sunnah of the Prophet (saws) is still followed today by the majority of muslims who follow the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet (saws), and even today the Islamic dates are determined by the sighting of the moon by the believers worldwide.

The Dawoodi Bohra sect of Islam claim to see the so-called “haqiqi” moon to determine the number of days according to their published calendar. They must be able to see their ‘haqiqi’ moon months in advance, as their Islamic calendar is published at the beginning of every Islamic year!

What we do know from the Prophet’s (saws) authentic traditions that he (saws) certainly determined the days of every month through the sighting of the crescent of the ‘actual’ moon. Thus the people who follow the Prophet (saws), even today, and until the end of time, Insha Allah, will calculate the days of the months by the same method as used by the Prophet of Allah (saws).

The ‘haqiqi’ moon must have appeared after the Prophet’s(saws) death, because he(saws) never saw or mentioned anything regarding the ‘haqiqi’ moon! That is because even the Bohra scholars will agree that the Prophet(saws), during his life, always started the Islamic months by sighting the actual moon.

Your comment: When my non-bohra freinds ask me why our dates are fixed, I don't have an answer.

Allah has commanded the muslims who truly believe in Allah and the Last Day to always speak the Truth. And the truth is that the way the Bohras determine the days of the month without the sighting of the moon is an innovation and against the tradition of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Any changes in the way or tradition of the Prophet(saws) is known as a ‘bid’a’ or innovation.

It has been reported by Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (r.a.) that the Prophet (saws) said: If anyone introduces an innovation (in religion), he will be responsible for it. If anyone introduces an innovation or gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (in religion), he is cursed by Allah, by His angels, and by all the people.

It has been reported by Jabir ibn Abdullah (r.a.) in another authentic narration that the Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a sermon: “The best speech is that which is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran; and the best guidance is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the innovations, and every innovation is an error.”

Thus, whoever wants to follow the tradition and way of the Prophet (saws), must do as he(saws) did, and start their reckoning of the Islamic months, by sighting the moon. Those who do not want to follow the tradition of the Prophet (saws), but would rather ‘innovate’ their own ways in the deen, are the ones who determine their months through the ‘haqiqi’ moon!

Your comment: I was told by a Bohri acquaintence who has performed Haj that the Bohra guide or the bhai saheb tell the bohras to perform the acts of haj, like stoning the shaitans, secretly so that the authorities do not find out that someone is performing haj on a different day. This tells me that bohras are doing something wrong. I do not know if this narration to me by someone I know is true.

Some of us, before Allah guided us to Islam through the understanding of the Quran, have experienced this unbelievable phenomena of doing Hajj with the Bohras firsthand. Its unbelievable, but its absolutely true that the Bohra guides and bhai sahibs give detailed advice to the Bohra pilgrims to perform the sacred rites of Hajj secretly so that the other muslims and the Hajj authorities cannot determine that the Bohras are actually performing the Hajj on a different day and in a different way!

Little do they realize, that even though they might be able to fool the authorities and the other muslims, they can never deceive Allah Subhanah, Who is watching over everything!

There are several things that the Bohras are guided to do in the Sacred House of Allah:

They are advised to remove the Bohra ‘topi’ and don the other available ‘topis’ so that they will not be recognized.

If the Bohras perform the Hajj one day earlier than the muslim, the next day they are advised to stay just outside the boundary of the plains of Arafat; so that the authorities are deceived into believing that the Bohras are indeed performing Hajj on the same day as the muslims.

The Bohras are not allowed to pray with the general ‘imaamat’ in the Sacred Mosque! For the ‘fajr’, ‘zuhr’ and ‘asr’ prayers, they are advised to leave the Sacred Mosque just before the muslims start their congregation, and enter again and pray their obligatory prayers.

Because the time of Magrib prayers is very short, the Bohras are allowed to stay in the Sacred Mosque and they are specifically advised to gather near a pre-arranged place in the mosque. When all the muslims are praying in congregation, the Bohras are advised to just act and move along with the muslims in congregation!!!! They are told not to pray anything, just act and duplicate the rites of standing, bowing down, sajdah, and sitting in the prayers, along with the muslims. As soon as the prayers are over, the Bohra ‘imam’ will do another ‘imamat’ prayers for the Bohras; and here again they are advised not to stand in one line, but away from each other so that the muslims can be deceived into believing that the Bohras are offering their Sunnah prayers! Can you even imagine that these ‘theatrics’ are done in the very House of Allah Subhanah!!!

The Bohra pilgrims are specifically advised never to perform the ‘tasleem’ or fold their hands (namaste) in front of the Bhai saheb in public during their full stay in Saudia. Even at times when the Syedna is in audience, they are specifically told not to do the regular ‘tasleem’, ‘namaste’ and sajdah rites in public in Saudia!

The Bohra pilgrims are given a complete briefing on their arrival in detail on the dos and donts, and there several other small and minute details for which they are told to act to deceive the non-Bohras! And as with everything else, the Bohra pilgrims just obey the commands and do as they are told, without even so much as asking the question ‘why do we have to act in front of the Sacred House of Allah if we are indeed on the right path?’

They might be able to deceive all the muslims, even the authorities, and probably even themselves; but they will never be able to deceive Allah. He is indeed the All Knowing, All Wise, and nothing, absolutely nothing is hidden from Him! Its only when one does something wrong, does he have the tendency to lie; and their own actions prove that they are doing something wrong in Islam.

May Allah save our brethren who perform these acts of hypocrisy in the very House of Allah! May Allah guide our brothers to read and understand the Holy Quran, so that they can save themselves from these heinous sin. May Allah help them, guide them, and give them the wisdom and the courage to recognize the Truth from the falsehood.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan