Siddique-Katiya

How to start a Nonprofit Organization in Canada and Province of Quebec

2013-01-06T08:19:00.003-08:00

How to start a Nonprofit Organization in Canada and Province of Quebec

First you name your organization appropriately. a non-profit organization ("NFO") can be incorporated in Quebec under Quebec Companies Act. In Quebec NFO may be created by written or unwritten contract as a unincorporated NFO association. An association has no juridical personality and is not required to register with REQ. In most cases an association may not able to open bank account or register for payroll etc. or enter into lease agreement as a unincorporated association unless it register with the REQ

Incorporate a Non-Profit Legal Person or Organization in Quebec

Registering your Enterprise in Quebec

Also a NFO may be incorporated Federally under new "The Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act" (NFP Act), the old legislation, the Canada Corporations Act, Part II (CCA, Part II) will be repealed and All corporations incorporated under the old legislation must transition to new NFP Act by October 17, 2014. Those NFO incorporated under the old Act must request for a certificate of continuation, failure to do so, such NFO will be automatically dissolved.

Create / Maintain a Not-for-profit Corporation Federally

All about incorporation - What, Who, Why and How

For start up NFO whose has no immediate plan to acquire immovable properties (building or land) then we suggest register the organization as an (unincorporated) association because it is cheaper and fewer filing requirements.

If you decide to incorporate, next you draft the purpose or objectives of your organization very carefully. For example if you are establishing a place of worship (Musallah or Mosque), the objectives must be focusto the organization principle responsibilities such as administer and manage a place of worship or teach Islam, or Arabic to children under 15 after school. Avoid using superficial objectives which the organization normally do not or will not do, such as social and cultural activities, sport or helping immigrant,refugees, poor or needy. Adding such statements will jeopardize your chance to register as a charity. Please consult an expert when you are drafting your organization objectives.

The administrators or directors must review all advertising material, flyers and web pages before publishing to ensure the no statements are made which contradict the stated objectives of the organization.

After registration or incorporating, the organization must develop its by-laws on a priority basis and it must contain at least the following

Constitutions or by-laws

the organization's name and its legal statue
the organization's purposes (also referred to as “objects”);
a provision stating that the organization will be operated without purpose of gain for its members, and that any profits or other assets of the organization will be used solely to promote its objectives;
the structure of the organization's governing body example board of directors, administrators members – conditions to became member
Rights and responsibilities of the board of directors, officers and members
a provision that explains how the organization will replace its directors (for example, annual election by members, appointment by existing directors, etc.);
a provision to transfer reaming assets in case of dissolution
the effective date of the constitution; and
the signatures of member of authorized body
others, restriction on signing of employment contract, borrowing authority etc.

Under Federal NFP Act, where the corporation’s by-laws are silent, it provides mandatory and default Rules, at minimum, a Federally incorporated must have the following two by-laws provisions (1) Conditions of membership and (2) Notice of meeting to members entitled to vote at the meeting. The corporation has the option of overriding many of these rules by setting out its own rules in the by-laws or, if it so chooses, in the articles.

Model By-Laws

Nonprofit organization and Registered Charity in Canada

2013-01-05T18:21:00.000-08:00

Nonprofit organization and Registered Charity in Canada

Nonprofit organization generally refers to an organization that uses its accumulated surplus or excess funds for its self-preservation, expansion, or plans to achieve its stated objectives rather than to distribute them as profit or dividends to its members

Generally Nonprofit organizations are exempted from income taxes but are not necessarily exempted from other taxes such as consumption (GST/PST) and properties taxes

In Canada or elsewhere, Nonprofit organization are two kinds Charitable or Non-Charitable

A charitable organization centers on generous giving (philanthropic) to help poor and needy, educational, religious, or other activities serving the public interest or common good. Examples churches, mosques, soup kitchen, food banks, some university and schools

Some example of non-charitable organization are municipalities, Federal and provincial crown corporations, professional associations, trade unions etc.

A Charity in Canada may apply for registered status with the Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency. There are three types of registered charities - charitable organization; public foundation, or private foundation.

Types of registered charities (designations)

Advantages of Charity Registration

The main advantages of being a registered charity are in Canada:

Registered charity are allowed to issue official donation receipts for gifts it receives; and donor can used it to reduce their income tax payable
In most situations, registered charities can claim a partial rebate (50%) for the GST/PST/HST they paid.
Registered charities are eligible to receive or give gifts to other registered charities

In Canada a Nonprofit organization generally cannot register for consumption taxes GST/PST/HS and cannot claim input tax credits, However, a registered charity can apply for GST/PST/HST rebate usually 50% of amount paid.

In Canada, a registered charity must be resident in Canada and there are four seprate categories of charity:

Relief of poverty

Examples: operating a food bank, providing non-profit residential accommodation for persons of low income; providing clothing, and other basic amenities to persons of low income; providing the necessities of life to victims of disasters or sudden catastrophes.

Advancement of education

Examples: establishing and operating schools; providing scholarships, bursaries, and prizes for scholastic achievement; childbirth education classes that focus on preparation for parenting and nutrition; increasing the public's appreciation of Aboriginal culture; and doing research in a recognized field of knowledge and making the results available to the public.

Advancement of religion

Examples: establishing and maintaining buildings for religious worship and other religious use; organizing and providing religious instruction; carrying out pastoral and missionary work.

certain other purposes that benefit the community in a way the courts have said is charitable.

Examples: relieving a condition or disability associated with old age; providing facilities for the care and rehabilitation of the elderly; preventing and relieving sickness and disability, providing certain public amenities to benefit the community;
providing counseling services for people in distress; operating an shelter
operating a volunteer fire department.

In addition a charity must meet the public benefit test

it demonstrate that it provides a measurable benefit to the public; as a whole, or a significant section of it.
The beneficiaries cannot be a restricted group or one where members share a private connection.
An organization that wants to limit its beneficiaries unreasonably, or offer an unreasonable benefit to a group or individual, will not qualify for registration.

Application Process:

To qualify for a charity status, an organization must fill out Form T2050 and show in its application that it devotes all of its resources (funds, personnel, and property) to charitable activities that directly further its charitable purposes. It should explain, in detail, the specific activities it will undertake to achieve each of the purposes stated in its governing document (letter of patent, constitution or bylaws, trust document, or other establishing documents).

Application review process

Charities Registration (Security Information) Act, under Part 6 of The Anti-terrorism Act, re-defined the role and importance of protecting the integrity of Canada's registration system for charities in terms of Canada's anti-terrorism objectives to prevent terrorist financing through front organizations that have, or claim to have, charitable goals.

The legislation has been specifically designed to protect the use of very sensitive information that may reveal an organization's ties to terrorist groups. This allows the Charities Directorate to make proper use of all information relevant to deciding whether an organization should be registered as a charity under the Income Tax Act.

If there are a reasonable grounds to believe, based on criminal and security intelligence reports, either that an organization makes its resources available, directly or indirectly to a terrorist group that is a listed entity under the Criminal Code, or to any other organization engaged in terrorist activities or in activities that support terrorist activities.

Charities Registration (Security Information) Act

A charity's stated objectives must be set out clearly in its governing document such as letter of patent or bylaws. Any stated objectives described which are not recognize by the common law as charitable is not eligible for registration.

When stating the formal objective(s) or purpose(s), an organization must keep in mind a number of important factors:

The stated objectives must be precise and clear and it must relates to the organization's current goals that must be achievable. Avoid using stated objectives which are wishful list of some where the organization has presently no resources or experience to achieve such objectives.

see example Model objects

What is a governing document?

A registered charity need not be incorporated, however, if a charity intent to borrow money, will acquire a immovable property (ensuring the continuity of the organization while the membership changes) or wish to limit any liabilities of its membership, it is advantages in most cases mandatory to incorporate the organization

Incorporation documents.

See next article How to start a Nonprofit Organization in Province of Quebec

Memoni Language

2011-09-10T18:18:00.000-07:00

Memoni is a unwritten language which is spoken by (in its different versions) by at least 2 to 5 million people. Technically the Memoni is a language of Memons who are a minor linguistics group, in subcontinent that are identified as mainstream Sunni Muslims, predominately follow Hanfi school of jurisprudence and their ancestry can be traced back to 15th century Sindh, Indus valley region in a province of present day Pakistan. There are many other group such as some Ismaili (Aga Kahni) and Khoja, branch of Shi'a Islam, who also speak the similar language which is identify as kutchi language. There is quite possible familiar version of Memoni may be spoken by some non-Muslim such as Hindu and Jains.

There is no doubt that the Memoni is originated from Sindhi language. As Memons began to migrated to the neighbouring regions Kutch, Khatiwar and Gujrat around 15th Century A.D., their language evolved into a mixture of Sindhi and Khojki, a dialect of Gujarati spoken in Kutch. Memoni in sound (such as stress and intonation) is very much like that of Sindhi, but the present day's vocabulary is closer to that of Gujarati and Urdu. Meantime the Sindhi language also went through changes and most likely influenced by the Punjabi and Hindi (Rajasthani) languages. This is why there are significant difference in Memoni and Sindhi. The 17th century A.D. and onward, the Memons become very successful Muslim business community in Indian subcontinent and beyond. They used excessively the Guajarati language in their written and oral communication.

Until 1970’s Memons businesses in Pakistan kept their books, records and business documents in Guajarati. Toward the end of 20th century Memoni further underwent some changes in Pakistan and elsewhere due to Urdu and English influences. Towards the end of 20th century, the Urdu has been widely accepted and used as a Islamic language by the Muslims in the Indian subcontinent and eventually the English will be replaced by either Gujarati or Urdu.

Memoni is falling into disuse and the younger generation is unlikely to learn it as their mother tongue for various reasons:

Non-existence of language learning tools especially disappearance of Gujarati in Pakistan
Many second generation parents do not know their mother tongue themselves
Development of inferiority complex about their heritage by many Memons
Fear of being discriminated or being ridiculed by some Urdu speaking

It is generally recognized that the Memoni language is originate from an ancient Sindhi which is belongs to an Indo-Iranian (North-Western Zone) family of languages. Like vast majority of the languages spoken in subcontinent their grammar, sentence structure and syntax are very identical.

Some of the language characteristics as follow.

Like many Indian languages, Memoni nouns are either masculine or feminine and they could have singular and plural forms. The Memons borrow vast majorities of the nouns from Hindustani (mixture of Urdu & Hindi) languages. Like English, the nouns often come after a determiner ( a, this, my etc.) and the must agree to direct object (noun).

The pronouns are small words which substitute nouns, he, you, ours, themselves, some, each. In Memoni the pronouns are divided into fewer categories than English. Unlike in English, the 2nd person singular "You" is segregated a polite form use for a respect generally for a stranger, elderly and well respected persons including parent and relatives and the second is informal form use among the friends, parent and elderly relatives addressing to younger family members etc. Furthermore, the third person singular (he, she, it) and plural (they) including demonstrative pronouns (this these, those) are divided into two category one for near object and person and second for far object and person. Furthermore there are no significant difference between the object ,possessive and reflexive pronouns. In addition these pronouns are further conjugated for masculine and feminine .

Unlike English, the Memoni the proposition is generally comes after a noun or a verb. The Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in a sentence, like English, the position of Memoni adjectives nearly always appear immediately before the noun that they modify. but in noun phrase they usually after the noun that they modify. Articles, determiners, and quantifiers are those little words that precede and modify nouns, Determiners are used in front of nouns to indicate whether you are referring to something specific or something of a particular type. When referring to a quantity of something without being precise, use a quantifier. Quantifiers are normally followed by of.. ''a" is the only article in Memoni akro (one or "a" masculine) and akri (one or "a" feminine) there is no equlent for "The" or "an"

Verbs carry the idea of being or action in the sentence, In a Memoni sentence, a verb generally appears at the end of the sentence. Memoni verb may vary (inflected) in form, (there are very few form) according to many factors, including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. It also agree with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments (subject, object, etc.).
for further reading
Memoni Language Project Memon language wikipedia

Zakāh (Zakāt) poor dues

2011-09-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

Zakāh Zakāt or poor dues "alms giving", one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the giving of a small percentage of one's possessions (surplus wealth) to charity generally to poor and needy Muslims individual. It is often compared to the system of tithing and alms, but it serves principally as the welfare contribution to poor and needy Muslims, although others may have a rightful share. It is the duty of an Islamic community not just to pay and collect zakat but to distribute it fairly as well.

Zakat is sometimes refers as sadaqah - plural, sadaqat. Generally the Sharing of wealth is called zakat whereas the sadqat could be sharing of wealth as well sharing of happiness among God's creation such as saying kind words or smile at someone or take care of animals or environments etc.

Zakat or sadqah is worship in Islam a means of spiritual purification. It is not a burden nor it replace the any taxation system but serves as socio-financial system of Islam by re-distributing the wealth among poor and needy.

There is no disagreement among Muslims about the obligatory nature of zakat throughout the Islamic history, denying Zakat equals denying the Islamic faith. The Muslim jurists differ on many minor details of zakat, each has his own opinion and arguments. These difference of opinion may include rate, the exemptions, the kinds of wealth that are zakatable for example, some scholars consider the wealth of children and insane individuals zakatable, others don't. Some scholars consider all agricultural products zakatable, others restrict zakat to specific kinds only. Some consider debts zakatable others don't. Similar differences exist for business assets and women's jewellery. Some require certain minimum nisab (threshold) for zakatability, some don't. etc. The minor differences also exist about the disbursement of zakat.

There is an total agreement among Muslim jurists that zakat is obligatory on the Muslim who has reached puberty, who is sane, who is free, and who owns the minimum assigned amount , nisab. But disagree on whether it is compulsory on the funds (liquid possessions) of the child and the insane individual. Muslims jurists have agreed that zakat is obligatory on Muslims only and is not obliged from non-Muslims.

The Qur'an does not provide the definition of zakatable wealth nor does it provide the required percentages in zakat. It is left to Sunnah to give, by example or by directives. It must be realized, however, that the Qur'an mentions a few kinds of zakatable possessions (assets), such as gold and silver, crops and fruits, earnings of trade and other business enterprises and what is drawn from beneath the earth (natural resources).

Muslims fulfill this religious obligation by giving a fixed percentage of their surplus wealth. Zakat has been paired with such a high sense of righteousness that it is often placed on the same level of importance as offering Salat. Muslims see this process also as a way of purifying themselves from their greed and selfishness and also safeguarding future loss. In addition, Zakat purifies the person who receives it because it saves him from the humiliation of begging and prevents him from envying the rich. Because it holds such a high level of importance the "punishment" for not paying when able is very severe declared by the Al-Quran.

There are two categories of charities in Islam - obligatory and voluntary

Obligatory

Almsgiving on possessions - Zakah

Almsgiving on self Sadaqatul fitr (fast-breaking zakah)

Almsginvg on produce on land 'Ushr land tax

Almsgiving on animal

Voluntary

Donation to build Mosques and Schools

Helping Non-Muslim etc

Possessions (assets) that are zakatable

Zakat on gold, silver currency and jewellery

Zakat on cash or its equivalent such as bonds, shares of joint companies etc.

Zakah on rented buildings, plants (factory), and fixed capital

Zakah on commercial assets such as inventories, work in process etc.

Zakah on livestock

Zakah on agriculture

Zakah on honey and animal products

Zakah on mining and fishing

Minimums and amounts

Most Muslims pay 2.5% of their zaktable possession held for a full lunar year, 5% or 10% of certain type of harvests depending on irrigation. Exempt from Zakat are a person's house and personal transportation.

Zakat is not mandatory on harvest if the total did not reach the minimum limit (nisāb) of about 653 kilograms of crops, nor on gold amounts if the owner has less than 85 grams of gold or less than 595 grams of silver.

Who is entitled to receive Zakat

Eight catergory of individual may received the zakat, Noble Quran (9:60)

1. A needy - Fuqara'

2. Extreme poor Muslim - Al-Masakin

3. Those employed to collect - Aamileen

4. Those whose hearts are to be won - Muallafatul Quloob

5. To free the captives - Ar-Riqaab

6. Those in debt - Al Ghaarimeen

7. In the way of Allah - Fi Sabeelillah

8. Wayfarer - Ibnus-Sabeel

As a general rule, the recipient must be a Muslim living individual who does not possess wealth equal or an excess of a prescribed threshold amount Nisaab
for further reading
Qibla Sunnipath

Explanation of Muslims Prayer Timing

2011-09-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Every Muslim above the age of puberty is commanded to perform prescribed five times daily prayers (salaat) within the prescribed time, (waqt) Al-Isrâ 17:78; Hûd 11:114; TâHâ 20:130, which are determined using the position of the sun.

The time of the first Dawn-prayer Fajr begins when the morning light appears and lasts just before the sunrise. The second Mid-day prayer Dhuhr begins when the sun appears the highest in the sky and begins to decline Zawal , this is the approximate halfway between sunrise and sunset, the Dhuhr lasts when the beginning of the third afternoon-prayer Asr begins when the shadow of an object reaches certain length ratio in the afternoon. The ‘Asr lasts prior to local sunset which the beginning of the fourth prayer Magrib when the sun is fully set and lasts until the beginning of the fifth and final Night-prayer ‘Isha when the western sky begins to darken. The ‘Isha lasts until the beginning of first Dawn-prayerFajr.

Nowadays hardly any Muslim observes the sky or the sun to determining the prayers timing, entirely all urbanized as well Muslims living in rural areas rely on pre-determine prayer tables prepared with the help of computer programs simply requiring the coordination (latitude and longitude) of a location. The times computed by these programs are considered accurate to ±2 minutes in most cases, relative to various acceptable criteria.

The two important prayers, dawn Fajr and night ‘Isha, require the measuring of certain amount (illumination) twilight (Shafaqe) in the sky. The twilight is caused by the scattering of sunlight by the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere when the Sun’s angle is below the horizon. Nowadays, according to many experienced observers, these phenomena (i.e. nautical twilight) is difficult to identify, quantify, and it may fluctuates through the seasons, latitudes and atmospheric conditions, furthermore, lately the environmental and artificial light pollution is a major problem. According to U.S. Naval Observatory when the center of the Sun is geometrically approximately 18° (astronomical twilight -, at sea level), at this point, the sun does not contribute any illumination to the sky, and twilight is so weak that it hardly noticeable. Under a clear sky, at 18° or higher generally the sky is completely dark conversely the 18° or less, (i.e. 15°) there is some amount of light in the sky. This is why the leading Islamic organizations endorse the beginning and end of the night (‘Isha) prayer at 18° or higher.

In summer, at latitudes higher than 48.5° (extreme northern regions), the sun does not go 18° below the horizon and at the latitudes higher than 51.5°, the sun does not go 15° below the horizon, for example Manchester England and Edmonton Canada, in summer, the sun hardly goes beyond 13.5° below the horizon thus full darkness does not occur, in such cases several alternative methods are suggested by the leading scholars such as start of ‘Isha time 90 minute after the sunset and beginning of Fajr 90 minutes before the sunrise or other acceptable methods.

1. Fajr Dawn-Prayer
Fajr begins at subh saadiq - true dawn or morning twilight when the morning light appears across the full width of the sky. All Islamic scholars agree on this point.Signs: At pre-dawn, some whiteness appears at the edge of the eastern horizon like a column, this is called (subh kaadhib -false dawn). This whiteness fades after some time and then comes another whiteness (lateral whiteness; second dawn)spreads towards the right and left (full width) through the edge of the eastern sky. This is called subh saadiq (also known as true or second or morning twilight) at this very time the Fajr begins.

Globally the beginning time of Fajr is pre-determine by the leading Islamic organizations such as Egyptian General Authority of Survey 19.5°, Umm Al-Qura of Saudi Arabia 19°, University Of Islamic Sciences, Karachi and Muslim World League 18° and several Islamic organizations in the west use 15°. The higher number (19.5°) correspondences early Fajr and the lower number correspondences to late Fajr (15°). It seems that 19.5°- 18° fixed by the reputable Islamic organizations are more concern with the importance of end of ‘Isha time where such time also coincides with ending of the dawn-to-sunset Islamic fasting period (Sahur – sehri – imsak) especially during the month of Ramadhan. The fasting commences at Subah Sadiq (true dawn) this is also the commencing time for Fajr Salat.

The experts differ as far as pre-determination of subh saadiq - true dawn. The majority opinion is about 18° but there is a minority opinion that calls for 15°. Also several recent studies worth noting, reveal that the phenomenon of subh-Sadiq could vary in degrees at different latitudes and different seasons throughout the year, the new study suggest that, it is incorrect to calculate Fajr assuming any fixed degree (whether 18° or 15°) or any fixed minutes (like 90 minutes or 75 minutes). A possible explanation is given that because the sun apparently travels along specific latitude on a specific date between the tropic of cancer and tropic of Capricorn, Muslims in various locations around the globe have made observations about Subh-Sadiq and the results are anywhere between 9° to 18°. A prayer table, for the City of Montreal, prepared by Dr. Khalid Shaukat of moonsighting.com revealed that the time for subh-sadiq fluctuates slightly throughout the year, occurring as low as 14.54° in summer and as high as 17.20° in winter.

Based on conflicting estimation,  It is our view that fixing late Fajr time such as 15° could be problematic for those who intended to fast during the day and conversely saying Fajr salaat too early (e.g. 19.5° or 18°) could be equally unsafe. Therefore, 17.5 to 18° is good approximate for sahur (imsak) – extreme limit of a pre-dawn meal if one is fasting during the day - 15° is good approximate for the start of Fajr.  Those who use prayer tables using 18° for Fajr, it is recommended to wait for 10 to 20 minutes before starting Fajr salaat.   Equally, complete sahur (imsak) (pre-dawn meal) 10 to 20 minutes Fajr time  when using 15° table.   The delay between the end of ‘Isha (imsak or sahur)  and beginning of Fajr ( approximately 10 minutes)  is also supported by a hadith by Zayd ibn Thabit ⁽³⁾ .  This delay is the only recommendation as a precaution if one is sure of the time of Subah sadiq occurs, one can stop eating and perform Fajr salat thereafter.   The prayer table published by ‘Aisha Charity , for the city of Montreal Canada, uses 17.5° for Imsak of the end of Sahur and uses 15° for beginning of Fajr.  Fajr ends when the sun begins to rise. ^{(1 + 2)}

2. Dhuhr (Zhur - Mid-Day Prayer)

Dhuhr begins at Zawal when the sun crosses the meridian (when the sun reaches its highest point - nearest zenith) and begins to decline.   As performing prayer is not desirable according to most leading jurists ₍₁₎ when the sun is at its highest.   We recommend that stop performing salaat just prior to ten minutes from the time shown in this table, which adds 6 minutes to the local midpoint as the margin of safety.  Dhuhr ends when ‘Asr salaat begins

3. ‘Asr  (Afternoon-Prayer)

The beginning time of ‘Asr having two acceptable juristic opinions

(1) When the shadow of an object becomes its length (plus the length of its shadow at the mid-point, shadow ratio: 1

(2) When the shadow of an object becomes twice its length plus the addition to the shadow at the mid-point, shadow ratio: 2

‘Asr ends as the sun begins to set, but to say the ‘Asr prayer is undesirable (makrooh) when the sun has gone down much and the sunlight has become weak and pale.  ⁽²⁾

4.  Maghrib (After-sunset Prayer)

Maghrib begins when the sun completely set beneath the horizon, delaying Maghrib 3 to 5 minute from the local sunset time is preferred for safety margin - This prayer calendar adds 5 minutes to the local sunset time.   Maghrib lasts until 'Isha (till fading of twilight or complete darkness).

5. ‘Isha (Night-Prayer)

The beginning of ‘Isha time begins when Shafaq (twilight) is set in.  All Islamic scholars agree on this point.  Two different interpretations are expressed in describing the word shafaq in the books of hadith. These are commonly referred to as Shafaqe Ahmar and Shafaqe Abyadh. Both these phenomena occur one after the other and represent two distinct levels of illumination in the western sky. Shafaqe Ahmar occurs before Shafaqe Abyadh.

1. 1. Shafaqe Ahmar: under clear-sky, when disappearance (sun’s red afterglow) of redness in the western sky. (Shafaqe Ahmar – roughly correspondence to Nautical twilight)

It is believed that this method was accepted by Syedna Ibn Abbas, Umar bin khatab, Ali Talib, Ibadah Bin Thamit, Moosa Ashari and Ibn Umar (Radiallahu Anhum) including Imam Malik, Imam Shafi‘i, and Imam Ahmad and Sahibayn -Imam Mohammed and Imam Abu Yusuf (Rahmatullah Alaihi) well respected students of Imam Abu Hanifah. This phenomenon (i.e. disappearance of redness roughly correspondence to nautical twilight between 12°and 15°) is difficult to identify, quantify, and may fluctuate through the seasons, latitudes and atmospheric conditions, furthermore, lately, the artificial light pollution is a major problem.

2. Shafaqe Abyadh: under a clear sky, when the western sky begins to darkens into one color and when almost darkness occurs or there is no trace of light left in the sky (Shafaqe Abyad - roughly correspondence to Astronomical twilight).

It is believed that this method was accepted by Syedna Abu Bakr, Muadh Bin Jabal, Ubay Ibn Kab, Abdullah Bin Zubair, Anas, Abu Hurairah, and Aisha (Radiallahu Anhum) also leading jurist Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah Alaihi).

It is generally estimated  when the sun approaches 17.5° to 18° below the horizon.
Generally, there are no significant time differences between two phenomena (10 to 15 minutes) in most cases.  As a matter of convenience most Islamic prayer tables use ‘Isha timing when complete darkness (shafaqe Abyadh) occurs. The difference in time could be significant in summer and could be as much as 45 to 120 minutes in northern regions.

It is worth noting that the-the Islamic scholars of Hanafi school of jurisprudence strictly fix ‘Isha after Shafaqe Abyadh , but in certain circumstances, it is permitted, (based on rulings of the Sahibayn) to offer ‘Isha after Shafaqe Ahmar where the circumstances in which the  ‘Isha is so late e.g. in some northern regions especially in summer months and if Muslims likely to encounter considerable hardship. No Hanafi scholar, however,is likely to permit ‘Isha any earlier than Shafaqe Ahmar except in extreme northern regions.

Globally the beginning of Isha time (based on Shafaqe Abyadh complete darkness) is fixed by leading Islamic organizations, such as, Umm Al-Qura of Saudi Arabia - 90 minutes after sunset which approximate 20° throughout the year, University of Islamic Sciences, Karachi 18°, Egyptian General Authority of Survey 17.5°, and Muslim World League 17° and several Islamic groups in the west 15°. The higher degree correspondences (i.e. 18°) to slightly late ‘Isha and lower number (i.e. 14°) correspondences to slightly early Isha.  The prayer tables published by ‘Aisha Charity uses 17.5° for ‘Isha Shafaqe Abyadh and Shafaqe Ahmar 15º

The experts also differ as far as pre-determination of Shafaqe Abyadh when the western sky begins to darkens into one color. The majority opinion is around 18° but there is a minority opinion that calls for 15°. Also several recent studies worth noting, reveal that the phenomenon of Shafaqe Abyadh could vary in degrees at different latitudes and different seasons throughout the year, the new study suggest that, it is incorrect to calculate ‘Isha assuming any fixed degree (whether 18° or 15°) or any fixed minutes (like 90 minutes or 75 minutes). Some Muslims in various locations around the globe have made observations of Shafaqe Abyadh and the results vary anywhere between 9° to 18°. A prayer table, for the City of Montreal, prepared by Dr. Khalid Shaukat of moonsighting.com revealed that the time for Shafaqe Abyadh fluctuates considerably throughout the year, occurring as low as 10.92° in summer and as high as 16.08° in winter.

We have compared the table prepared by Dr. Khalid Shaukat of moonsighting.com to our limited study (less than 30 observations) throughout summer at least for 2 years for City of Montreal, we conclude that there are considerable differences about 4° to 7° representing 50 to 60 minutes time difference in summer. It is our view that further study may be needed to accept such conclusion.

The prayers tables published by ‘Aisah Charity also shows early ‘Isha timing (Shafaqe Ahmar) using 14° in summer only from May 15 to August 15 based on our limited study conducted ( only in summer – outside the city of Montreal Canada under clear sky and minimum artificial light), It was observed that the disappearance of redness (Shafaqe Ahmar) varies from 12.5° to 13.8°. Our well-respected elder and an experienced observer Hakimullah Gauri – Canada - views that 15° is a safe estimate for Shafaqe Ahmar but for Shafaqe Abyadh can not be less than 17.5°.

‘Isha prayer lasts till (Fajr) just before subh saadiq -true dawn as long as the dawn has not yet risen – (evening twilight).
Important notes: Hadith references:

(1) It is forbidden to perform salaat or funeral prayer when the sun begins to rise until it is fully up; when the sun is at its height until it passes the meridian (zawal); and when the sun begins to set until it is completely set. [Muslim-1040]

(2) 'There is no prayer after performing Fajr until the sun (sufficiently) rises, and there is no prayer after performing ‘Asr until the sun completely sets.' [Muslim-1041, agreed upon]
some exceptions are possible - it is permissible to offer qadâ (makeup for missed prayers) or sajdah tilâwah.

(3) hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit Bukhari and Muslim (the extent of reciting 50 verses), [Nawawi, Majmu` 6.406; Ibn Qudama, Mughni 3.2127; Ibn al-Humam, Fath al-Qadir 2.374-375; Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Buhuti, Kashshaf al-Qina` 2.331]

References:Fajar and Isha By Yaqub Ahmed Miftahi  Ramadan 1426/ October 2005 Hizbul Ulama U.K., 74 Upton Lane, London, E7 9LW, England,
Dr. Monzur Ahmed MoonCalc 6 © October 2001
Beginning of Isha time in Summer - Fatwa (Islamic ruling) from Darul Uloom Karachi Pakistan  1999

Please report any inaccuracy or comments
Published by:
‘Aisha Charitable Support Services Montreal Canada www.as-sidq.org
Researcher Siddique Katiya Montreal Canada  ©

15 September 2007    3^rd Ramadhan 1428

Islamic Calendar

2011-09-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

by Siddique Katiya Montreal Canada 11 Shawwal 1432

The Islamic calendar, also know as Hijri calendar (A.H.) based on moon cycle and has 12 lunar months either 29 or 30 days without any leap year, total of 354 or 355 days annually. Being a purely lunar calendar, with an annual drift of 11 or 12 days, each Islamic month appears in every season once in about every 33 years .

The First year of Muslim calendar was, when the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Makkah to Medina about (637 also known as Hijra AH, the current (2011-2012 AD) Islamic year is 1432

Until few decades ago, the Muslims used the Islamic calendar for both the religious and commercial purposes, but now it is only use for determining the important religious dates, months and festivals. Except for

Saudi Arabia

most Muslims now use the Gregorian calendar for their commercial and administrative purpose.

Traditionally, the Muslims mark their 1^st day of each Islamic month upon first sighting of Crescent (new moon) with naked eye shortly after a sunset on the 29^th of each month, if the new moon is not sighted Muslims suppose to complete the 30^th days.

The first sighting has to be made by one/two or more trustworthy Muslims testifying before a Moon sighting committee (Ruet-e-Hilal) generally established for this purpose. Such committees could be formed anywhere such as a city, town, country or region depending of governance and consensus among community. The Islamic laws do not give any preference to sighting to any specific location such as holy city of Makkah nor forbids starting of a month on two different dates.

In the first two days after conjunction (New Moon), the young crescent (moon) appears very low in the western sky after sunset. The sighting of the lunar crescent within first 24 hours of conjunction is usually difficult as the crescent at this time is quite thin and has a low surface brightness, and can easily be lost in the twilight. Generally the crescent appearance occurs in westerly southern hemisphere first when with good sky conditions, high elongation and altitude of the moon become visible to experienced observers about one day after the conjunction. However, the time that the crescent actually becomes visible varies quite a bit from one month to another. The record for an early sighting of a lunar crescent with a telescope is 12.1 hours after conjunction, for naked-eye sightings, the record is 15.5 hours which is extremely rare.

The decision to declare beginning of new month on the 29^th day or to complete the 30^th days has been challenging tasks for Muslims since the earlier period of Islam. In the past, small area such cities and town or territories were responsible for such announcements unconcern of the decisions of others. For example the city of Makkah and Madina two sacred cities for the Muslims, about 330 km apart, did not harmonize their dates until the advancement of modern day’s telecommunication.

Moon sighting controversy further complicated in later part of 20^th century as decisions of different countries was readily available through rapid communication. From early 70’s onward, It is common and unexpected occurrence that the Saudi Arabia was the first country to declare, early start, the beginning of the new month where neighboring countries such as Pakistan and countries west of Saudi Arabia such as Morocco or America did not sight the crescent until next day of some cases two days later.

Next - About Saudi’s Umm al-Qura Islamic Calender