They ask you, O Messenger, about the formation of the new moons and their changing states. Tell them in reply about the wisdom behind them: that they measure time for people, so that they know when to do their acts of worship, such as the months of Hajj and fasting, and the completion of the year for Zakat; they also fix the time frames of transactions, such as the deadlines for paying blood money or debts. It is not righteousness or goodness that you come to houses from the rear wearing your iḥrām for Hajj or Umrah, as they used to claim during the time of ignorance before Islam. Rather, true righteousness is the righteousness of whoever is mindful, outwardly and inwardly. So, enter houses from their correct doors, because it is easier for you and less troublesome. Allah does not overburden you with difficulty, so protect yourself from the punishment of Allah by doing good, in order that you may be successful in achieving what you wish for, and in escaping from what you fear.
They ask you (O Muhammad) about the crescents. Say: "These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage." It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back, but Al-Birr is from Taqwa. So enter houses through their proper doors, and have Taqwa of Allah that you may be successful (189)
The Crescent Moons
Al-'Awfi related that Ibn 'Abbas said, "The people asked Allah's Messenger ﷺ about the crescent moons. Thereafter, this Ayah was revealed:
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ
(They ask you (O Muhammad) about the crescents. Say, "These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind...) so that they mark their acts of worship, the 'Iddah (the period of time a divorced woman or a widow is required to wait before remarrying) of their women and the time of their Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah)." 'Abdur-Razzaq reported that Ibn 'Umar narrated that Allah's Messenger ﷺ said:
جَعَلَ اللهُ الْأَهِلَّةَ مَوَاقِيتَ لِلنَّاسِ، فَصُومُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ، وَأَفْطِرُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ، فَإِنْ غُمَّ عَلَيْكُمْ فَعُدُّوا ثَلَاثِينَ يَوْمًا
(Allah has made the crescents signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind. Hence, fast on seeing it (the crescent for Ramadan) and break the fast on seeing it (the crescent for Shawwal). If it (the crescent) was obscure to you then count thirty days (mark that month as thirty days).)
This Hadith was also collected by Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak, and he said, "The chain is Sahih, and they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not recorded it."
Righteousness comes from Taqwa
Allah said:
وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنِ اتَّقَىٰ وَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَا
(It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back, but Al-Birr is from Taqwa. So enter houses through their proper doors.)
Al-Bukhari recorded that Al-Bara' said, "During the time of Jahiliyyah, they used to enter the house from the back upon assuming the Ihram. Thereafter, Allah revealed (the following Ayah):
وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنِ اتَّقَىٰ وَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَا
(It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back but Al-Birr is from Taqwa. So enter houses through their proper doors.)
Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded the same Hadith from Al-Bara' but with the wording; "The Ansar used to enter their houses from the back when returning from a journey. Thereafter, this Ayah (2:189 above) was revealed..."
Al-Hasan said, "When some people during the time of Jahiliyyah would leave home to travel, and then decide not to travel, they would not enter the house from its door. Rather, they would climb over the back wall. Allah the Exalted said:
وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا
(It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness) that you enter the houses from the back,)."
Allah's statement:
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
(...and have Taqwa of Allah that you may be successful.) Have Taqwa of Allah, means to do what He has commanded you and refrain from what He has forbidden for you,
لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
(that you may be successful.) tomorrow when you stand before Him and He thus rewards you perfectly.
The theme of righteousness which started from Verse 177 still continues. The six injunctions that have appeared so far relate to even retaliation, bequest, fasting, I` tikaf اعتکاف and abstention from the unlawful. Now come those of Hajj حج and Jihad جہاد prior to which it was clarified that lunar months and days will be followed in Hajj and in other religious obligations. Also erased here is a custom of jahiliyyah جاھلیہ (days of ignorance) which required people in Ihram احرام to go into their houses, if needed, from the back even if it had to be through a hole in the wall bored (made a hole) punctured for this purpose, as they thought it was prohibited to enter houses from the front door when in Ihram احرام . They even rated it as 'righteousness'. So, it is immediately after the mention of Hajj that Allah Almighty tells them that entering the houses from the backs is no righteousness. Real righteousness lies in abstaining from what has been made unlawful by Allah. Since coming into houses through their doors is not forbidden, the question of abstaining from it does not arise. So, those who wish to go into their houses should enter through their doors, but the center-piece of all principles is that people must keep fearing Allah so that they can hope to have the best of both the worlds.
Verse 190-191 carry the injunction relating to fighting with disbelievers. It was the month of Dhul-Qa'dah ذوالقعدہ in the year 6 A.H. that the Holy Prophet ﷺ began his journey to the sacred city of Makkah in order to perform ` Umrah عمرہ . Makkah was still controlled by the mushrikin مشرکین (the infidels). They did not allow him and his Companions to go into the city and ` Umrah عمرہ could not be performed as intended. It took a great deal of negotiating to arrive at the agreement that the Muslims would perform ` Umrah عمرہ next year. This pact is known as the 'Peace of Hudaybiyyah'; a detailed explanation of the verse in this context will appear later.
Commentary
Reported in the first Verse (189) there is a question asked by the noble Companions and its answer given by Allah Almighty. Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ says that the Companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ had a distinct mannerliness of their own. On account of the great respect they had for him, they asked very few questions from their Prophet ﷺ . This is contrary to the practice of the communities of the past prophets who asked many questions and thus failed to observe the etiquette due before a prophet. Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ adds that the total number of questions asked by the noble Companions as mentioned in the Holy Qur'an is fourteen, one of which has just appeared above: إِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي ' And when My servants ask you...' (186). The other question is right here. Other than these, there are six more questions appearing in Surah al-Baqarah itself. The rest of the six questions come up in various other Surahs.
It is mentioned in the present verse that the noble Companions asked the Messenger of Allah about the new moon as it appears in the early part of the month, having a shape different from the sun. The new moon begins as a thin crescent slowly growing into full circle, then, it starts reducing itself in the same manner. So, they asked either about its cause or about the wisdom underlying its gradual growth. Both possibilities exist. But the answer given states the wisdom and benefit behind it. Now, if the question itself was concerned with the wisdom and benefit behind the waning and waxing of the new moon, then the answer obviously synchronizes with the question. But, if the question aimed at finding out the cause of the waning and waxing of the new moon, which is far away from the mannerliness of the noble Companions, then the answer, by electing to state its wisdom and benefit rather than its reality, simply hints that finding out the reality of the heavenly bodies is not an area under man's control anyway, and then, for that matter, the knowledge of its reality is not necessary for any practical purpose, neither in this world nor in the Hereafter. Therefore, the question of reality is absurd. What could be asked and what could be explained is that there are certain benefits that accrue to us through the waning and waxing, the setting and the rising of the moon in this manner. Therefore, in response to this, the Holy Prophet g was told that he should tell them that their benefits tied to the moon are that they will find it easy to determine the time factor in their transactions and contracts, and to know about the days of the Hajj.
The Lunar Calendar is the Islamic choice
This verse tells us no more than that the moon will help identify the count of months and days on which rest transactions and acts of worship, such as, the Hajj. The same subject has been dealt with in Sarah Yanus in the following manner:
وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ
And determined it (the moon) by stations, that you might know the number of the years and the reckoning. (10:5)
This tells us that the benefit of having the moon pass through different stages and conditions is that people may find out through it the count of years, months and days. But, in a verse of Sarah Bani Isra'il, this count has been connected to the sun as well in the following words:
فَمَحَوْنَا آيَةَ اللَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَا آيَةَ النَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةً لِّتَبْتَغُوا فَضْلًا مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَلِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ
Then We erased the sign of the night and brought out the sign of the day to see, so that you seek the blessing from your Lord and get to know the number of years and the reckoning. (17:12)
Although this third verse proves that years and months can be counted with the help of a solar calendar also, yet the words used by the Holy Qur'an with regard to the moon very clearly indicate that the lunar calendar is a fixed choice in the Shari` ah of Islam, specially in prescribed acts of worship which relate to a particular month and its dates; for instance, the months of Ramadan and Hajj, as well as injunctions related to the days of Hajj, Muharram and Lailatul-Qadr لیلۃ القدر are all tied to the sighting of the new moon, all this because in this verse, by saying هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ (They are indicative of time for the people and of the Hajj), it has been established that the lunar calendar is the one to be trusted upon in the sight of Allah, although, the count of months can come out of a solar calendar as well.
The Shari'ah of Islam has opted for the lunar calendar because it is based on something which every sighted person can see on the horizon and be informed accordingly; the knowledge of it is equally easy for the scholars, the ignorant, the villagers, the islanders and the dwellers of the mountains. This stands in contrast with the solar calendar which depends on meteorological equipment and mathematical computations which cannot become the common personal experience of everybody so easily. Then comes the matter of religious observances, the ` ibadat عبادات ، where the lunar calendar has been fixed as an obligation. This has also been favoured in social and business transactions because it serves as a basis for the acts of Islamic worship, and a symbol of Islamic identity, notwithstanding the position of the solar calendar which has not been prohibited juristically, the only condition being that the use of the solar calendar should not become so widespread that people forget all about the lunar calendar. If this happens, it would necessarily affect the obligatory ` ibadat عبادات like Fasting and Hajj adversely, a sampling of which is visible in our time, in offices and businesses, government and private, where the solar calendar is being used with such frequency that many people do not seem to even remember all Islamic months by name. Apart from the juristic position of the lunar system, this situation is a deplorable demonstration of our lack of will to approach and uphold such a matter of national and religious identity with a sense of self-respect. It is not difficult to use the solar calendar only in office situations where one has to deal with non-Muslims as well, but for the rest of office correspondence, private dealings and daily requirements the lunar calendar may be used with advantage, that is, if this is done, the user will earn the thawab ثواب of performing a fard ` ala al-kifayah فرض علی الکفایہ (an obligation which, if performed by some, suffices for others), and of course, national identity will be preserved.
Ruling
From the verse لَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا (And it is not righteousness that you come into your houses from their backs) comes the ruling that something which the Shari'ah of Islam has not classed as 'necessary' (wajib واجب ) or has not given it the status of an act of ` Ibadah عباداہ ، should not be taken as 'necessary' or an act of ` Ibadah عباداہ on one's own. This is not permissible. Similarly, taking something to be a sin while it is permissible under Islamic law is a sin in itself. This is exactly what those people had done. Entering houses through doors was permissible under religious law, yet they made it out to be a sin, while coming into the house from its back by breaking through the wall was not 'necessary' under the religious law, yet they made it out to be necessary. This was why they were admonished.
The reason why bid` at بدعت (innovations in religious matters) are not permissible is that unnecessary things are taken to be necessary like the obligatory - fard, or wajib. Or, things permissible are taken to be forbidden or unlawful. This verse makes it very clear that doing so is prohibited, and incidentally, this gives us the guiding rule in thousands of acts in vogue.
The expression وَلَا تَعْتَدُوا (and do not transgress) towards the end of the verse, according to the majority of the commentators means - 'do not go beyond the limit in fighting as to start killing women and children'.
The waxing and waning of the moon are meant to serve only as measures of time. The superstitious believe that the days when the moon is waxing are auspicious while the days of the moon’s waning are inauspicious. The moon, in fact, is an almanac of nature appearing in the sky so that people may plan the timings of their worldly affairs as well as their worship. But there are many people who have come to regard mere outward observance as religiosity.