My Analysis

It has been many years since I started my research in to the controvercial matters of moon sighting and of establishing the true dates for Ramadan and Eids and indeed the beginning of Hijri months. I have carried out my research, to the best of my abilities, strictly by the laws of Islamic teachings along with the fundamentals of astronomy. I have now an unpublished booklet on the subject; but I really feel that it is not that complex an issue if we don't make it out to be one. I am amazed how conclusive and absolute solutions to the problem exist and yet, in the UK in particular, we are still so divided and so badly misled. Before I go any further, let me make it clear that I have no allegiance to any religious group or organization. This writing is not a lecture to offend anyone; it is written in the spirit of the Quranic Aya the essence of which is that "Once you have discovered the truth, do not deliberately hold it to yourself alone". This paper is culmination of my little peice on truth. We know from logical teachings and observation of astronomy and the nature of our universe, that it is very rare and unlikely for ALL the Muslim in the world to initiate Ramadan and Eids on the same day. Therefore, the intention here is the unity amongst Muslim communities of a particular region, country or city rather than a global solution - if there is such a thing. Any one who insists that ALL the Muslims around the globe must have Eid or Ramadan on the same day, no doubt means sincerely well, but sadly is not aware of the impracticalities of this romantic notion (more on this later).

However, my campaign is aimed at the raging confusion of different opinions amongst Muslims of not only a single country but also of the same city and sadly, often of the same household. The root of the problem is the consistently false and misleading moonsighting reports coming out of Saudi Arabia. There is a growing doubt amongst the Muslims over the validity of Saudi sighting reports as they clash with solid and proven scientific facts. The evidence presented is pretty damning, both from religious as well as the scientific point of view.

I would also like to make it clear that I regard Saudi Arabia as my spiritual home, I have been there twice and I love it as dearly as any other Muslim would. But Islamic brotherhood does not prevent you from criticising fellow brothers if they are likely to be wrong. The whole fiasco is caused partly by the predetermined (fixed) calendar, the Saudi Taqweem Um-al-Qurah, a calendar adopted to create a predictable structure of dates linked to the birth of the moon. Not only that but the birth of the moon anywhere in the world is often accepted as the "new moon". This makes it not only controversial but also blatantly contradictory to the commands of Hadith. The authorities claim that it is only for administrative purposes and has no role when it comes to determining religious dates. However, the calendar seem to be having inderect and often adverse effect on the process of moon sighting which consistently come up with sighting claims in most unlikely situations. Also the fact that their Eid and Ramadan dates have coincided consistently with those predicted by Um'ul'Qura and contrary to moon visibility data/practical exercises indicate otherwise. As a result the months have in the past often been initiated BEFORE the birth of the moon, let alone by the sighting of the moon. More and more Islamic states have realised this over the years and sadly, the majority no longer follows Saudi Arabia on this issue. In Islamic calendar, there is no concept of the birth of the moon, although the Islamic astronomers knew of this phenomenon centuries ago. Islam clearly necessitates the need for Roya't (the sighting) or at minimum least its condition, where one is certain that the moon has formed enough body so that it could be sighted on a clear day. There is no confusion over this as far as the Hadith is concerned. In fact the Hadith is very precise and categorically explicit about it. Some scholars have tried to justify the birth of the moon method. I am sure they have their reasons for maintaining that veiw but I think they have not been fully aware of the scientific ruling on this. Scientists from NASA photographed the moon during its birth over a hundred miles above earth. The resulting photos failed to reflect any direct light from the Sun. A solid object that cannot be seen cannot be regarded as visible. They are perhaps also unaware of the problem this theory can create.

Take Eid-ul-fitr in year 2000 for example, Saudis declared Friday 7th January to be the Eid day; meaning they claimed to have sighted the moon after Maghrib on the evening of 6th of January. All six committees appointed by the state failed to report a sighting and yet independant claims for sighting were accepted and Eid day was declared. This is absolutely incredible, as the entire scientific and astronomical world would confirm that the moon had not been even born at that time never mind being sighted! In fact the birth of the moon took place at 9.44pm (Saudi time) that night. (Saudi Arabia is 3 hours ahead of GMT). Even if you discount the fact that it takes from 15 to 40 hours AFTER the birth of the moon before it can be sighted by the human eye, the Saudi decision clearly was neither by the laws of science nor by the commands of Quran and Hadith. Independent sources throughout middle east, Asia and rest of the world reported no moon sighting anywhere on earth on that day. These people were equipped with all their astronomy tools such as telescope and binoculars. This is why Ramadan Eid was celebrated in Pakistan TWO days later, as the moon could not be sighted for its minuteness even on Friday 7th of January. This has been the pattern for the past many years. It is sad and ironic that the country, which is the focus of Islamic world, should be cause of confusion amongst the Muslim Ummah instead of a source of unity.

(since writing the above it has been confirmed that Saudi TV and newspapers have "Adjusted" the month of Shawaal by one day to make up for the error on declaring Eid one day too early - an emphatic endorsement of the above analysis)

This confusion is strongly channeled through out Britain via Regent Park mosque and the Islamic cultural center, which has traditionally followed the Saudis. Lets be fair to the Saudis whatever the faults in their moon sighting claims; they strongly recommend to the muslims all over the world to seek their own horizons for moon issues and not follow the Saudi decision (Ikhtilaaf-e-Mataleh rule). I held a dialogue with a Muslim writer who vehmently preached that the only solution to unite muslims on this issue was to use the moon situation on the horizon of Mecca alone for the whole world. Firstly, the moonsighting in Saudi Arabia is an extremely controvercial matter and even if Saudis corrected their method consider the following ;

Many Muslims demand this without realising that it is perfectly normal for moon to be sighted elsewhere in the world a day before it is sighted or is possible to be sighted over Mecca. In such cases, what are the Muslims of those far away regions to do? Having sighted the moon they could not possibly wait for the announcement from Mecca where the moon would be sighted no sooner than the following day.They would be defying the direct commands of the prophet (saw)

Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, India and Indonesia are the home for more than half of all the Muslims in the world. These countries are almost neighbours to the Arabian peninsula. They share almost same skies, climate and atmosphere. And yet millions of Muslim there fail to see that elusive moon which mysteriously defies all laws of Astronomy to evade huge telescopes elsewhere especially to make a quick appearnace in Saudi Arabia and then disappears for 24 hours. Their Aalims and scientists have conclusively proven how contradictory these sighting claims are to the fundamental Islamic and scientific realities. CFCO (committee for Crescent Observation), UK based Indian Muslim scholar Yaqoob Ismael Qasmi, and Pakistan's research scholar Zia Uddin Lahori and most recently, Jordanian Astronomical society (JAS) are amongst the pioneers who pointed out the invalidity of these dates. Situation in the UK is worst than anywhere else in the world. Since there is no central Islamic authority in the UK the confusion rules. On obvious solution is to follow a reliable nearby Muslim state. Morocco is an ideal option. It is the only country which fits the Islamic criteria for the 'neighboring land' to be consulted. It is an Islamic state, it is not too far away, it lies on the same Longitudinal arc of earth as Britain, and there is no time difference between the two as Morocco is situated on the edge of the Greenwich Meridian. . Above all, the country has a solid track record of using a strict code of Hadith to establish the dates for Ramadan and Eids.

In the Light of Quran and Hadith

There are many references in the Holy Quran regarding the moon but perhaps the most important in this context is (Surah-E-Buqrah Aya't no 185 and 189) Further references are Surah-E-Younis Aya't no 5, Surah-E-Alrahd Aya't no 2, Surah-E-Yaas Aya't no 39 and 40, Surah-E-Alzamer Aya't no 5, Sureh-E-Rehmaan Aya't no 2). To understand these references it is best to refer to the related Ahadith. There are three Ahadith on this issue, which are consistent with all the major Hadith compilations, (Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmzi etc.). And they are extremely clear and conclusive leaving nothing to doubt. One in particular stands out prominent, and I believe, this alone is enough to settle the matter beyond any doubt.

"START AND END FAST WITH THE SIGHTING OF THE MOON AND IF MOON CAN NOT BE SIGHTED ON THE 29TH (BECAUSE OF WETHER CONDITIONS ETC) THEN COUNT THE DAYS TO 30" [Bukhari & Muslim]

Now how can we defy this clear and conclusive command? How can we turn a blind eye to our prophet's (pbuh) clear-cut teachings?

Astronomy leads the way

Astronomy, once dominated by Islamic scholars incidentally, is no longer exclusive knowledge limited to handful of observatories. I have used various computer software, readily available to anyone with a PC, and have compared their projections of moon and sun with visual observations. The results were absolutely unfaltering to the seconds. Our own Dr Monzur Ahmed from Birmingham has created a superb such software called MoonCalc, which not only pinpoints the where about of the moon but also helps to establish where the first sighting is likely to take place on earth. This program is available on the Internet free of charge (see elsewhere on this site). Those who still doubt the God given knowledge of Astronomy, and I know there are still many, please consider the following:

In August last year, a large part of the world witnessed the total eclipse of the sun. The scientists predicted precise movement of the moon during this period many years in advance. Take UK for example; the precise occurrence of the solar eclipse was predicted not only many years in advance, but it was also widely publicised many months ahead of the event; that at precisely 11 seconds and 11 minutes past 11'o'clock on August the11th, in the area of Cornwall in the West of England, moon will position itself totally in front of the sun and for two short minutes the darkness of evening will spread right in the middle of a summer morning. I also presented this fact as a challenge in one of my articles in a London based Muslim newspaper six months before the event. On August the 11th the events unfolded precisely as predicted by the seconds. Do I need to say any more? This was only one of millions of events occurrences of which astronomers can precisely pinpoint. For example the above-mentioned event was predicted in 1927 and we know now that such occurrence in this country will take place on 23rd of September 2090 nearly a century away!! Of course, you can never convince some people, and I am not at war with them. They would simply reject astronomy as an unislamic knowledge but ask them how they establish their mughrib salat on a cloudy day and be amused by their answer!

One fundamental point, requiring due consideration, is that Ahadith unanimously advise of caution throughout, rather than of haste. Nowhere you shall find a command saying that if in doubt start Ramadan a day earlier, instead all collections of Hadith are unanimous that if in doubt wait for an extra day (in Ahadith this day is referred to as 'Yom-e-Shuk), the day of the doubt. Saudi procedures are a complete contradiction to this root principal. Isn't it so obvious? That if we rush in to Ramadan we would be likely to be forced to celebrate Eid on what in fact would be the last day of Ramadan (and that is exactly what is happening).

· Hadith collections unanimously state in no uncertain terms that "Do not start the month without ascertaining the sighting of the moon" (Muslim and Bukhari). It is so explicitly narrated through Abu Harriera (RAA) and other Ashaabs that the prophet (SAW) strictly instructed to "Start the month with the sighting of the moon and if the moon could not be sighted (clouds, dust, minuteness etc.) then count the days to 30" (Muslim, Bukahri & others).
· Having established this, let's say what the Quran has to say about the importance of obeying the commands of the Prophet (SAW). Not once but time and again We are told to obey the prophet (SAW) or else you cannot be a Momin.
· Knowing all this, how can we seek answers to this problem outside the given criteria? THIS is the only solution, which can unite people, everything else has been tried.
HADITH_No 2380
Allah's Messenger (peace_be_upon_him) said: Observe fast on sighting it (the new moon) and break it on sighting it. But if (due to clouds) the actual position of the month is concealed from you, you should then count thirty (days). NARRATOR AbuHurayrah/SAHIH MUSLIM.

* Some want to follow the Saudis for sake of Islamic unity.

The dream of the entire world of Islam holding Eid on one day is very sincere, very innocent but not entirely practical - With the rare exceptions, most of the times it is not practical due to the nature of our universe and shape of our planet - being a sphere rather than a plane. Two muslims on the planet earth can be performing their Fajr and Mughrib Salat at exactly the same time. Muslims in one part of the world may be praying their Friday salat (Juma) and yet at another place on earth their brothers have not even performed their thurdsay Isha salat yet. And one could be starting a fast when the other actually opening his etc. Think of the beautiful notion of Juma salat taking place all around the world pricisely at the same time as it was being performed in Mecca - but we know this is not practical or possible or necessary for that matter.
Also, we should be extremely lucky if we could get muslims to come together at least in one region of the earth where time and distance does not create any excuse.What really saddens me is that the demands for unity to celebrate Eid together often leads muslims to ignore the commands of our prophet (saw). Sharia is clear - that where ever you are, sight the moon and start the month- simple.
Core of my philosophy on this issue, which is also the belief of a great number of people I know, is as simple as this:
· In our respected regions, we use the precise knowledge of astronomy to pin point the EXPECTED 29th of Islamic month, if the moon is sighted we don't have a problem and if not then we count the month to 30. ( I have yet to come across a legitimate reason as to what is wrong with this 1400 year old formula). The only compromise I can envisage here is the HISAAB - calculating with the knowledge of Astronomy that moon has reached the age of at least qualifying for a sighting. If you start fixing its mere age, you can have over a dozen options.

We can not accept "Ru'ya Global" (Sighting anywhere in the world) for the following reasons:

There is no Shria command to indicate we should. If anything, we get a strong evidence, from the early days of Islam, that it was neither practiced nor encouraged. We should also remember that EVEN during the time of our prophet (saw) AND the time immediately after his departure (Khulfa-e-Rashdeen) Eid was often not celebrated on the same day even within the relatively small region of Arabia. instead each region was to follow their own moonsighting and start month accordingly. No efforts were made either to force such cohesion and unity (as far as Eid is concerned ) - therefore it is another testimony that no such action is compulsory from Sharia point of view and should be fully understood that it is neither meant to be nor CAN be possible. As long as our hearts are united (which are NOT), such display of unity would be no more than a futile gesture anyway.

The famous Kurayb incident
NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Abbas
SAHIH MUSLIM
HADITH_No 2391
Kurayb said: Umm Fadl, daughter of Harith, sent him (Fadl, i.e. her son) to Mu'awiyah in Syria. I (Fadl) arrived in Syria, and did the needful for her. It was there in Syria that the month of Ramadan commenced. I saw the new moon (of Ramadan) on Friday. I then came back to Medina at the end of the month. Abdullah ibn Abbas asked me (about the new moon of Ramadan) and said: When did you see it? I said: We saw it on Friday night. He said: (Did) you see it yourself? I said: Yes, and the people also saw it so they observed fast and Mu'awiyah also observed fast. Thereupon he said: But we saw it on Saturday night. So we shall continue to observe the fast until we complete thirty (fasts) or we see it (the new moon of Shawwal). I said: Is the sighting of the moon by Mu'awiyah not valid for you? He said: No; this is how the Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) has commanded us.

This does not mean that neigbouring countries can not use each others moon sightings. But these areas must not be so far away that the time difference starts creating complications. For example the American muslims can not use the prayer times used by the Asian muslims ( one could be reading Fujr prayer while the other reading Mughrib at the SAME time!) , When one is starting his fast the other is opening it. And we know, with the knowledge of Astronomy, that they do not have the presence of moon on their respective horizons at the same time. Therefore, as long as the time and distance does not create problems, sighting from another region (Itihad-e-Matalah) can be taken and most of the Imams have endorsed this.

I am not an astronomer or a religious scholar, but due to my interest in this matter, I have established links with astronomers and scholars. I have also used various astrononmy software some of which are incredible accurate tools to assist in this matter. My conclusion is that, we all have a fairly accurate idea WHEN is the moon likely to be visible on a given horizon. Surely, we can track moon second by second but no sceince can ever help you to predict precise sighting of the moon, which is dependent on so many factors. which is the prerequisite for starting the Islamic month. Now, the Alims, with thier "advisors" come up with all sorts of formulas to only add to the confusion. However, I think any angle of sun-moon elongation which is less than say even 7 degrees is highly unlikely conditions for a sighting and any moon which is less than 20 hours old also highly unlikely to be sighted. If we start setting these conditions, we would have so many different criterion, we would end up even worst. For example, some Alims have, with the help of their astronomy advisors, maintained that an age of 12 hours is enough for initiating Islamic month. Some would say five hours and some have even said a few minutes. So you see the problem? Therefore the actual sighting, or possiblity of a sighting in my opinion, is the basis for any viable option.

* Saudi Arabia is, no doubt, our heartland, and Insha'allah, one day the Muslim Ummah will get its much-needed leadership from there. But sadly, our wish to be led by the Saudis seems to be stronger than the Saudi will to lead us. And we must remind our Saudi brothers of our sentiments and feelings. I am sure they will not ignore us forever.

* Another supposedly challenging question is often presented in to the argument; that how come Hujj takes place one day and Eid-ul-Adha not be on the following day? Only those people will ask this question who are unaware of the fact that Eid-ul-Adha used to take place on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah even before Hujj!!! So how can Eid-ul-Adha be dependent on hujj? All Fuqaha and Ulema are in agreement upon this, including the prominent Saudi Alim Sheikh Mohammad Ibn Salih Al Uthaimeen, who, when presented with the conclusive scientific proof that Hujj was held on the wrong day, advised Muslims in the USA not to celebrate Eid-Ul-Adha on the following day but a day later on the true 10th of Dhul'Hijjah.

I would like to make it clear that the purpose of my campaign is not to belittle those with different point of view. In Islam we are all brothers, Saudis are our privileged brothers. We all need to get together and give in to each other’s reasoning. My aim is not to just blame some and praise some; my dream is to see Muslims united in their individual communities. Brother in faith, it is not about who is right and who is wrong. It is all about our continuous and sustained quest for truth and our burning desire to unite Islam without compromising its very foundations and its true spirit. Whether we like it or not, we often become prejudiced to our opinions. The way forward is to shed our pride and self-complacency and to be humble in our subjugation to one God and his prophet and his teachings. Beside, there are much more important issues confronted by Islam today, which demand our energies and collective efforts. Finally, I would like you to share one thought with me. Why I am doing this? How could this benefit me? I hope you will be a little generous when you draw your conclusions on it.

Arshad

These pages have been extracted from my booklet to save you the boredom of reading my entire collection of materials but if you feel like taking up any part of the contents in deeper details, then please do not hesitate to contact me via E-mail: mabaig100@hotmail.com

Acknowledgements and References:

Astronomical data: Royal Greenwich Observatory, PC software Mooncalc 5 by Dr Monzur Ahmed, Astronomy PC encyclopedia Red shift by Maris publishing, Minaret (computerised Islamic Calendar) by Kamal Abdali and Accurate Times by Mohammad Odeh

Ahadith References: Sahih Bukhari, Muslim, Muharf-ul-Hadith by Moulana M M Noumani

Books: Qanoon-E-Shariat by Moulana Shamus-ud-Din Ahmad, Hamara Islaam Mufti Mohammad Khalil Khan

And of course dozens of Internet sites across the World Wide Web by fellow Muslim brothers

Comments and feed back:mabaig100@hotmail.com