Dr. Arshad Ali Beg

editor's note:

Dr. Beg is renowned consultant on environmental issues. We are proud to present his latest article about moon sighting

The Hijra Calendar & Sighting Eid Moon for AH 1428

 

Dr. Mirza Arshad Ali Beg

 

According to Islamic History, Abraha, governor of Yemen, then a province of the Christian Kingdom of Aksum (Ethiopia) attempted to destroy the Kaba with an army which included several elephants. Although the raid was unsuccessful, because it was customary to name a year after a major event which occurred during it, that year became known as the Year of Elephants, which was also the year that Muhammad (PBUH) was born. Although most Muslims equate it with the Western year 570, a minority equates it with 571. Later years were numbered from the Year of the Elephant, whether for the years of the pre-Islamic lunisolar calendar, the lunisolar calendar used by Muhammad (PBUH) before he forbade the intercalary month, or the first few years of the lunar calendar thus created. In 638 (AH 17), the second Caliph Umar began numbering the years of the Islamic calendar from the year of the Hijra, which was postdated AH 1. The first day of the first month (1 Muharram) of that proleptic Islamic year, that is, after the removal of all intercalary months between the Hijra and Muhammad's (PBUH) prohibition of them nine years later, corresponded to July 16, 622 (the actual emigration took place in September). The first surviving attested use of the Hijri calendar is on a papyrus from Egypt in 22 AH.

 

Observation Of Hilal, Date Calculations, And Nonuniform Dates Among Regions

 

There is at least one recorded incident in the first Islamic century where Muslims in Medina and Sham (Syria) fasted independently upon their respective observations of the lunar crescent (Hilal).

 

Each month has either 29 or 30 days, but usually in no discernible order. Traditionally, the first day of each month was the day (beginning at sunset) of the first sighting of the lunar crescent (the hilal) shortly after sunset. If the hilāl was not observed immediately after the 29th day of a month, either because clouds blocked its view or because the western sky was still too bright when the moon set, then the day that began at that sunset was the 30th. Such a sighting had to be made by one or more trustworthy men testifying before a committee of Muslim leaders. Determining the most likely day that the hilāl could be observed was a motivation for Muslim interest in astronomy, which put Islam in the forefront of that science for many centuries.

 

This traditional practice is still followed in a few parts of the world, like India, Pakistan and Jordan. However, in most Muslim countries astronomical rules are followed which allow the calendar to be determined in advance, which is not the case using the traditional method. Malaysia, Indonesia, and a few others begin each month at sunset on the first day that the moon sets after the sun (moonset after sunset). In Egypt, the month begins at sunset on the first day that the moon sets at least five minutes after the sun.

 

The moon sets progressively later than the sun for locations further west, thus western Muslim countries are more likely to celebrate some holy day one day earlier than eastern Muslim countries.

 

Umm al-Qura Calendar

 

The official Umm-ul-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia used a substantially different astronomical method until recent years. Before AH 1420 (before 1999), if the moon's age at sunset in Riyad was at least 12 hours, then the day ending at that sunset was the first day of the month. This often caused the Saudis to celebrate holy days one or even two days before other predominantly Muslim countries, including the dates for the Hajj, which can only be dated using Saudi dates because it is performed in Mecca. During one memorable year during the AH 1380s (the 1970s), different Muslim countries ended the fast of Ramadan on each of four successive days. The celebrations became more uniform beginning in AH 1420. For AH 1420-22, if moonset occurred after sunset at Mecca, then the day beginning at that sunset was the first day of a Saudi month, essentially the same rule used by Malaysia, Indonesia, and others (except for the location from which the hilal was observed). Since the beginning of AH 1423 (March 16, 2002), the rule has been clarified a little by requiring the geocentric conjunction of the sun and moon to occur before sunset, in addition to requiring moonset to occur after sunset at Mecca. This ensures that the moon has moved past the sun by sunset, even though the sky may still be too bright immediately before moonset to actually see the crescent.

 

Strictly speaking, the Umm al-Qura calendar is intended for civil purposes only. Their makers are well aware of the fact that the first visual sighting of the lunar crescent (hilāl) can occur up to two days after the date calculated in the Umm al-Qura calendar. Since AH 1419 (1998/99) several official hilāl sighting committees have been set up by the government of Saudi Arabia to determine the first visual sighting of the lunar crescent at the begin of each lunar month. Nevertheless, the religious authorities of Saudi Arabia also allow the testimony of less experienced observers and thus often announce the sighting of the lunar crescent on a date when none of the official committees could see the lunar crescent.

 

This is particularly the case for the most important dates on the Islamic calendar — the beginning and end of Ramadan (the month of the fast) and the beginning of Zil -Hijja. If a Muslim male resident (two in the case of the end of Ramadan) sees the new moon on the 29th day of the preceding month, and if this sighting is accepted by the religious authorities, then the new month is judged to have arrived, even though the official Umm al-Qura calendar calls for a 30th day before the new month begins. This can change the actual beginning and/or end of the fast (in the case of Ramadan) or the timing of the pilgrimage to Makkah. This happens occasionally, with the most recent occurrences being in AH 1427 (2006-2007), when the beginning of the months of both Ramadan and Zil -Hijja occurred a day earlier than called for in the official Umm al-Qura calendar.

 

Recently, the Islamic Society of North America, the Fiqah Council of North America and the European Council for Fatwa and Research have announced that they too in future will follow the Umm al-Qura calendar for regulating the Islamic days of observance.

 

Tabular Islamic Calendar

 

There exists a variation of the Islamic calendar known as the tabular Islamic Calendar in which months are worked out by arithmetic rules rather than by observation or astronomical calculation. It has a 30-year cycle with 11 leap years of 355 days and 19 years of 354 days. In the long term, it is accurate to one day in about 2500 years. It also deviates up to about 1 or 2 days in the short term.

 

Eid Moon for AH 1428

 

According to MoonCalc by Dr. Monzur Ahmed, the Astronomical New Moon is on Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 5:00 GMT (i.e., 1:00 am EDT, or October 10, 10:00 pm PDT). It will not be visible on October 11 anywhere in the world, except Southern tip of South America and Polynesian Islands in the South Pacific. On October 12, it will be visible in New Zealand Australia, Indonesia, South Asia, Africa and Africas. In North America on October 12, it can be seen with some difficulty. This may be apparent from the visibilty curve below.

 

Pakistan Meteorological Department has however, announced that the moon will not be sighted on the 29^th Ramadan because astronomical calculations suggest that there is hardly any chance of sighting new moon of Shawwal in the evening of 12th October 2007 throughout the country. As such, the month of Shawwal, InshAllah would commence in Pakistan from 14th October, 2007 on Sunday, subject to confirmation by the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.

 

According to the Met Department the age of the moon will be sufficient i.e. more than 26 hours but the minimum duration for the new moon after sunset that should be more than 41 minutes will be less than 28 minutes at some places and much lower almost all over the country. People who make a rush at having a look may also be disappointed since by the time they come out the thin crescent may be lost.