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The never-ending debate over Moon-Sighting

“When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained.”

Eid Al Fitr is a solemn occasion and an event for Muslims to rejoice, marking the end of the month of fasting from dawn to dusk and abstinence from worldly issues.

Millions of men, women and children in the Islamic world await the announcement of the beginning of the Holy Month of Ramadan at Mosques or through the media to begin their fast and about 30 days later, await the acceptance of a report that the ‘Eid Moon’ has been sighted.

‘Moon Sighting’ is still followed as a ritual by Muslims and the ‘Moon Committee’ listens to the accounts of witnesses. Many have argued that it is difficult to sight the Moon on a New Moon Day (Moonless night) and that modern methods should be practiced.

However, despite the state-of-the-art technology at their command, preference to the actual sighting of the moon by human eye is high.

Raging argument

The end of Ramadan marks the beginning of Shaban, freeing Muslims of dawn to dusk obligation of fasting for yet another year. But the debate over this traditional method of sighting rages high in the West, although seldom questioned in Islamic countries.

“The issue of Moon-sighting has become ‘Moon-fighting,’ no less serious than the issue of chads and dimples on Florida ballots. In this case, both sides of the divide are divided over the question that what is really the ‘New Moon. ‘

Interestingly, both sides of the divide base their arguments on the Hadith: “Do not fast unless you sight the crescent and do not break your fast till you sight the (following) crescent,” (Al Bukhari, Vol 3:130), says a scholar.

The Islamic Shura Council of North America (ISCNA), in consultation with the Fiqh Council of North America, has adopted the position that a confirmed crescent sighting report in North America will be accepted as long as such a report does not contradict indisputable astronomical information. ISCNA comprises the four major Islamic organisations in the US, including the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Ministry of W Deen Mohammad and Community of Imam Jamil Al Amin.

The Fiqh Council viewpoint is also supported by the research done by eminent scholars such as Dr Yousuf Al Qaradawi and Shaikh Mustafa Al Zarqa.

Scientific facts

ISNA National Coordinator and National Moon-Sighting Consultant Syed Khalid Shaukat expressed his disappointment over the issue. “In the present era of scientific and technological advancement, decades after man landed on the Moon, some Muslims are still avoiding the scientific knowledge for making an Islamic calendar and get over with the feuds and having to wait till midnight for a confirmation of Moon-Sighting,” he said.

“Today, Muslims have the expertise and access to technology to understand the calculations of when and where the sighting occurs. Recorded data shows how the science of Moon-Sighting is compared with the actual observations. The results indicate that calculations of sighting and observations have matched every month since 1993. Calculations of Moon-Sighting and actual sighting are not two different things for an Islamic Calendar when it was found that they both match,” he added.

Accurate calculations

According to him, the results show that with today’s technology, calculations are far more accurate than the claims of sighting of the Moon, ‘whereas it could have been some other objects.’

Shaukat points out those calculations for sighting are surety (haqqul-yaqeen), while claims of sighting may be suspicion (zann) or mistake. He says that Allah has given people the knowledge about the motions of earth and Moon and an Islamic calendar based on calculations that has proven to match with actual sighting would enable Muslims to plan ahead of time, while actual sighting will prove to be confirmatory.

“This only meets the intent of the Holy Quran and Sunnah and the benefits greatly surpass the consequences faced by false claims of sighting and waiting for a decision until midnight,” he said.

Difficult task

The most misunderstood question is whether the sighting is a means or a requirement of ascertaining the beginning of an Islamic month. Shaukat says the answer to this question is better understood by people in the Caribbean (Caribbean Islands, Trinidad, and Guyana) where the rainy season lasts six months, making Moon-Sighting an impossible task.

“If they count 30 days for three or four months in a row, the Moon is then sighted on the 27th or 28th day. This is a clear indication that the Sharia did not intend the sighting as the only requirement but simply as a facility available to the Muslims of that era.

The opponents of scientific calculations also cite Bukhari, Vol. 3:130 to maintain that the people at the time of the Prophet (PBUH) were PBUPBUH)were illiterate, that physical sighting was the method prescribed by Allah and thus cannot be changed. Among this group, there are differences on the number of witnesses needed for confirming such a sighting.

The Fiqh Council’s view that physical sighting must go hand in hand with scientific calculations finds numerous grounds in the Hadith. ISNA, which serves as coordinator of the ISCNA Moon-Sighting programme, has set up a system where people who claim sighting the Moon, may call the headquarters. The scientists then examine this information and discuss the various nuances with the reporter to establish the veracity of his sighting.

The need for such dual sighting is strengthened by the fact that skies today are inhabited by numerous man-made objects that may befool the viewer.

Assured accuracy

Islam is a strong proponent of using reason.

It is a fact that astronomy can accurately establish the time of birth of the new moon and the time interval when it is impossible to see the Crescent-Moon. Thus, there is no harm in using this astronomical basis to reject a claimed sighting which cannot possibly be correct. Indeed, this is similar to rejecting the claim of someone who claims to have seen the Crescent-Moon on the 29th Night of Ramadan, says a scholar.

Photo : The ‘Eid Moon,’ as seen by the human eye

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