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When is Ramadan 1433 AH

Report by Qamar Uddin: Ramadan is the 9th

month of the Islamic calendar based on the orbit of the moonround the earth. The month starts with the first sighting of the crescent moon (Hilal), which appears in adifferent location of the earth in each month. Hence, it is not possible to fix one location or any country on theearth to sight the youngest moon in every month.

However, the Islamic Crescent Observation for the UK (ICOUK) group attempt Hilal observations on the UK

horizon in all 12 months of the year and also collect reliable/verified observation reports from other countries inthe east of UK/Morocco. These reports are made available to the Muslim Scholars (Ulama) in the UK to makerapid decisions based on actual human eye sightings to fully comply with the Shariah.

On Wednesday, 20th

June 2012 (29th

Rajab 1433 AH) many people from throughout the UK have attempted tosight the Hilal of Shaban after sunset. None of the groups were able to sight the Hilal, as most places werecloudy. However, we have received reliable sighting reports (Muhaqaq-Ruyat-Basari) from the Morocco AwqafMinistry and Jamiat-e-Ulama South Africa. Therefore, the UK Ulama have decided that the month of Shaban1433 AH was started from Thursday 21

stJune 2012, which was also the same date as the Saudi Ummul Qura

calendar.

Therefore, 29th

Shaban 1433 AH will be on Thursday 19th

July 2012 when we will be looking for the Hilal ofRamadan after sunset as per the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). If reliable/

verified sighting reports were received from either the UK or any countries in the east of the UK/Morocco then1 Ramadan 1433 AH may start from Friday 20

thJuly 2012, otherwise it will start from the next day (21

stJuly).

Ramadan PredictionFrom a scientific point of view, the Hilal of Ramadan 1433 AH will not be possible to be sighted anywhere inthe UK or in the east on 19

thJuly 2012 (after sunset) and hence the month of Shaban 1433 AH is likely to

complete 30 days. The Ramadan moon will be born on Thursday 19th

July 2012 at 04:24 GMT (New MoonConjunction). It will be 15.7 hours old at London sunset, but moonset will be 17 minutes before sunset, henceit will not be possible to be sighted anywhere in the UK. In Makkah, the moon will be 11.7 hours old, but it willset 6 minutes after sunset. However, it will not be possible to sighted after Makkah sunset, as the moon will betoo close to the horizon (0.9 deg altitude) and the sun (7 deg elongation). Also, the phase of the moon will beso thin (0.4% illuminated) that it will be beyond the resolution of the human eye to sight it!

The predicted crescent visibility map for Ramadan 1433 AH [Fig. 1] clearly shows that the moon will not bepossible to be sighted anywhere in the east of UK/Morocco on the evening of 19

thJuly 2012. There is a very

small possibility that it might be sighted by telescope from South America if the weather was perfect, but thathas not been possible in the past and even if it was, it will not be considered to avoid undue hardships, sinceany reliable sightings reports may not arrive in the UK until the next morning! Therefore, 1 Ramadan 1433 AHin the UK is most likely to be on Saturday 21

stJuly 2012 (i.e. after sunset on 20

thJuly 2012), Insha-Allah.

Makkah ConferenceThere was a Moon Sighting Conference held in Makkah, organised by the Islamic Fiqh Academy of the MuslimWorld League (MWL) in February 2012. About eighty scholars participated in the conference, mainly from theArab countries, which included many Saudi Supreme Court members as well as Muslim astronomers from theIslamic Crescent Observation Project (ICOP). After three days of deliberations, the conference agreed that theIslamic lunar months will start by sighting of the moon. However, astronomical calculations will be used todecide if any sighting claims should be accepted or not. The fourth resolution clearly stated that any sightingclaims will only be accepted if after New Moon Conjunction, the moonset is after sunset on Makkah horizon.This is the current formula used in calculating the Saudi Ummul Qura calendar dates.

Based on the above resolution, Saudi Arabia is most likely to start Ramadan from 20th

July 2012 since thereare a couple of well known individuals from near Riyadh (i.e. Sudayr and Shaqra), who often claim impossiblesightings and their claims are usually accepted by the court, which will match the Ummul Qura calendar date.There is no requirement of group sightings (Jamme Ghafir) or the use of Predicted Crescent Visibility (Imkan-e-Ruyat) to counter the problem. If there is a difference in sighting reports between Saudi Arabia and othernearby countries, then unfortunately there will be a split in UK Muslim communities for the start of Ramadan,since some large UK mosques (e.g. Regents Park & East London) strictly follow Saudi announcements only.

Fortunately, the outlook for Eid-ul-Fitr looks better, since moonset will be before sunset at Makkah on 17th

August 2012, so Saudi Arabia is unlikely to end Ramadan on that evening. On the next evening (18 th August2012) most countries of Africa will be able to sight the Hilal [Fig. 2], hence Eid-ul-Fitr is expected to be unitedon the same day on Sunday 19

thAugust 2012, Insha-Allah. Unfortunately, it may not be the same next year!

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For regular moon sighting news and discussions for the UK, please join our group by completing an onlineMembership Registration Form from the ICOUK website (www.icouk.net). We pray to Allah Almighty to uniteall the Muslims of the UK on a Shariah compliant moon sighting criteria (Ameen).

Fig.1 Visibility Map for Ramadan 1433 AH

Fig.2 Visibility Map for Shawwal 1433 AH (Eid-ul Fitr)

[28 June 2012]