Ummal-Qura Special Rules
Saudi
Arabia’s Ummal-Qura calendar doesn't rely on a visual sighting
of the crescent moon to fix the start of a new Islamic month.
Since several decades Saudi Arabia and most neighboring Middle
Eastern states, including Egypt, have employed a lunar calendar
that systematically begins each Islamic calendar month one or
two days ahead of actual visual sighting of a crescent moon in
those countries, while the majority of the Muslims everywhere
else continued relying on the moon’s visibility in their own
countries.
Around
Ramadan and the month of pilgrimage (Dhul-Hijja) Saudi/Egyptian
officially approved Islamic Hijri calendars cause much confusion
when Muslims around the world attempt to determine the correct
dates for observance of numerous rituals including the beginning
of the fasting month, Taraweeh and Eidain prayers, fasting on
9th day of Dhul Hijjah and ritual sacrifice (Udhiya) on the 10th
days after Eid al-Adha prayer.
A large
number of Muslims all over the world believed Saudi Arabia fixes
its Islamic observance dates after the visual sighting of the
lunar crescent (Hilal). As a matter of fact Saudi religious
authorities of Majlis al-Qada al-A’ala strictly followed the
Ummal-Qura dates based on invisible moon except on rare
occasions when they had to manipulate the dates for specific
purposes and ended up 28 days of Ramadan (1988) and Hajj on the
7th day of Dhul Hijja (December 29, 2006).
The Ummal-Qura Calendar Before 1420 AH
The
Saudi Hijri calendar passed through three phases. For years up
to the end of 1419AH (16 April 1999) Saudi Arabia used a lunar
calendar in which each month started on the day of the
astronomical Conjunction based on the meridian of Greenwich. The
rule was:
If the
Moon’s age at sunset is 12 hours or more after the
[astronomical] New Moon then the Islamic month starts from the
PREVIOUS sunset date since the Islamic day starts at sunset, and
the night comes before the daylight.
This
rule implied that every lunar month started in the evening when
the Moon at sunset was either less than 12 hours old or less
than 12 hours away from the time of New Moon. The consequence
was that in about 50% of all cases the lunar Islamic month began
before the astronomical New Moon and in about as many cases
moonset occurred before sunset. In all cases, the lunar crescent
would have been absolutely invisible to the naked eye on the
first evening of the lunar Islamic month.
From 1420 AH to 1422
Starting at the beginning of 1420 AH (17 April 1999) the
Institute of Astronomical & Geophysical Research at King
Abdulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST) adopted a
slightly different rule for the Ummal-Qura calendar. It stated
that:
On the
29th day of an Islamic month, if the sun sets in Makkah before
the moon, the next date will be the first of new Islamic month.
If the moon sets before the sun, the next date will be the last
(30th) of the current month.
By this
rule, the month started on the first evening when moonset
occurred after sunset at Makka, (or al-Masjid al-Haram). In most
cases (c. 85%) the lunar crescent was still too young to have
been visible with the naked eye on the first official Saudi
evening of the month. About once in every two years the Saudi
month would commence before the New Moon.
Such
cases indeed occurred in 1421 AH and 1422 AH. The anomaly is
caused by the fact that the Sun and the Moon do not set
perpendicularly at the latitude of Makka. When the Moon is near
its most northerly ecliptic latitude moonset can occur after
sunset even before the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction.
Saudi Taqweem After 1422 AH
From
1423 AH (15 March 2002) onwards, the Institute of Astronomical &
Geophysical Research (KACST) has modified its rules for the Umm
al-Qura calendar as follows:
The
Islamic month starts from the sunset of the conjunction date at
Makka if:
1. The
geocentric conjunction occurs before sunset on the 29th of the
lunar month; and
2. The
Moon sets after the Sun. Otherwise, the current lunar month will
last 30 days.
First Day of Lunar
Months by UQ
According to the new Ummal-Qura calendar the first days of the
Islamic month for 1427- 1429 AH for Saudi Arabia are calculated
as follows:
Month
|
1427
|
1428
|
1429
|
Muharram |
31 Jan 2006 Tu |
20 Jan 2007 Sa |
10 Jan 2008 Th |
Safar
|
1 Mar 2006 We |
19 Feb 2007 Mo |
8 Feb 2008 Fr |
Rabi I
|
30 Mar 2006 Th |
20 Mar 2007 Tu |
9 Mar 2008 Su |
Rabi II
|
29 Apr 2006 Sa |
18 Apr 2007 We |
7 Apr 2008 Mo |
Jumada I |
28 May 2006 Su |
18 May 2007 Fr |
6 May 2008 Tu |
Jumada II |
26 Jun 2006 Mo |
16 Jun 2007 Sa |
5 Jun 2008 Th |
Rajab
|
26 Jul 2006 We |
15 Jul 2007 Su |
4 Jul 2008 Fr |
Sha’ban |
25 Aug 2006 Fr |
14 Aug 2007 Tu |
2 Aug 2008 Sa |
Ramadan |
24 Sep 2006 Su |
13 Sep 2007 Th |
1 Sep 2008 Mo |
Shawwal |
23 Oct 2006 Mo |
13 Oct 2007 Sa |
1 Oct 2008 We |
D. Qa’da
|
22 Nov 2006 We |
11 Nov 2007 Su |
30 Oct 2008 Th |
D. Hijja
|
22 Dec 2006 Fr
|
11 Dec 2007 Tu
|
29 Nov 2008 Sa
|
(Note:
The crescent moon will not be visible the previous evening and
start the month at sunset on the dates calculated above is at
least one day ahead of actual visibility.)
Ramadan & Eidain Dates 1425-1431
The
following table lists the Gregorian dates of New Year, the
beginning of Ramadan, the date of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha,
according to the Ummal-Qura.
Year |
1 Muharram |
1 Ramadan |
1 Shawwal |
10 Dhul-Hijja |
1425 |
21 Feb 2004 Sa |
15 Oct 2004 Fr |
Nov 2004 |
21 Jan 2005 Fr |
1426 |
10 Feb 2005 Th |
4 Oct 2005 Tu |
3 Nov 2005 |
10 Jan 2006Tu |
1427 |
31 Jan 2006 Tu |
24 Sep 2006 Su |
23 Oct 2006 |
31 Dec 2006 Su |
1428 |
20 Jan 2007 Sa |
13 Sep 2007 Th |
13 Oct 2007 |
20 Dec 2007 Th |
1429 |
10 Jan 2008 Th |
1 Sep 2008 Mo |
1 Oct 2008 |
8 Dec 2008 Mo |
1430 |
29 Dec 2008 Mo |
22 Aug 2009 |
20 Sep 2009 |
27 Nov 2009 Fr |
1431 |
18 Dec 2009 Fr |
11 Aug 2010 |
10 Sep 2010 |
16 Nov 2010Tu |
Visibility of the Crescent Moon in Saudi Arabia
Strictly
speaking, Taqweem Ummal-Qura (TUQ) is intended for civil
purposes only. Makers of TUQ highlight the fact that the first
visual sighting of the lunar crescent (Hilal) can occur up to
two days after the date calculated in the Ummal-Qura calendar.
Saudi
Majlis al-Qada al-A’ala repeatedly proclaims that it does not
fix Ramadan, Eidain and Hajj dates by the Ummal-Qura calendar
and that for Islamic dates the only criterion is reliable (Adil)
witnesses, or completion of 30 days of the previous month.
However, they readily accept all sorts of claims, blatantly
false by any astronomical standard. Attempts, by local Saudi
professional observers and the Ulema from all over the world
have failed to persuade the Majlis to evaluate the claims and
reject them for obvious contradictions.
Official Saudi Sighting Committees
Since
1419 AH (1998/99 CE) the Saudi government has set up several
official Hilal sighting committees to determine the first visual
sighting of the lunar crescent. However, the religious
authorities (Majlis al-Qada al-A’la) allow the testimony of
dubious, and outright deceptive observers. They announce
sighting of the lunar crescent on dates when none of the
official committees could observe a visible moon anywhere in the
Kingdom. The Majlis unhesitatingly accepts visual sighting of a
moon on the 29th date of the Ummal-Qura calendar, starting a
lunar month before the conjunction. Sometimes, it moves the
calculated 29th date of the Ummal-Qura a day ahead making the
actual sighting two days later. It has occurred for Dhul-Hijja
of 1426 (January 2006) and 1427 (December 2006).
The
Majlis also commences Islamic month if the crescent moon was not
seen on the 30th date of the Ummal-Qura calendar. It is a
well-known fact that a moon is always visible in the 30th
evening. If it is not seen then certainly it is not the 30th day
of the lunar month but 29th or 28th day and hence a
moon was not visible..
These
Saudi practices lead to great confusion. Fistfights in Muslim
communities all over the world may be seen when the dates of
important religious events, especially, Ramadan Shawwal or Dhū
’l-Hijja are changed. In nearly all of these cases, a
retrospective analysis has indicated that these extremely early
reports of the lunar crescent were impossible and based on false
sightings.
A
recent study (Kordi, 2003) of 42 reports of observations of the
Ramadan crescent moon as announced by the Saudi Majlis al-Qada
between 1962-2001, confirms that almost all of Majlis
announcements were too early and based on false sighting claims.
Odeh
(1999) also reached the same conclusion after analyzing
1954-1998 Ramadan and Eidain dates in Jordan (also all over the
Middle East).
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