October 2011 Archive

New Item: D. Qa'da Hillal was easily visible in many locations in USA (Va, Fl, Tx, etc.) in the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011.

It was also seen as far east as Malaysia. However, it was not seen in Sri Lanka, India or Pakistan, because the moon has moved to the southern hemisphere and will remain there during the next 3-4 months.

Red Alert
Com. for Crescent Observation, ICNA, Hilal-sighting.com, and many Muslim organizations
fixed Eid al-Fitr date as Wed. August 31.

Unfortunately, many Muslims in North America celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Tuesday, August 30, 2011 though they were told that the Shawwaal Hilal could NOT be SEEN anywhere in the evening of Tuesday, August 29, 2011.

These Muslims deliberately missed the obligatory fast on the last day of Ramadan.

Do Muslims Care?

The Qur'an (2:187) says: Visible moons fix the Islamic month and Hajj dates.
The Sunnah is to determine Ramadan, Haj and Eidain dates by the sighted crescent moons.
Never Celebrate Eid until you see the Hilal (of Shawwal) (Bukhari)

But the Muslims celebrated Eid on the last day of Ramadan as a result of:
1. Saudis claim their witnesses saw Shawwal moon (and ISNA/ECFR, etc.followed)
2. Moonsighting.com flashed a reportfrom Chile without verifying.

Muslim Quandary

Islamic calendar rules are NOT FIXED even after 1432 years.

So, Saudi Majlis al-Qada fixed Tuesday,August 30, 2011 as the date of Eid al-Fitr (by a lie that Hilal was actually SEEN in Saudi Arabia).

Saudis started Ramadan on August 1 by another lie: 30 days of Sh'abaan were complete on July 31, 2011.

ISNA in America and ECFR in Europe blindly follow Saudi dates since 1977.

Most Arab states (including Egypt) follow Saudi announcements.

Indonesia, Malaysia (and now Turkey ?) also go by Saudi dates.

Libya for the first time has Eid on Wed. as did Morocco, Tunis, Algeria, etc.

Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Oman, etc. went by the sighted moon for Ramadan and Eidian both.

ICOP Falsehood
Another confusion was introduced by ICOP.

CCD camera generated computer image of a crescent at 10:30am in the morning of

August 29, 2011 in Germany. This "deceptive" Hilal could never be SEEN there in the evening hours. By the Fiqh rule (the moon seen before Zawaal is of the previous date)
Was Monday, August 29 the Day of Eid al-Fitr by CCD sighted Hilal?.

Is this the way to use modern means for creating an Islamic calendar?

Moonsighting.com Blunder

Many Sunni Imams followed ISNA.

However a few took sighting in southern Chile (South America) as an excuse for

Eid on Tuesday. They did not care to check the news flashed on Moonsighting.com

web.violated three basic rules:

1) The sighting was a "News, not Shahadah);
2) It was by a man and a woman

3) It was conveyed from southern Chile.

It could NOT be a SUFFICIENT number to declare Eid;

1) Chile is not part of the Matla for North America; and

2) Islamic date begins from the point where the moon is first seen,

not to its east, or south/north.

A lot of Muslims are confused. But do they care to raise their voice against Saudi /ISNA dates?,

ISNA, ECFR, and other groups have been dividing the Ummah year after year?

ISNA Fiqh Council follows Saudi Ramadan and Eidain dates, irrespective of whether the Ramadan or Eid Moons are seen there or anywhere in N. America. Their LOGIC:
1.”Seeing” a moon is NOT REQUIRED by Shariah;
2. Moon’s calculations are 100% “ACCURATE”

ISNA affiliates and mosques under ISNA control add two more points in their support:
3. ISNA is the only “National” organization" of the Muslims in N. America
4. ISNA has Fiqh experts like Dr. Z.A Shah and quote Dr. Qaradawi.

The Muslims in N. America are the most educated mass of the Ummah. But for Islamic dates they are the best example of "The Blind leading the blind."

How did they get the idea that Dr. Shah or ISNA Fiqh Council knows even ABC of Astronomical calculations? Despite our repeated requests in dozens of e-mails, Dr. Shah never replied the following two questions for years:

1. Which of the (five) lunar calculations does he/ISNA use for Islamic dates?
2. Why did the Prophet (SAW) NOT USE the accurate Jewish lunar calculations though he lived in Medina for 10-11 lunar years. The Jews constantly reminded him about the accuracy of Jewish calendar?

We never got an answer from Dr. Shah (and I am pretty sure, the Imams of ISNA controlled mosques know which one is used by Dr. Shah/ISNA and their "experts" for calculating ISNA Islamic dates?)

ISNA goal since 1977 was always: Follow Saudi dates When ISNA calculation experts did not support the ISNA position they used Qaradawi/Shah's Fiqh.

Fiqh credentials (??) to convince the Muslims that ISNA/ Saudis follow the "only correct Islamic rule" for fixing the Islamic dates: Follow Saudis.

The Qur’an says: Waxing crescent moons (Ahilla) are the Mawaqeet (determinants of starting point of time) for the Muslim observances (Ramadan and Hajj). The Prophet’s words are: “Fast when you see a waxing crescent (Hilal)….

The Muslim practice was to look for a crescent moon (Hilal) at sunset when the human eye could detect the contrast between the dimly-lit first-day moon in the red glow of the horizon. There were no telescopes or binoculars, and the Muslims did not know how to calculate the conjunction.

In early days, the Muslims had no calendar. To begin the month, they were dependant on the local actual visual reports of a Hilal. If they missed the earliest sighting they would notice a gibbous moon on 3^rd, 4^th or 5^th evening. The moon appeared quite high in the sky and thick. The shape created the suspicion that it might be of the previous evening. When the Messenger (S) was asked about the validity of such a surmise he said: The moon is of the night when you see it (first). (Sahih Muslim). It was the first Muslim attempt to solve the issue of the first day of an Islamic month.

There is nothing unusual about 4-5 days old gibbous crescents to be visible in the western skies hours before the sunset. In Hadith collections and Fiqh books one finds “Seen BEFORE” or “Seen AFTER Zawaal” discussion (which appear more of conjecture nature.) These early reported instances could easily be explained as “delayed sighting.”

However, for several months, an observer in the US has been reporting instrumental as well as naked-eye observations of the waxing crescent moon during mid-day hours. He used the Sky & Telescope Interactive Sky Chart to locate the moon in the sky. He made a similar claim in 2033:

Logan, Utah: Sighted the moon through binocular at 7:29 pm (local sunset 7:20) till about 7:50 pm. The horns were at 2:30-6:30 o'clock. The horizon was clear but hazy. Could not sight the moon with naked eye.

Logan, UT: Located the moon first with binocular and then sighted with naked eye at 2:34 pm. Sunset was at 7:18 pm (i.e. the naked-eye sighting was almost 5 hours before the sunset).

Since 2001, Iranian observers also are reported to record their daylight observations, which were classified under four categories:

1. Crescents observed at sunset by tools 2. Crescents observed at sunset by naked-eyes

3. Crescents observed at daylight by tools 4. Crescents observed at daylight by naked-eyes

Using a pair of 7x50 binoculars we were able to sight a very thin crescent in Blacksburg, VA. The first binocular sighting was at 1:55 pm (sunset 6:54 pm EDT; moonset 7:11 pm). My last sighting was at 4:25 pm. To find the moon's location, I used the Sky & Telescope Interactive Sky Chart.. The horns were at 12:30 - 3:00 O'clock. The sky was clear.

This evening, I also tried sighting the moon in Blacksburg, with no success. I observed Venus at 6:36 pm (sunset 6:54 pm EDT). Then, I started scanning the west southwest horizon for the moon. I continued till past moonset (moonset 7:11 pm). The horizon was clear.

Blacksburg, VA: Binocular sighting was around 11:23 am (7 ½ hours before the sunset at) 6:53 pm; moonset 7:53 pm); naked eye sighting was not possible then. I tried sighting again in the afternoon and was able to see the crescent by naked eye at 2:01 pm (approx. six hours before the sunset. To find the moon, I used the Sky & Telescope Interactive Sky Chart. The horns were at 11:30 - 3:30 O'clock.

In the evening, using a pair of binoculars, I was able to locate it at 6:37 pm followed by naked eye sighting. At 6:52 pm, the crescent was about 9 degrees above the horizon. At 6:53 pm, the horns were at 1:30 and 6:00. The sky was mostly clear and hazy.

I sighted the moon first by using a pair of 7X50 binoculars in Blacksburg, VA at 2:30 pm (5hours before the sunset at 7:38 pm ; moonset 8:06 pm) soon followed by naked eye sighting. To find the moon, I used the Sky & Telescope Interactive Sky Chart. The moon was about 15 degrees to the lower left of the sun. The horns were at 12:30-4:30 O'clock. The sky was mostly clear.

Again, this evening, using a pair of 7X50 binoculars I sighted it with naked eye. The moon elevation was about 7 degrees. The sunset was at 7:38 and moonset at 8:06.

By: jtorabinejad@...File Name: Picture1.jpg Posted: Oct 10, 2010 for the morning moon.

(Note 1: Please keep in mind that the observer, his daughter and wife all three claimed naked-eye sighting. Inexperienced (very young) observers hardly ever see the crescent.

Note 2: Based on the normal human eye detecting the contrast between the waxing crescent moon and the bright sun-lit sky at mid-day, his naked-eye observation through a 7x50 binocular is highly unlikely. If the observer could see the waxing crescent at 1:55 pm (with horns: 12:30-3:00 on the clock) and could map its exact location then why was he unable to “observe” it around sunset?

Note 3: More perplexing is the shape of the crescent:11:30 am - 3:00 pm on a clock.

Jim Stamm: Apparently, (the observer) is using the orientation of the horns as though the center of the moon is the center of the clock. His descriptions are almost exactly what a planetarium software program would show, which is seldom what is actually seen, and even more seldom, reported with the kind of precision that he is using

Sept. 9, 2010: Mohamad Soltanolkotabi; Location: Esfarjan, Esfahan,Iran( 31.6 N, 51.9 E) Date: Thursday, Sep 9th 2010 Time zone: +3.5 Elevation: 2255m Elongation at the first observation time: 13.7 D Apparent Sunset: 19:16 ((Had he tried BEFORE HIGH NOON could he see it?).

Instruments: SXD-R200SS Vixen 8 inch Telescope, GPD2-R200SS Vixen 8 inch Telescope, 20x90 binoculars, 20x110 binoculars; blue sky!

Explanation: We used astronomical objects to lock our instruments on several positions where the new crescent would cross on the 9th. We were sure that the crescent would pass through the 20x110 binoculars at 9:37, through the 20x90 at 15:54; through the first telescope at 9:30 & through the second one at 11:00 Thursday. Mr. Zolfaghari Rad saw the crescent at 11:17a.m. as the first observation through the GPD2-R200SS Vixen 8 inch Telescope. Mr. Soltanolkottabi saw it at 11:18. Mr. Soltanolkottabi hunted the crescent for the second time at 15:52pm through the 20x90. We also tried to observe the Moon a few minutes before the sunset through the 20x90. Mr. Karimi could see the Moon for the first time at 19:17pm & then all of us could see the crescent for a few minutes.

The crescent of Ramadan has been observed on Friday, August 21, 2009, at 10:30 am LT (06:00 UT) by 5 person under the supervision of Mr. Mohsen Sharifi with the 14" telescope (from 10:30 to 12:00 LT). (Alireza Mehrani <amehrani2001@ >

Thursday 12th August 2010 After an extensive search with binoculars, we were able to see the crescent at 1801 local time, 2 hours 40 minutes before sunset. Even though the crescent was nearly 62 hours old (data attached), because of the bright sunny afternoon, it was very faint and could just about be seen with the naked eye.

These recent mid-day “observations” might add further confusion about when to start an Islamic month. After receiving 1.55 pm sighting on Oct. 8, 2010(Above) we sent the following questionnaire to Ulema:

c) From Oct. 9 (though not seen by naked-eye after Maghrib on Oct. 8, As per Saudi rule); or

Now the Muslims can calculate the conjunction and calendars are everywhere to look for the crescent moons (though some like ISNA, following Saudi Arabia and European Council of Fatwa & Research) tell the Muslims: No need to see a crescent moon. One wonders how to begin an Islamic month? Just follow Saudi Taqweem (calculated by the New Moon setting 1 minute after the sunset in Makka)?

1. Observing a moon is not the "end" but a means to START each Islamic "month." It is the Qur’anic “Meeqaat” for fixing the days of observance of fasting and of Hajj (2:189).

2. The Prophet (PBUH) did not look for the "moon." The Muslims have been looking for the Hilal for 1400+ years.

3. There is no Hilal at the conjunction or hours later, as Qaradawi once claimed. The Hilal-formation usually begins hours later when the moon moves 11-12 degrees away from the sun and is high enough (usually 10 degrees) on the horizon.

4. A curvy line created by a CCD camera attached to a computer, or scattered dots projected through Sky & Telescope Interactive Sky Chart is not the "Hilal". It cannot be the STARTING POINT of an Islamic month. The same is true about the dark moon disk located through a telescopes/binocular.

The Conjunction occurs approximately every 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.9 seconds. The "Claims of sighting" a Hilal be "verifiable" and "repeatable."

If a person or a group claims a sighting 3-5 hours before the sunset then he/she MUST be able see/show the same Hilal at or after the sunset. Some “experts” who for years have not tried to "SIGHT" a Hilal readily "certify" odd claims as "authentic" and add them to their DATA-BASE for calculating the visibility curves - the main reason for the present CHAOS and confusion.

The religious scholars are CONFUSED about the earliest "sighting." Are the "sighting" of the fully dark lunar disk (FULL MOON) through telescope or binoculars and a Hilal (waxing crescent moon, seen around the sunset) the same to begin the Islamic observances (of Ramadan and Eidain)?

Old Fiqh rulings are equally confusing Arabic language did not recognize the distinction between "Qamar" (Moon) and the Hilal (Qamar al-Mawlid).

Ramadan: By Qur’an and Sunnah or By ISNA/Saudi Dates?

A large number of Muslims in N. America started Ramadan fasting on August 11, 2010, not because Ramadan moon was seen but because ISNA fixed the date weeks ago.

Do you know ISNA has abandoned the Qur’an’s command, and Prophet (SAW) Sunnah to start Ramadan by moon-sighting. ISNA Fiqh Council bid’ah of forcing Saudi dates on the Muslims in N. America has blinded the Muslims to the fact that the Muslims always started Ramadan and prayed Eidain after sighting a Hilal. See below how Saudis violate the Quran and the Sunnah.