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In most of North America, D. Hijja crescent moon will be seen only in
the evening of Oct. 28, 2011, though the earliest sighting is possible
in the evening of October 27 in south and west central Africa (Nigeria).
and most of South America.
Muslim observers in Florida, southern Texas, Arizona and California
should make special efforts to sight the Hilal in the evening of
Wednesday, Oct. 27.
Islamic Date by Hilal Only
CFCO uses astronomical data to find where and when to look for the
Hilal. We consider only a verifiable valid sighting by the unaided eye
(corrective eyeglasses accepted). According to Islamic history, the
Prophet (pbuh) and his companions looked for the visible new moon
(Hilal) as the Qur'an (2:189) required them and confirmed the start of a
new Islamic Hijri month only by a visible Hilal after the sunset.
Witnesses were tested when they brought in their reports. Although two
witnesses passing the test validated a sighting, contested claims were
tested against non-sighting by other witnesses if the horizon was clear
(Muslim: Kitab Sifat al-Jannah)
D. Q'ada Hial Report
An interesting report about D. Q'ada 1432 Hilal below.
1. SEEN as far east as Malaysia on Wed. 28 Sept. 2011 but not in India,
Pakistan (Low Altitude).
2. It was not seen in most of the USA.
(sunset at 7:09 pm, apparent sunset at 7:04). Using a pair of binoculars
(7X50), I saw the crescent at 7:10 pm
followed by naked eye sighting a bit later at 7:21 pm. The horns were at
1:30 and 5:30 O'clock (1:30;3:30;5:30).
The crescent disappeared behind clouds near the horizon at 7:32 pm
(moonset at 7:42 pm).
The western horizon was mostly clear and hazy.
D. Q'ada Moon at mid-day
Earlier in the day, I tried a daytime crescent sighting when I sighted
the crescent at 2:25 pm only with a pair of
binoculars (7X50). The horns were at 12:00 and 3:00 O'clock
(12:00;1:30;3:00). The sky was partly cloudy and
hazy turning to mostly cloudy.
Wednesday, 28 September 2011: (Pakistan: 29 Shawwal 1432)
Today (Wednesday, 28 September 2011 = Pakistan: 29 Shawwal 1432) more
than 100 persons tried to sight the moon at 19 places but the moon could
not be sighted.
It was reported "seen" from one place in Sri Lanka but others were
unable to see at other locations in clear sky.
In the USA Dr. Dashti saw it through binoculars two minutes BEFORE the
sunset, and by naked eye two minutes AFTER the sunset (4 minutes lag
between 10x50 binocular and naked-eye.) Houston group saw the Hilal some
7 minutes AFTER the sunset.
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Saudi (ISNA) dates
Saudi authorities were never truthful about Ummal-Qura Taqweem. They
always claim they strictly follow the visible moon though they go by its
calculated dates for Ramadan, Eidain and Hajj. No Sighting of the Hilal
in Saudi Arabia for decades.
It took years for us to get the basic information from Saudi experts.
Now at least on UQ web page (makers of Umm al-Qura calendar) admit the
basic facts:
a) UQ dates are based on: The moon sets After the sunset on the NM date;
b) Hilal will not be seen on these dates anywhere in the world.
As far why do the Saudi do it?
A good guess is: They believe it will "Unify the Ummah"
(a huge deal in the Arab world) without openly admitting the fact that
they are thus violating
a) the Qur'an (2:189: ... Al-Ahillah. Qul hia Mawaqeet-u li! n-Naas wal
Hajj...) and
b) Hadith: La tasuumu....wa la tuftiru Hatta tarau-hu...) Never stop
...unless you see..
again at the end of Ramadan month).
c) The consensus of the Ummah.
The blame also goes to the Ulema like Dr. Qaradawi, Sh. Bin Baaz, and
astronomical experts like Dr. Ilyas, Shaukat, who in their zeal for a
"Unified calendar" fed Saudi some faulty facts about the Hilal.
Unified Islamic Calendar
The Muslims must know that:
1. The Earth is a globe, not a flat field;
2. The Hilal takes 2-3 or even 4 days to be seen over most of the globe.
3. The Hilal is seen from a different place on earth every month. etc.
Hence for a global unified Hijri calendar the Ummah MUST ADOPT some
basic rules for an Islamic Calendar:
1. Actual sighting of the Hilal before Makka or .... hours later to fix
the next solar date
as the first date of an Islamic month. (The Hilal will not be seen
everywhere in the same evening)
2. Islamic date will always begin from ... (Makkah Mukarramah?)
The problem in making Makkah the dateline for Hijri calendar is that all
places east of Makkah, even Taif, Yemen , Indonesia....will be one day
behind (meaning Makkah will have Eid on...but Taif, etc. would have Eid
a day later (Islamic Dateline?), etc. .
We have been trying to talk to Saudis, ISNA, ECFR, Qaradawi, etc. since
1977 and yet nothing fruitful. The worst part is that the Ulema in Saudi
Arabia always try to shut others mouth by quoting
1) Araabi, or 2) 29/30 days Ahadeeth, etc.
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