Asslamo Allaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
Miracle of Allah (SWT):
The Sun and the Moon are creations of Allah (SWT) which are controlled by Allah (SWT) and subject to follow the commandments of Allah (SWT) and they have no randomness in their movement or orbit.
Allah (SWT) clearly says in the Qur’aan:
[55:5] The sun and the moon are (bound) by a (fixed) calculation.
In other words the sun and the moon simply cannot randomly appear or disappear on their own. Each month new moon is born and then it becomes bigger and bigger until it becomes full and then it gets smaller and smaller until it disappears. Mankind has observed this phenomenon and sign of Allah (SWT) for centuries and will continue to do until Allah (SWT) wills for it to happen.
How does moon appear to us (on Earth) in its phases?
Moon has no light of its own so it simply reflects sunlight back to the people on Earth and when we see the moon (crescent, half moon, full moon) what we are seeing is the part of the moon which is illuminated (lit up) by sunlight. The diagram below illustrates the point. New Moon is not lit up AT ALL therefore it cannot be seen as it gets older and older you see bigger parts of the moon lit up (i.e. illuminated by sunlight).
Youngest Moon ever?
When new moon is born anywhere on earth, it takes a good 20+ hours for a thin crescent to be visible. The world record for the earliest sighting of new crescent is as follows:
- Morning crescent on Sep 14, 1871, Age -15.4h at Athens Greece, seen by Schmidt (Naked eye)
- Evening crescent on May 5, 1989, Age 13.47h East Lansing, MI, seen by Victor (Binocular only)
Both of these records are questionable and the first one is so old that it cannot be verified. But lets (for the sake of argument) assume that they are accurate. This means that a moon younger then 13.47 hours has NEVER BEEN sighted in the history of mankind even with a binocular.
World Time zones:
It is common knowledge that the world has different time zones and it is something that all humans are aware of it particularly Asians who travel for Hajj/Umrah/India/Pakistan from USA or UK, all of these destinations are “EAST” of USA or UK which means that when its 11:00 (AM) in UK it is:
- 12:00 in Paris
- 12:00 in Cairo
- 13:00 in Amman (Jordan)
- 14:00 in Makkah
- 16:00 in Karachi
- 16:30 in Mumbai
This means that if you are on a plane and flying from UK (eastwards) and somehow able to observe the sunset it will be happening in the reverse order as follows:
- First, Mumbai
- Then, Karachi
- Then, Makkah
- Then, Amman
- Then, Cairo
- Then, Paris
- Then, London
- Then, USA
Simple common sense tells you that when sunset is occurring later it means that sunlight is there (in that area) for later. Recall, that observing the crescent is dependent on sunlight so the “older the new moon” is the bigger and brighter it will appear. In other words IF the new moon is observed in Mumbai (as you travel westwards) it will be BIGGER AND BIGGER:
- First observed in Mumbai
- Slightly bigger in, Karachi
- Even bigger in, Makkah
- Even bigger in, Amman
- Even bigger in, Cairo
- Even bigger in, Paris
- Even bigger in, London
- Even bigger in, USA
Moon sighting: Ultimate Test
The Deen of Allah (SWT) is sound and confirms human observation and experience. There is nothing in the Deen of Allah (SWT) which is random and based on hocus-pocus. Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (RA) has also written that if the moon is sighted in the east then IT MUST BE sighted in the West (because it will be much bigger).Modern scientists say that this is the ultimate test of moon sighting and whenever moon is sighted every location (due West) has a better chance of sighting because it will be BIGGER & BRIGHTER!
In the world map below I have done a few things:
- Circled the location of Saudia
- Put an arrow to the left (indicating West) that as you travel left sunset occurs later and later
- Circled America because the sunset is good 8+ hours later, so the new “thin” crescent sighted in Saudia at sunset will have become BIG by the time sunset occurs in USA
This test fails in Saudia consistently i.e. when Saudees see the moon the countries West of (Saudia) NEVER sight the moon to confirm the Saudi sighting WHILE in India/Pakistan this is ALWAYS confirmed i.e. like a domino effect the moon is sighted westward one after another.
Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (RA) said in Majmu‟ Al Fatawa Volume 13, Page 62:
قال ابن التيمية : اْحدها : ان الرؤية تختلف باختلاف التشريق والتغريب, فانه متى رؤي في المشرق وجب ان يري في المغرب ولا ينعكس , لانه يتاْخر غروب الشمس بالمغرب عن وقت غروبها بالمشرق, فاذا كان قد رؤي ازداد بالمغرب نوراً وبعداً عن الشمس وشعاعها وقت غروبها, فيكون اْحق بالرؤية, وليس كذالك اذا رؤي بالمغرب, لاْنه قد يكون سبب الرؤية تاْخر غروب الشمس عندهم, فازداد بعداً وضوءً, ولما غربت بالمشرق كان قريباً منها
ثم انه لما رؤي بالمغرب كان قد غرب عن اْهل المشرق, فهذا اْمر محسوس في غروب الشمس والهلال وساىْر الكواكب, ولذالك اذا دخل وقت المغرب بالمغرب دخل بالمشرق ولاينعكس,وكذالك الطلوع اذا طلعت بالمغرب طلعت بالمشرق ولاينعكس, فطلوع الكوكب وغروبها بالمشرق سابق
Ibn Taymiyyah states: “the sighting of the crescent moon depends on how easterly or westerly the location is, therefore if the crescent moon is sighted in the east, it necessitates sighting in the west, however this will not be true vice-versa. This is because the time of sunset occurs later in the west than the time of sunset in the east. If the crescent moon has been seen in a particular geographical location (in the east), then one will observe an increase in its brightness and distance from the sun and its illumination at the time of sunset (to the west), and it will thus be more easily sightable. This situation does not apply if the crescent moon is sighted in the westerly location. This is because the factor behind the cause of its visibility (i.e. in westerly location) might be the delayed sunset there, thus the distance and illumination of the crescent moon will have increased, while in the easterly location it was nearer to the sun.”
“Then what has been seen in the West had already set for the people in the East, thus this is a significantly evident matter in the sunset and moon set and setting of all stars, so for this reason if the time for Magrib prayer enters in the West, it has also entered in the East and not the other way around. Likewise, similar is the case in sunrise in that if the sunrises in the west then it means it has risen in the east and not the other way around, thus the rising and setting of the stars proceeds from the east.”
Allamah Shaami Al-Hanafi (RA) confirmed and said in Majmu'at Rasaail Ibn Abideen on pg 249/250.:
وفي فتاوى المحقق ابن حجر صرح السبكى والاسنوى بان المطالع اذا اختلفت فقد يلزم من رؤية الهلال في بلد رؤيته في الاخر من غير عكس اذ الليل يدخل في البلاد الشرقية قبل دخوله في الغربية وح فيلزم عند اختلافها من رؤيته في الشرقي رؤيته في الغربي من غير عكس. واما عند اتحادها فيلزم من رؤيته في احدهما رؤيته في الاخر. ومن ثم اْفتى جمع باْنه لو مات اخوان في يوم واحد وقت زواله واحدهما في المشرق والاخر في المغرب ورث المغربي المشرقي لتقدم موته واذا ثبت هذا في الاوقات لزم مثله في الاْهلة وايضا فاالهلال قد يكون في المشرق قريب الشمس فيستره شعاعها فاذا تاْخر غروبها في المغرب بعد عنها فيرى انتهى
لكن: اعترض قوله ان الليل يدخل في البلاد الشرقية قبل دخوله في الغربية بانه ليس علي اطلاقه لان محل القبلية اذا اتحد عرض البلدين جهة و قدرا اي جهة الجنوب و الشمال وقدراً بان يكون قدر البعدين عن خط الاستواء سواء انتهى
“In Fataawa al-Muhaqqiq Ibn Hajar, Subky and Al-isnoy clarify that if iktilaaf-al-matale’ is considered then the moon sighting from any city (in the east) will make it necessary to sight it in another city (in the west) and not vice versa, because the night falls in the countries on the east before night falls in the west, hence it is incumbent that eastern sightings are necessary in the westerly location and not vice versa. As for ittihad-al-matale’, it is incumbent that any sightings from one of the two locations (east or west) are made necessary for the others. From this discussion, a group have given fatwa in the case when two brothers died on the same day at noon time; one being in the east and the other in the west, that westerner will inherit from the easterner due to his relatively earlier death. If this (east being before west) is established in the times, it will similarly be established in the crescent moons. In addition, the crescent moon in the east is closer to the sun so the glare of the sun hides it, however, when sun sets later in the west, the distance of crescent increases from sun and therefore it is visible.”
“But objection has been made on their statement (Subki and al-isnoy): ‘night enters in the countries in the East before entering the countries in the West’ in that this statement is not unqualified because in location of countries coming first the latitude of both countries in terms of direction and distance from equator has to be in agreement i.e. southerly and northerly direction and distance in that distance of both countries from equator is same.”
Saudi Moon sighting & Hanafi Madhab:
Again, let me repeat that the Deen of Allah (SWT) is sound and confirms human observation and experience. There is nothing in the Deen of Allah (SWT) which is random and based on hocus-pocus. The Hanafi Madhab clearly states when the horizons are clear then the testimony of 1-2 people CANNOT be accepted because if the sky is clear then a large number of people MUST BE ABLE to observe the moon.
This test fails in Saudia consistently i.e. there is NEVER any mass sighting!
Saudi Moon sighting & Testimony of Saudi Ulamah for Eid 1432:
This year i.e. for declaring the Eid on Tuesday 30AUG2011, Shaykh (Maulana) Suleiman Ghani (HA) & Br Qamar (of ICOP-UK) stated:
I have personally called the head of the Saudi Hilal Committee just now, who has collected all the other committee reports (9 in total this month) and advised me that none of the astronomers within the committees could sight the hilal with their telescopes.
However, a few people near Riyadh who have reported following the hilal with their naked eye before sunset until the sunset and the court had accepted their claim. There Bedouins are well known to the Saudi court as "early sighters".
Saudi Record breaking on Moon sighting:
Recall the section on youngest crescent sighting and you will see that the “world record” of youngest crescent is 13.47 (with binoculars) and experts even cast doubt on that one! Saudees are consistently observing the crescent 6 hours old, 7 hours old or even younger or sometimes before it’s even born!
Saudi Moon sighting for UK by Saudi Ulamah:
No Saudi Scholar obligates UK to follow Saudi sighting in fact they say the EXACT OPPOSITE i.e. to follow your own sighting, read below:
So why do we perform Hajj based on Saudi sighting?
When a Muslim is in Saudia you are bound to follow the Hukum of Muslim Qadhi (Muslim judge) so there is no doubt about the validity of Hajj. The jurisdiction of Saudi Qadhees NEITHER extends beyond Saudi borders nor do they advise others Muslims (of UK etc) to follow them in moon sighting.
Saudi Moon sighting & Deobandees:
It’s common knowledge that India/Pakistan are closer (geographically) to Saudia and YET never in the history or even NOW Saudi sighting is followed in India/Pakistan. There isn’t a single Deobandi community in the world which follows Saudi sighting except UK.
Here is a chronological list of Deobandi Ulamah and their Fatawaa on the matter:
http://www.wifaqululama.co.uk/fatwaspdf/Following_Saudi_For_UK.pdf
Moon sighting curves for Shawwal 1432:
- On Monday the 29th of August 2011 there is NO WAY this moon could have been seen in Saudia
- Testimony of Ulamah is given that the moon was not sighted by 9 commitees with telescopes
- Moon was not sighted ANYWHERE due West as explained above so that negates the Saudi sighting
