Re: Moonsighting Question
^Br Sa1eem
I do not understand what is your position on this issue. Do you mean everyone should site the moon bu himself and decide if its Ramadhan or not, or what ?
Re: Moonsighting Question
if Islam has prohibited astrology, then what do u make of this verse
Quran 6:97
*And He it is Who hath set for you the stars that ye may guide your course by them amid the darkness of the land and the sea. We have detailed Our revelations for a people who have knowledge. *
Re: Moonsighting Question
Quran 6:97 *And He it is Who hath set for you the stars that ye may guide your course by them amid the darkness of the land and the sea. We have detailed Our revelations for a people who have knowledge. *
do u mean astronomy?
Re: Moonsighting Question
Iconoclast:
Brother, please read my mail #1](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/showpost.php?p=4431685&postcount=1) (click on the number) and it would be more clear what I want to say.
What I am saying is that before accepting start of a lunar Month, one should make sure that moonset is well after sunset (at least by several minutes and moon should be illuminated too). This is more required when living in non-Muslim country (as state is responsible in Muslim country). It is because, if moonset is before sunset, there is no way one can see it after sunset (as it is not there in the sky), and thus there is no way the night could be moon-night (Chand-raat) and thus next day could not be a new lunar month.
Thus if claims comes that moon is sighted, one should not take it for granted. Such news can only be entertained if there is possibility that moon was there for sighting and that means, sunset was before moonset.
**We should know that it is possible that month has not started even if moonset was after sunset but it is not possible to have chand raat (moon-night) if moonset was before sunset. **Thus, one can accept the news that moon was not sighted even when there was moonset after the sunset, but one should never accept news that moon was sighted if moonset was before the sunset.
[Note: Most of the problem is happening where some group are misguiding Muslims and making Muslim do sin, by asking them to start ramadhan, have eid etc, before time].
Actually to know moonset time and sunset time is easy, because moon cycle and sun cycle is most accurately predictable cycle worked out by Human being, as tides (high and low tides) in sea and at coasts depends on that, effecting shipping navigation, boating, fishing etc. Thus, many newspapers publish these timing (moonset and sunset timing) every day and it is easy to find the record of these timings for years ahead.
Re: Moonsighting Question
i thought this might interest some readers…
RAMADAN started a day earlier than it should have done, according to a Bahraini astronomer.
That is because the criteria required for the first day of Ramadan to be declared on Saturday was only half fulfilled, Bahrain University applied physics professor Dr Waheeb Alnaser told the GDN.
He said according to criteria agreed upon by religious scholars and astronomers, the first day of Ramadan should have fallen yesterday.
The criteria comes from the Unified Lunar Calendar, which was put together by 58 Islamic countries in November 1998 at a conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
According to the criteria, all calculations should be made from Mecca and the “birth” of the new moon should occur before sunset and it should set after sunset. If these two criteria are fulfilled then the following day will be the first day of Ramadan.
“Based on this, we found on September 22 the moon was born at 2.45pm at Mecca, which is before sunset at Mecca, so the first condition is met,” explained Dr Alnaser.
"But on this day the moon had not set after sunset, it set before sunset by one minute, so we can’t declare September 23 as the beginning of the month.
"On Saturday, the moon set after sunset by half-an-hour, so this fulfils criteria two and so Ramadan should have started yesterday.
“If we all follow the calculations set by the Islamic conference we wouldn’t have these problems.”
Dr Alnaser said he wished all Islamic countries would unite and start Ramadan on the same day.
As it stands, some are several days apart from each other.
“Bahrain follows Saudi Arabia moon sightings, which is the same as Kuwait, Qatar, Sudan, the UAE, Lebanon and Yemen,” he said.
“Iran, India and Pakistan will fast today because no one has seen the new moon yet.”
He urged all Sharia scholars to unite, set the criteria and give it to astronomers, who could then make the necessary calculations and produce a calendar.
In Libya, he said religious scholars and astronomers had agreed that if the moon is born before the fajr (dawn) prayer, they would fast the next day.
According to this system they can calculate when Ramadan will be hundreds of years from now, said Dr Alnaser.
“Saudi Arabia has three universities with the department of astronomy,” he said.
"Why graduate people in astronomy and not respect their opinions?
“I think astronomers have no problems - they all get the same results, but the criteria they set for Ramadan might be different.”
Re: Moonsighting Question
Thanks^