Indian Muslim

Moon Sighting: Hijra Committee prepares a scientific lunar calendar

May 16, 2012

By Abdul Basith MA, TwoCircles.net,

Kozhikode: Fixing the dates for Ramzan and Eid has remained a topic of confusion and sometimes hot argument among Muslims across the world. Certain leaders of Muslim organisations, Ulema and Qazis own the ‘power’ to decide up on the starting of a lunar month and there were several instances when some among them went wrong and the community didn’t have a unified Ramzan or Eid even within a region.

Support TwoCircles

It would be embarrassing for the Muslim community to be unaware of the Islamic calendar’s prospects and possibilities like the teachings of Quran and Islamic history. The community has become victim to the confusions created by the community’s factional leaders.

Clerics sighting moon in Lucknow on August 30 2011

Christian calendars and other calendars prevalent now are erroneous and were subjected to too many corrections in the past. Islam is complete and it has world’s most effective and accurate calendar based on the different phases of a moon’s cycle.

The method the Muslim organisations have been adopting since times to decide on the starting of a month is to go in search of the hilal (moon) towards the end of a month, i.e. on 29th they will go in search of a hilal and if they went unsuccessful in finding it, they will complete 30 days for that month.

Moon sighting on last day of month is illogical
Abdul Shukoor T of Kozhikode office of Hijra Committee says: “One can’t see hilal on the new moon day as the hilal is visible before the naked eyes only after sun sets in the west on the first day of a lunar month. So it is like the ones who are firm on their decision that they will start a new month only after seeing the hilal will go wrong as they will start counting the second day of the lunar month as first because they baselessly consider the setting stage of the first day moon as a rising one, hoping that the next day is the first of a lunar month whereas scientifically too the fact is that it is impossible to see new moon on the night prior to the first day”.

Quran asks to observe different phases of moon to set date
He quoted Quran verses [2:189] which tells that it is ‘Ahilla’ [plural denoting different stages of hilal] which one has to observe to finalise the dates of a lunar calendar instead of going in search of a single day’s ‘hilal’, which is almost impossible to find on the night before the first day of a lunar month. He says that in hadees too the Prophet [SAW] used the plural form instead of hilal.

The scientific lunar calendar of Hijra Committee
So the method which these Muslims organisations have been following should be called illogical in view of the scientific advancements and opportunities available to prepare an ideal lunar calendar based on scientific observation of the moon’s phases and calculations based on it. The community’s hunt for hilal on the new moon day is equal to going in search of a black cat in the darkness. What they should do is rather different as in order to get precise on the dates of a lunar calendar they should closely observe the different phases of the moon admitting that the moon’s phase which they see after sunset is meant exclusively for that day which is about to set. Thus an effective, precise, scientifically proved lunar calendar can be prepared and we are successful in doing so, says the Hijra committee.

The irony is that the Kerala Hilal Committee [Mujahid], the Sunni’s [both factions] have reported of being witness to the hilal when the difference of sunset-moonset was 10 minutes, 4 minutes and even 2 minutes; when science says that one can see the hilal by naked eye only when this difference is a minimum of 48 minutes. The Hijra committee notes that their lie and miscalculations deprive majority of Muslims in Kerala, on many occasions, the fast of the first day of Ramzan.

If a month has 30 days there will be 29 phases for the moon and if it has 29 days, phases which the moon undergoes will be 28. The last day of the lunar month, moon gets covered because the sun and the moon reaches the same line [faingumma] and the next day after which the moon goes invisible is the first day of a lunar month, Hijra committee asks if any of these Muslim scholars, religious faction leaders are capable of challenging this fact?

Hijra committee says that if one has to go in search of the Hilal to announce the start of a month they should go for the hilal at the time of “Urj oonil Qadeem” [at around fajr], ie the last visible phase described by Almighty Allah in Quran 36:39.This is the only way we could find a hilal and assess the first day of a month other than the setting one which we find by maghrib [which is already at least 12 hours late since the start of a lunar month].

Abdul Salam Sullami, a Hadith scholar of Kerala Madavoor Mujahid faction has written a book named ‘Chandra Masa Nirnayam, Kanakkum Kazhchayum’ [lunar month determination, vision and calculation] published by Hijra committee of India. He asks Muslims to proclaim their freedom from their organisational tie ups at least on this issue and seeks them to raise questions before their factional leaders on whether they would accept the starting of a month announced at Mecca if the moon rise is at the same time in both the regions.

Last time on Eid-ul-Fitr the moon rise was at the same time in both these regions, still the religious faction leaders here in Kerala were initially reluctant to admit the Eid announced at Mecca saying that there must be faithful eyewitness statements on the appearance of Hilal from our own vicinity. They are not strict on whether the hilal must be witnessed on a specific Mahal basis or village wise and are not hesitant to proclaim the starting of a new month, if some body whom they believes is credible stands witness to the hilal, even if he is from a far away region where the moon’s rising time is different. What is it that takes them back from admitting the new month announced from Mecca when it is the same hilal that appears for the whole man kind across the earth at a time?, asks the Madavoor faction Hadith Scholar.

If we admit to the argument that moon’s rising time must be taken into consideration for different regions specifically, then the Almighty will have to send the new moon twice or thrice in two or three days for each region to announce their Eid and Ramzan and the result will be like when Lailathul Qadr happens at Kochi and a few countries abroad; Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod having a different moon rising will be blessed with Lailathul Qadr only the next day night, the arguments of a few Muslim organisational leaders in Kerala are these much illogical!, said Abdul Salam Sullami.

When asked to comment on this issue, Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen [KNM] secretary and Hilal committee Chairman AP Abdul Qadar Maulavi was reluctant to give his opinion on these questions as he says every thing is well described in the Almanar calendar published by the Hilal committee and he says whatever they have to say it is there in the calendar published by them. He said he has nothing more to say on this regard through phone.

Sunnis reject Hijra Committee’s view
The Tirurangadi Wali-Qazi of the EK [Samastha] faction of Sunnis, Abdullah Maqdoom said that in Islam more than those mere calculations, it is the Prophet’s [SAW] hadees that matters. He quoted the hadees whereby the Prophet [SAW] asks the community to look for the hilal and if it not found on the 29th due to the presence of clouds the hadees asks to complete thirty days of fast. This should be our basis and not mathematical calculations, he said. “We have seen scientists predicting rain and there are times where they go wrong, same way it is the Almighty who will have to decide on the appearance of the Hilal and the starting of a month. Our duty is to trace it on a credible basis and to exactly follow the instructions of our Prophet Muhammed [SAW]”.

Prophet asks to sight moon on 29th
He was reluctant to admit the argument that unlike rain, Almighty has set exact timings, orbits, rising and setting areas for the moon and the sun, which could well be explained and predicted on a scientific basis. He further added that these types of questions need to be answered based on different Mas’ala in the Shariah and requires careful treatment rather than mere scientific calculations and reasoning ability.

P Hassan Musaliar, the Wayanad district Valiya Khazi of the AP [Kanthapuram] faction of Sunni’s too was of the opinion that it is the clearly stated hadees which has to be followed instead of calculations and scientific explanations. There is no case of moon’s rising time being almost identical in Kerala and Saudi Arabia and so even if hilal is announced there, we will have to wait and find whether it appears here or not, based on which we will be deciding whether to complete 30 days or not and this is what the religion teaches, he said.

Moon Sighting in Mecca should be accepted by Muslims across the globe
[KNM] Madavoor Mujahid, Secretary CP Muhammed Sullami agreed to the Hijra committee version of lunar calendar and he too emphasised on the fact that if the hilal is announced at Mecca that is enough evidence to announce the start of a month any where in this world. He said that the months so fixed by Almighty Allah will start on the same day of the week and end on the same day of the week, throughout the world.

The special situation here in Kerala and most parts of the country is that the different Muslim organisations since times have been traditionally following the custom of looking for the Hilal and now a situation has reached where we too are forced to move on with the flow and take a practical approach which is rather forced. Though we now recognise that there are options like scientifically calculating and setting an accurate lunar calendar, as how the Hijra committee did, this will lead to differences as we are looking forward to a unified Ramzan and Eid along with all other Muslim organisations in Kerala. The only way to change the situation and to make these religious factions in Kerala accept such a unified scientific lunar calendar is to bring about a world wide consent on this regard, said the KNM Madavoor Salafi faction secretary.

Hijra Committee has taken care to inform Kerala Nadvathul Mujaahideen [KNM]- both factions, as well as Kerala Hilaal Committee that the Hijri dates published by them for this year are not according to the Manaazil [phases] of the moon. KNM and Hilal Committee uses the difference of sun set and moon set timings of Kerala. Hijra committee says this would not give the true lunar months, because if this difference is 2 minutes in Calicut, it may be Minus 2 minutes in Trivandrum and hence, the Mujahid factions will be this time compelled to have Eid on two different days, warns the Hijra Committee.

They accused that in the disguise of unity, both the Mujahid factions are joining hands with the Sunnis and accept whatever date the Sunni Qazis decide.

Hijra committee complains that “both this Salafi and Sunni factions are alike when it comes to at least taking a look at what we are saying since times. With even the Mujahid and JIH factions turning a blind eye towards us, the Sunnis are far comfortable without even making our voice heard before the public. So it is high time the community should start discussing our suggestions and viewpoints and should bring about in-depth thoughts on this topic”.

Link to the Hijra Committee, Hijra Calendar 1433: http://www.hijracalendar.com/HijraCalender1433.pdf

Link to the Hijra Calendar website:
http://www.hijracalendar.com/