With the approaching end of the month of Sha’ban every year, the hearts of Muslims around the world yearn for the day of sighting the crescent of the blessed month of Ramadan, in preparation for announcing the beginning of the holy month’s fasting and reviving the Sunnah of the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, in the noble hadith.
“Fast when you see it, and break your fast when you see it, and if it is cloudy for you, then fast for thirty days” . With the advent of the month of fasting approaching every year, Muslims wonder about how to monitor and investigate the crescent, its timing, and its conditions and requirements, as a result of the different locations of countries in terms of latitude and longitude, the times of sunrise and sunset, and points of view on the interpretation of religious texts regarding sighting the crescent. In a special statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), HE Sheikh Salman bin Jabor Al Thani, President of the Qatar Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences, said that according to the Prophet’s Sunnah, the beginning of the investigation of the crescent of the blessed month of Ramadan and its requirements will be from the date of the 29th of the month of Sha’ban, when many people strive In an attempt to apply the Sunnah of the Prophet, which is to investigate and try to see the crescent over the western horizon after or with sunset, as it becomes easier to see after sunset. Regarding the conditions and circumstances that should be met for the validity of the crescent’s investigation.
His Excellency explained that there are some things that are preferably done for the sighting process, and they include proving the birth of the crescent before sunset, and it is preferable that there be a distance between the moon and the sun so that the moon creates sufficient light. Which is easy for the observer or the investigator to see, and it is preferable that the people who carry out the investigation are located in an area that is free of environmental pollution, free of light pollution, and far from the beaches so that the humidity of the sea does not affect the possibility of seeing. Regarding the sighting process itself.
His Excellency said, people start focusing on the western side from the beginning of contact with the sun to the western horizon in order to take advantage of as much time as possible to try to see the crescent, and there is nothing wrong with using binoculars and accepting testimony, as for digital cameras, they are unacceptable because their capabilities far exceed the human eye. Sheikh Salman bin Jabr Al Thani explained that the existing difference or the aforementioned difference between countries is not, in fact, a difference of great significance, because religion is easy and not difficult, and God Almighty commanded us to fast Ramadan 29 or 30 days, according to the possibility of seeing the crescent, and it was completed. This is confirmed in a number of hadiths of our Holy Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.
In his statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the head of the Qatar Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences added, “But there are those who deliberately work or move the dispute between countries or between religious sheikhs with the aim of highlighting themselves in the media, and claim that it is impossible to see the crescent at the time when the crescent investigation committee has called for the investigation of the crescent on that day, and this causes the emergence of a difference between people between supporters and those who reject sighting.
Some even if the sighting of the crescent is proven in neighboring countries and we start fasting based on that, this group of people appears or appears and claims that there is a mistake and we started the month of Ramadan before its time, then we must take caution in that, and if the crescent is not sighted and we complete Shaban thirty One day, the same group appears and claims how the new moon committee can delay a day of fasting and reward, and says that we must make up a day”.
His Excellency stressed that the reason for the dispute is in fact because of those who disagree with people for the sake of fame and not a disagreement between our sheikhs and astronomers, so it is necessary not to listen .. except to the rulers of the matter in the state and they are the Committee for the Investigation of the Crescents, and in that is in application of the Almighty’s saying (O you who have believed, obey God and obey The Messenger and those in authority among you). It is mentioned that the lunar month in the Islamic calendar begins with the appearance of the new moon (the crescent), which means that the month of Ramadan begins and ends with the appearance of the crescent at the beginning of the month, and the methods of seeing the crescent of Ramadan differ from one country to another, as Arab and Islamic countries rely on binocular vision, while resorting to Other countries to astronomical calculations, and there are those who rely on vision with the naked eye.
Most Muslim jurists agree among themselves that sighting the crescent in kind is necessary, especially since the word “Vision” Mentioned verbally in an honorable hadith of the Prophet, upon which many rely who believe that vision must be with the naked eye, as the Messenger of God Muhammad, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “Fast when you see it, and break your fast when you see it, and if it is cloudy for you, then fast for thirty days”
Most Islamic countries depend on examining the crescent on committees composed of jurists, astronomers and ordinary citizens, as they survey the crescent on the 29th of Sha’ban in every possible place, in accordance with the principle of spatial vision, and collective investigation of the crescent may be an inevitable necessity, as it is the best way to make sure the witness that what he sees is the crescent and not something else.
The number of fasting hours in the holy month varies from one country to another according to the latitude and longitude of each country and its location on the equator. The duration of fasting at the beginning of the month of Ramadan is longer than at the end of it, and it often increases by a few minutes every day, because we are approaching the summer months when daylight hours increase.
