In the end times, Satan will sit between the people and say something and people will then relate that and then they will say we don’t know who said this.’(Al-Hadith)
This year again the matter of moon sighting on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr has been filled with confusion and controversy amongst the community of Ahle Sunnat in the UK.
Before delving into the issue and discussing the differences and what caused the division, it is important to inform the general Sunni public that the British Muslim Forum (BMF) which represents majority of the UK Sunni Mosques announced Eid to be on Monday the 26th of June 2017. So it was a small minority of a few Sunni Mosques who decided to do otherwise and the reasons being we shall discuss below.
Why we don’t follow Saudi Arabia?!?!?
The reason for not following the announcement of Saudi Arabia is because their moon sighting formula is based on the birth of the moon and not the actual sighting of the moon and this is evident from the observatory reports for Eid-ul-Fitr this year, as the reports clearly state that there is no possibility of the visibility of the crescent on Saturday the 24th of June anywhere in the Middle East[1]. We have tried to get information from Saudi Sources and even tried to contact the Saudi embassy in london in regards to getting further details in regards to the moon sighting on Saturday the 24th of June 2017 but they could not guide us to any authentic sources and we are still in the process of getting information directly from Saudi Arabian agencies to clarify their stance on the moon which was said to be sighted but not visible anywhere in the Middle East.
Not only is it the Ahle Sunnat who don’t follow or see Saudi Arabia as not reliable on the issue of moon sighting but the Deobandi organisation known as Wifaq-ul-Ullama also announced Eid-ul-Ftr to be on Monday the 26th of June[2] as according to them the moon was not visible on Saturday the 24th of June[3].
The South African Moon sighting?
The Ullama of Ahle Sunnat have never agreed to reports from South Africa and this has never been raised as an alternative to Morocco as some voices as trying to make people believe. There is evidence that the Deobandi Ullama[4] have agreed to taking moon sighting from south Africa as an alternative but the Sunni Ullama of the UK have always either taken the visibility from the UK if it has ever been a clear sky and it has been possible to see the crescent or alternatively they have turned towards Morocco as most reliable according to their methodology of using technology as well as moon sighting from around the country.
Moon sighting in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria
It seems someone had pointed out the fancy website page of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs to some of the Sunni Ullama who decided that it would fulfil the purpose of announcing Eid on Sunday the 25th of June without verifying if the Nigerian announcement of Eid-ul-Fitr or finding out the background of this organisation which is a condition from amongst the moonsighting criteria.
The Nigerian national newspaper has itself reported: ‘Members of the national committee, led by its chairman, Dr Hafiz Wali, said they were in Ibadan to meet with the league and the Southwest moon sighting committee with a view to harmonize start date of Ramadan between the northern and southern parts of Nigeria. They said the move became necessary in view of the fact that it is only in Nigeria that the two parts of the country start and end Ramadan at different times due to moon sighting inaccuracies. Dr. Wali said his committee would continue to work with regional committees to ensure that the Nigerian Muslim community operates a unified Ramadan process. He promised to transmit the agreement to the Sultan of Sokoto, who set up the national committee to achieve harmony of process. The Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar, is the President General of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (SCIA) in Nigeria[5].
It is clear from these reports from the Media that even Nigeria is divided in regards to moon sighting and on many occasions celebrate Eid and others dates differently because even they can’t agree on a formula for moonsighting and its visibility[6].
Not last but least in the issue regarding the moon sighting in Nigeria from 2014, here is the report from another newspaper from Nigeria: ‘There was confusion on Saturday night over whether the new moon of Shawwal was sighted in Nigeria to mark the end of the Muslim Ramadan fast. The Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa’ad, who is also the President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, had around midnight on Saturday announced the sighting of the new moon and therefore the end of Ramadan. ”The new month of Shawwal was sighted in different places within Nigeria and therefore tomorrow (Sunday) is the first day of Shawwal equivalent to 27 July 2014,” the Sultan said in an announcement aired on the Nigerian Television Authority [NTA]. But when contacted after the Sultan’s announcement, the Secretary-General of the organisation, Is-haq Oloyede, a professor of Islamic Studies, said he was not aware that the moon had been sighted. “I spoke to the Sultan about four times tonight and he did not tell me that the moon has been sighted,” Mr. Oloyede told PREMIUM TIMES. “In any case, any such claim is ridiculous and unscientific. It cannot be right. “The National Moon-Sighting Committee has not informed us of any credible sighting of the moon. Rather, they said the moon wasn’t sighted. The new moon was only born at 11:45 P.M. tonight (Saturday) and it will take several hours for it to be sighted. “Is our own sky different? Is our own moon manufactured in Nigeria?” Professor Oloyede urged Muslims to continue their fast on Sunday and prepare for Eid-Fitri on Monday in line with the verdict of the National Moon-Sighting Committee, [NMC]. PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the chairman of the NMC, Hafiz Wali, from Kano, had on Saturday night forwarded the report of his committee to the Sultan and Mr. Oloyede, indicating that the moon had not been sighted. “Assalamu Alaikum. As expected, the NMC has not received any credible moonsighting report,” Dr. Wali said in a short message report to the NSCIA leaders. “Our team in Gwandu has reported that the Moon has not been sighted.” Sultan Sa’ad could not be reached as at the time this report was published at 1:56 a.m on Sunday and it is not clear where he got the report that the moon was sighted. Prof. Oloyede had issued a statement on Friday asking Muslims to look out for the new moon on Sunday and dismissing any possibility of sighting the crescent (of Shawwal) on Saturday. PREMIUM TIMES also consulted popular moonlighting website, http://www.moonsighting.com, which compiles reports of moonsighting all over the world. In a detailed report Sunday morning, the website said: “Moon is not possible to be seen anywhere in the world” on Saturday, July 26. “Moon is not expected to be seen in almost the whole world except with difficulty in South America, and with ease in Polynesian Islands, where there are not many Muslims reporting moonsighting. There is small possibility in South Africa but only experienced observers may see it[7].”
It is clear that the moon sighting in Nigeria was not to be accepted as reliable but it is possible that it may have been more about doing Eid at any cost on Sunday 25th of June rather pursuing Eid on the same day as the rest of the Ahle Sunnat[8] in the UK on Monday. From the actions of the Few Sunni Mosques linked to Sultan Bahu Trust and Gamghol Sharif based in Birmingham alongside Markaz-ul-Islami based in Bradford had divided many family on the matter of Eids, many Sunni families had to choose to either do it with one of the above mosques or do Eid alone due to the actions of a few. I have intentionally not mentioned Minhaj-ul-Qur’an here because they have always preferred to do Eid with Saudi Arabia openly.
There are many videos going around trying to justify Eid for those who did so on Sunday 25th of June 2017. This group of Mosques have done that which had never been imagined or agreed by the rest of the Ahle Sunnat in the UK. This last minute approach was the only hope to justify their Eid for Sunday as to find any country regardless of the criteria used for moonsighting to justify an early Eid. If we are to put the criteria of moon sighting as stated by Imam Ahmed Raza Khan Barelwi and other senior Sunni Ullama then those who announced Eid on Sunday had done sow without any real justification.
Footnotes:
[2] www.wifqululama.co.uk/southafrica
[4] www.wifqululama.co.uk/southafrica
[5] http://thenationonlineng.net/committees-agree-on-may-27-as-ramadan-start-date/ [05/07/2017, 01:59]
[6] Another Nigerian Newspaper has reported: ‘The recent pronouncement of the crescent of the month of Rajab, the seventh month of Islamic calendar, by the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC) triggered serious controversies, especially from among the Muslim youths. The NMSC headed by Dr. Hafiz Wali is an organ of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) under the leadership of His eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto. By virtue of his position as the Amir-ul-Mu’mineen (Head of Nigeria’s Muslim community) the power to commence and terminate Ramadan fasting lies with the Sultan and by extension, the moon sighting committee. This perhaps could have informed the reactions of some Muslim youths who stormed the NSCIA Facebook page over what they regarded as “misinformation and miscalculation of the month of Rajab”. They contended that contrary to the announcement by the moon sighting committee, Rajab did not start on Thursday March 28 but Wednesday March 27. In addition to running contrary to many other global counting, keen observers claimed to have sighted the moon with their naked eyes! It is very important to note that concern raised by the youths is quite very germane as the disparity, if extended to the month of Sha’aban (the 8th month) may have negative effects on the commencement of Ramadan fasting. This was the fear of the embittered Muslim faithful who are beginning to express doubt about the professional competence of the committee and the accuracy of their counting. Before now, the commencement and termination of Ramadan fast in Nigeria has always generated a lot of contentions and controversies. In 2008, some Muslims ignored the announcement of the Sultan to start their fasting on different days. This led to the commencement of the fast in about three different days. The issue further generated heated debate when the Sultan declared that Muslims should observe Eid-el-Adha prayer on the Day of Arafah…Undoubtedly, the committee is populated with people of accomplished personalities. It has experts, professors and erudite Islamic scholars of high repute. It parades the likes of Dr Hafiz Wali, Prof Usma El Nafaty among others with sophisticated technological equipment to make moon sighting easy; but it is obvious that lack of coherence among the eminent members of the committee remains a major stumbling block. Hence, the disparity, arising from the difficulty in getting their thoughts and findings harmonised to arrive at the commencement and termination of Ramadan fasting. For instance, recently, the Southwest members of the committee under the League of Imams and Alfas allegedly declared Saturday May 27 for the commencement of Ramadan as published in some media contrary to the pronouncement of the National Moon Sighting Committee at the Ibadan interactive session, where they declared, “either Saturday May 27 or Sunday May 28 as the first of Ramadan… http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/ramadan-moonsighting-controversies-youth-zealousness/ [05/07/2017, 02:09]
[7] http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/165631-controversy-in-nigeria-over-sighting-of-new-moon-to-mark-end-of-ramadan.html
The British Muslim Forum 