The Saudi Ummul-Qurra Calendar

Below we have added general questions and answers which are asked about the Saudi Moonsighting which have been taken from moonsighting.com.

Question: What is the basis of “Saudi Ummul-Qura (Calendar)”? (Feb 4, 2003)Answer: Before 1420AH the UmmUlQura Calendar was based on the dark invisible astronomical new moon. More precisely it was based on the criterion, that if the moon is born any time (Greenwich time not Makkah time) on a Gregorian date, then the next day was the first day of the month. A major change in the UmmUlQura Calendar computation criteria occurred starting 1420AH. Starting 1420AH, the new criterion was that the Moonset be after Sunset in Makkah (even by one second). Starting 1423AH, it changed slightly to meet two conditions; moon must be born and Moonset be after Sunset in Makkah. The Saudi authorities say that the UmmUlQura Calendar is merely used for the official dates in the Ministries, schools, payrolls, Saudia Airlines, and indeed all over the country was for civil purposes only, but for religious purposes, they adjust the calendar by moon-sighting. However, the civil calendar sets the stage for the Saudi people in general to try to see the moon on the 29th of civil calendar. The 29th of civil calendar was actually 28th if moon-sighting was the basis. So, in most cases the moon is not sighted on the 29th of civil calendar and the Saudi announcement comes in one of the following forms:1. “The Supreme Judicial Council endorsed that ……. (date) will be the first day of Ramadan or Shawaal.”
2. “The Supreme Judicial Council announced that the moon was not seen, so 30 days will be completed and …. (date) will be the first day of Ramadan or Shawaal.”
Note that there is no mention of moonsighting.Once in a while, someone reports to have seen the moon on 29th day of their civil calendar (on the day of new moon birth, when the moon is completely dark) and the announcement then says:
“The Supreme Judicial Council announced that moon has been seen, so tomorrow will be the first day of Ramadan or Shawaal.”
4.7   Question: Many mosques in USA individually announced Eid on Friday, Jan 7, 2000. How could the moon be sighted in so many places, not only in USA but also in Middle East? (Jan 15, 2000)Answer: Decisions in many cities do not mean that moon has been sighted in many places. Most Middle Eastern countries acknowledge that they have not seen the moon. They went along with the decision of Saudi Arabia. Many of us take that news of beginning of the month in Middle Eastern countries and translate in our minds that the moon has been seen in all those places. That is a big fallacy. Mistakes have been made several times in the past when sincere trustworthy Muslims see something and believe it to be the moon. Imams of individual mosques in USA started making their own decisions based on any claim or news they hear from anywhere. ISNA and Shura Council of North America have a frame work for making sure that the true moon has been sighted and not any mistaken object that people believe moon. Making decision at individual mosques and not following a unified decision of Shura Council will keep the Ummah divided. Let us make efforts to follow unified Shura Council’s decision to avoid such happenings in future, and to remain united.
Question: Did someone try to tell the Saudi Arabian authorities that their calendar is totally wrong? This is causing ripple effect in the USA. I know several masajid that declared December 30, 1997 as the first day of Ramadan. Unless this is fixed in Saudi Arabia, we will continue to have two Eids. (Dec 29,1997)Answer: Several groups of people have written to the Saudi authorities about this. Groups of people from India and Pakistan have gone to them at different times to talk face to face. ISNA’s representatives have gone and discussed this matter with them. We are also trying to convey this message to the Saudi Authorities through some contacts in Saudi Arabia in the hope that something good will come out in near future.
Question: I heard that Saudis have hilal sighting committees. Those committees did not see the moon on February 1, 2003. Hajj date, however, was announced by Saudi authorities as February 10. You say sighting was not possible. Was it based on Ummul-Qura calendar? (Feb 4, 2003)Answer: Dr. Saleh Al Saab (Previous head of Astronomy and Geophysics Institute at KACST), (Consultant and Member of the 6 Official Saudi Hilal Sighting Committees of Saudi Arabia established by the Crown Prince/Shura Council in 1419 AH) reported: “The 6 Official Saudi Hilal Sighting Committees from Makkah, Riyadh, Qassim, Hail, Tabuk and Asir; attempted Hilal observation on the evening of Friday, January 31st, 2003 and on Saturday, February 1st, 2003. The Hilal was not seen by individuals and collective members of the 6 Committees under clear skies using naked eyes, telescopes and binoculars.” This means that Saudi Hajj announcement is either based on Ummul-Qura calendar or false sighting claims.

ref: https://www.moonsighting.com/faq_ms.html [15.07.2017., 22.41]