Ramadhan 2011...

The beginning of Ramadhan 1432 AH (2011) will be inshaAllah on

Monday 1st August 2011.

This is part of the press release from European Council of Fatwa and Research regarding the beginning of Ramadan 1432AH (2011).

The conditions deciding the start of the month of Ramadan:

1. The astronomy data became one of the modern science that have reached a high degree of accuracy regarding the movement of planets especially the movement of the earth and the moon and establishing their positions relatively to each others in very certain way which do not accept any doubt.

2. The time of conjunction i.e. the sun , the earth and the moon positioned in the same line is a natural phenomena which happened in a given time. The SCIENCE OF ASTRONOMY CAN ESTABLISH ACCURATELY THE DATE AND TIME WHEN IT OCCURS FOR MANY YEARS which the end of month and beginning of the new month. The conjunction can occur  either at night or day time.

3. In sharia i.e. Islamic law , the start of the new month is established if the following conditions are fulfilled:

1. The conjunction has occurred before sunset.
2. The possibility of visibility with either the naked eye or the telescope in any place on earth, and there is no consideration of the birth of the moon at different places because the hadith is general (i.e. Fast when you see it and break you fast when you see it)
3. To accept the visibility of the crescent, the following conditions should be fulfilled:

• The crescent or the moon sets after sunset where there is possibility of visibility.
• The angle between the crescent and the horizon at sunset is at least 5 degrees.
• The distance between the sun and the moon is at least 8 degrees.

4. The Muslims in European should take these conditions in consideration when establishing the start and the end of the months especially the month  of Ramadan, Shawaal and it should be done in advance to facilitate and organise the acts of worship as well as the dates of Eids and other occasions and their commitment to the societies they are living in.

5. The European Council For Fatwa and Research recommends to its members, Imams of mosques and sharia i.e. Islamic law scholars to establish the culture of respecting the certainty of the astronomy on the impossibility to see the crescent because the conjunction did not occur and the naked eye visibility is not accepted if anyone claims it.

Following these considerations, the ECFR declares that the astromical data establishing the start of Ramadan 1432 (2011)  are as follows:

• The birth of the new moon occurs on 30th July 2011 at 21H40min Mecca time  or 18h40min GMT.
• Based on the ECFR criteria agreed on 4 June 2009, it is not possible to see the new moon anywhere on earth on 30th July 2011.
• It is possible to see the crescent on 31st July 2011 using telescope in North Africa and north of Saudi Arabia and many places in North America. It is possible to see it Latin Amerian  and large part of South Africa.
• For example in Makkah, the sunset i.e. maghrib is at 19h01min and moonset at 19h26min i.e. the moon set is delayed for 25c min. after sunset.  In Cape town (South Africa), the sun sets at 18h05min and the moon sets at 19h07min i.e. the moon stays for more than on e hour after sunset.

Based on the following data and the decision made (fatwa 18-1986) , The European council for Fatwa and Research  decide that there is no consideration to different places where the moon can be seen due to generalisation of the Hadith and based on this:

The beginning of Ramadan 1432 AH (2011) will be inshaAllah on

Monday 1st August 2011.

On the blessed occasion, the ECFR wishes all Muslims RAMADAN MUBARAK and pray to Allah (SWT) to make it a month full of goodness, blessings and pride to Islam and Muslims.

MAY ACCEPT FROM US AND FROM YOU THE BEST DEEDS AND

PRAISE BE TO ALLAH LORD OF THE WORLDS

.

The General Secretariat

Dublin

19th Shaaban 1432

20th July 2011
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