Ramadan Begins on September
13
First
day of Ramadan starts InshaAllah on Thursday, September 13,
2007 and Eid al-Fitr InshaAllah on Saturday, October 13, 2007.
"Oh ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it
was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,"
Qur’an II: 183
The Fiqh Council of North America in its meeting in Herndon,
Virginia on July 31-August 1, 2007 noted with satisfaction
the recent Fatwa of its counterpart in Europe “the European
Council for Fatwa and Research” related to the permissibility
of the use of calculation method for determining the beginning
of Lunar months including the months of Ramadan and Shawwal.
The position of ECFR is very similar to the position of FCNA
adopted last year on June 10, 2006, with a minor difference.
FCNA adopted the position that the conjunction should occur
before noon at Greenwich time. ECFR has adopted Makkah al-Mukarram
as a conventional point and took the position that the conjunction
must take place before sunset in Makkah and moon must set
after sunset in Makkah.
FCNA after careful discussion has revised its position and
has adopted the Fatwa of ECFR. This revised position will
change only a few dates in the Fiqh Council’s Five-year
calendar; but it will bring greater harmony and unity among
the Muslim communities in the West. On the basis of this new
position the dates of Ramadan and Eidul Fitr for this year
are as follows:
1st of Ramadan will be on Thursday, September 13, 2007
1st of Shawwal will be on Saturday, October 13, 2007
Ramadan 1428 AH:
The astronomical New Moon is on Tuesday, September 11, 2007
at 12:44 Universal Time (3:44 pm Makkah time). Sunset at Makkah
on September 11 is 6:28 pm local time, while moonset at Makkah
is at 6:24 pm local time (4 minutes before sunset). This does
not meet the new criteria adopted by Fiqh Council of North
America (FCNA) and European Council of Fatwa and Research
(ECFR). On Wednesday, September 12, 2007, sunset at Makkah
is 6:27 pm local time, while moonset is at 6:55 pm local time.
Therefore, first day of Ramadan is Thursday, September 13,
insha'Allah.
Eid ul-Fitr 1428 AH:
The astronomical New Moon is on Thursday, October 11, 2007,
at 5:00 Universal Time (8:00 am Makkah time). Sunset at Makkah
on October 11 is 6:00 pm local time, while moonset at Makkah
is at 5:59 pm local time (1 minute before sunset). This does
not meet the new criteria adopted by FCNA and ECFR. On Friday,
October 12, 2007, sunset at Makkah is 5:59 pm local time,
while moonset is at 6:32 pm local time. Therefore, first day
of Shawwal, i.e., Eid ul-Fitr is Saturday, October 13, insha'Allah.
May Allah (swt) guide us to the right path and forgive us
for our mistakes. May Allah accept our fasting, Qiyam, and
bring back these blessed days with peace, happiness and spiritual
fulfillment. Ameen! For more detailed information, please
visit - ISNA or MoonSighting.
Sincerely,
Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi
Chairman
Shura Council of Southern California
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