Answer: Conjunction or birth of new moon is the same thing. "A conjunction occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun; but because the Moon usually passes north or south of the Earth-Sun line, it specifically occurs when the Earth-Sun-Moon plane is perpendicular to the plane of Earth's orbit around the sun." This moment is called "New Moon Birth" or conjunction. At this moment the sunlight falling on the moon cannot come to the earth. In other words new moon is "No Moon". No one can see this "New Moon" even by most powerful telescopes.

Answer: Let us examine the conjunction as a possible basis of starting a month. Remember, the conjunction can occur at any time between 24 hours. Suppose the conjunction occurs at 11pm Universal Time (Sunday), then at that moment Makkah time is 2am (Monday). Should England start the month on Monday and Saudi Arabia start the month on Tuesday?

Now, if someone says that let us make Makkah as our basis and whatever day in Makkah, the conjunction occurs the next day the new month starts. The problem with this is that if conjunction occurs at 0:01am (Monday) of Makkah time then at that moment it is 2:01pm (Sunday) in Hawaii. Should Hawaii start the month on Monday and Saudi Arabia start the month on Tuesday?

Look at another case: Suppose the conjunction occurs at 11:59pm (Sunday) Makkah time then at that moment it is 5:59am (Monday) in Tokyo. Should Japan start the month on Tuesday and Saudi Arabia start the month on Monday?

If someone says, ignore what time it is in other locations of the world, just go by Makkah time, then why do we have different prayer times for every city? Why not adopt Makkah Prayer Time all over the world.

Muslims have looked at the conjunction as a possible basis, which we can call a convention. If a convention is adopted then moonsighting will not be the basis; possibility of moonsighting may be the basis along with conjunction.

Answer: There is no such thing as Crescent Birth. Some people say that New Moon Birth can be calculated exactly within hundredth of a second. That is not correct. Observatories of the world calculate it with main frame computres accurate up to seconds. Most simple algorithms used in personal computers calculate it within the error of plus minus two minutes, which may not be sufficient for eclipse calculations, but is sufficient for most other purposes.

Answer: Again, there is no such thing as birth of the 'hilal'. New Moon birth calculations are based on observation by observatories and they are not just mathematical calculations. What we calculate today for any future date may not be exact, because the orbits and speeds of moon and earth changes slightly and may be different 5 years from now.

Answer: Science can give approximate hours hilal can be seen with naked eye, binoculars, or telescope. There is no exact answer, because there are many other factors that are more important for visibility such as atmospheric conditions, human optics, experience of observer etc.

Answer: The term "birth abortion" is unheard. It is true that on any given day new hilal is seen in some parts of the earth, and not others. This is due to curvature of the earth, not the pockets of earth. Astronomical calculations for possibility of sighting new moon with naked eye or by telescope by its own definition (possibility) cannot be exact.

Answer: The astronomical new moon happens when the moon comes between earth and sun, and that new moon cannot be seen by the most sophisticated telescopes. One Saudi Prince went up in a rocket to try to see this new moon from the space in the high skies and came back confirming that it was not visible. That's why it is called invisible moon, becuase its lighted portion is towards the sun and dark portion is towards the earth.

Answer: The motion of the planets and the moon can be calculated with accuracy. That's why eclipses are calculated so accurately to the minutes and seconds.

Answer: Remember, astronomical calculations are accurate for position of moon, but astronomers differ on calculations for sighting based on their respective research. Some have spent more time in observing and calculating than others; some have not gone out for sighting, but only calculate based on their academic knowledge; and some have not done enough research.

Answer: Prediction by astronomers are based on each individual study and research and they are different. Do not take their words. Always judge their words by observations. However, new moon birth can be calculated precisely.

Answer: Before New Moon (also lnown as conjunction), the moon is in the waning (decreasing) phase, and the elongation required to see it is such that the crescent moon does not appear on the Western horizon. For a similar elongation required to see it before conjunction, it can only be seen in the Eastern horizon before sunrise. Once it is seen in the Eastern horizin, it disappears for about 30 to 36 hours, and reappears on the Western horizon after conjunction.

Answer: Time passed after New Moon Birth is called the age of the moon. Sighting is possible at different age in different months. So, age cannot be a criterion for sighting. Why is it so? Because, the orbit of the moon is elliptical and in its orbit, the moon moves faster when it is closer to the earth, and slower when it is farther from earth. When it moves faster, the moon becomes visible at smaller age (like 17 hours), and when it moves slower, it becomes visible at larger age (like 23 hours). The main factor that makes the moon visible is the angle between moon-earth-sun. When this angle becomes about 9 degrees, the moon starts to be visible. How much time it takes to get this angle depends upon the speed of the moon in its orbit.

Answer: Moon sighting does not depend on age. Non-Muslims have treated this question as a sport, "Who can see the youngest moon." In the zeal of their competition, they claim early and early sightings, which are in most cases false, as many claims have been refuted with no sighting at places thousands of miles west. There was an article in Quarterly Journal of Royal Astronomical Society, Q.J.R. Astr. Soc. (1993) 34, p53-56, "Records for young Moon Sightings," by Bradley Schaefer, Imad Ahmad, and LeRoy Doggett. They have refuted some sighting claims. However, they accepted the two following claims:

1. Morning crescent on Sep 14, 1871, Age -15.4h at Athens Greece, seen by Schmidt (Naked eye)
2. Evening crescent on May 5, 1989, Age 13.47h East Lansing, MI, seen by Victor (Binocular only)

Both of these claims are questionable; the first one with naked eye has been a record so old that it has not been met in the recent century, and therefore is doubtful. There is no way it can be justified. The second one is questionable, as I, Khalid Shaukat had talked to Bob Victor who told me that there were two other persons with him and they could not see the moon. Moreover, from Michigan to West coast, no where it was seen. This paper also did not accept May 5, 1989 sighting of Badat in Houston reported by "Mohib Durrani." The article mentions that reported altitude was wrong. I personally talked to Badat and he told me he casually looked over his shoulder as he was standing for Maghrib prayers and he saw the moon quite high. The authentic naked eye sightings are at about 17.2 hours, and 15.5 hours by observatory telescopes. Remember, in some seasons, earliest moonsighting takes about 24 hours. So if the moon has become 17 hours old or more, one can not conclude that it is possible to see that moon.

Answer: No, this result is certainly not available for every point on earth. According to different individual claims, the record time between new moon and its sighting varies for naked eye, and aided eye (binocular or telescope). Dr. Doggett of U.S. Naval Observatory, Dr. Schaefer of Yale University, and Dr. Ahmad, a Professional astronomer have written a research paper on a collection of most early sighting claims, Q.J.R. Astr. Soc. (1993) 34, p53-56, "Records for young Moon Sightings." For naked eye, claims are with the age 0 to 15.4 hours, but all claims less than 15 hours are not considered credible by professional experts in this field for various reasons. Some were reported a few days or weeks later, some few month later and in some cases, it was found that skies were overcast in that area, so claims were made for wrong dates. For aided eye, claims less than 13.47 hours are not considered credible.

However, one point must be understood, and that is, even if a moon was sighted at the age 15.4 hours by naked eye, or 13.47 hours by aided eye, it does not mean that every time moon age reaches those limits, it could be visible. In some months, moon could not be visible any place on the globe until it becomes 23 hours old. That still does not mean that a 23 hour old moon will always be visible from every place on the globe.

Answer: Scientific basis is that in 13 hours, the angular separation of the moon from sun is between 7.2° to 8.5°. The angular separation (elongation) is the most important factor in moon's visibility besides several other factors combined. At the angle 7°, no sun light reflected from the moon can come to the earth meaning that the crescent is not formed to see from earth (This is due to the mountains on the surface of the moon that block the sunlight coming to the earth - Danjon effect). Between 7.2 and 8.5° the crescent is invisible to the eyes, because the brightness of this thin crescent is less than the sky brightness on the horizon. At elongation less than about 7.5° even telescopes do not pick the thin crescent. This is the discussion for naked eye versus telescope or binocular sightings.

The published record for moonsighting with bare eyes shows that no one has ever seen the crescent of less than 15.4 hours old [See "Records of Young Moon Sightings, Quarterly Journal of Royal Astronomical Society (1993) 34, 53-56, article by Schaefer, Ahmad, and Doggett]. This sighting was done on Sep 14, 1871 CE. The angular separation was 9.3°. That was in the previous century, when atmospheric pollution, and city light pollution did not exist. Now, it is not possible to see even this kind of crescent. In recent times the crescent that has been seen with naked eye had the angle of 10.5° which corresponds to 17 to 21 hours of age. Remember, even 17 to 21 hours age does not mean that every moon of this age will be visible. There are other factors that must meet the certain minimum for a crescent to be visible.

Answer: We are unaware if any one keeps the record of telescope sightings. The youngest new moon observed with a binocular is 13.47 hours of age, while with unaided eye, it is 15.4 hours. [See "Records of Young Moon Sightings, Quarterly Journal of Royal Astronomical Society (1993) 34, p53-56, article by Schaefer, Ahmad, and Doggett].

Answer: As most of us know, the moon goes through several phases. The months of the Islamic Calendar are based on sighting of the new moon every month. In Astronomy, a new moon means "when the moon of the previous month disappears (i.e. the moon goes from a slightly visible crescent to a completely black sphere that is impossible to be seen)." Remember, new moon is dark and invisible. About 17-23 hours after the new moon, a thin crescent becomes visible on earth; this is visible new moon. As we were taught by Allah (Qur'an 2:189) and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), it is the sighting of this crescent that marks the start of a new month. Therefore, even though a moon may be born on one day, it may not been seen until the next day. Furthermore, if a new moon is born less than 15 hours before sunset on day 1; it will not been seen until sunset of day 2; and when it is finally seen it is 15+24=39 hours old and will look very thick. This does NOT mean that this is a second day moon. A first day crescent-moon can be very thin in some locations and it can also be thick in other locations because of time difference. As Muslims, we should always remember that our first priority is to follow the teachings of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) who told us to start the month when we see the crescent, not when the moon is "born." If we do that, Insha-Allah we will start the month at the "right" time (the time that Allah intends for the month to start for a specific location).

Answer: The big moon can be the first day moon also. Think of a case that the moon was 16 hours old on one day and was not visible on clear skies. 16 hour old moon is not visible in certain seasons. The next day it was 40 hours old and was definitely big. 40 hour old moon will be a lot bigger than a 20 hour old moon that was visible in some month and was thin.

Now you be the judge that if it was not visible even with telescopes (16 hour old moon) then shouldn't the next day be the first day moon even though it was a big moon. Same way if it remained above horizon a long time, it does not tell you that it is the second day moon. The higher the moon is above horizon is related to the age also. A 20 hour old moon will not be above horizon for 45 minutes, but a 40 hours old moon could be above horizon for 90 minutes.

Moreover, there is a Hadith, in which AbulBakhtari reported:
We went out to perform Umrah and when we encamped in the valley of Nakhlah, we tried to see the new moon. Some of the people said: It was three nights old, and others (said) that it was two nights old. We then met Ibn Abbas and told him we had seen the new moon, but that some of the people said it was three nights old and others that it was two nights old. He asked on which night we had seen it; and when we told him we had seen it on such and such night, he said the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) had said Verily Allah deferred it till the time it is seen, so it is to be reckoned from the night you saw it. [Sahih Muslim 534]

Answer: The answer to your 1st question is in the Hadith of Sahih Muslim:
"AbulBakhtari reported: We went out to perform Umrah and when we encamped in the valley of Nakhlah, we tried to see the new moon. Some of the people said: It was three nights old, and others (said) that it was two nights old. We then met Ibn Abbas and told him we had seen the new moon, but that some of the people said it was three nights old and others that it was two nights old. He asked on which night we had seen it; and when we told him we had seen it on such and such night, he said the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) had said Verily Allah deferred it till the time it is seen, so it is to be reckoned from the night you saw it."
Science also confirms this Hadith, that a big moon on the next day does not mean it is a second day moon.

Second question is answered automatically, that a second day moon can be small or big. It depends upon how old it is. This time first day moon in Saudi Arabia on Feb 23 was 6 hours old and in California was 17 hours old. On the next day it was 41 hours old in California and hence it was so big. Percentages of illumination directly depend upon the thickness of the crescent, so the same percentage can be a first day moon for some month and second day moon for another month.

Answer: The moon travels in an orbit around the earth in an oval path, so its distance from earth varies. When it is closest to the earth it looks bigger. The colors variation is due to variation in the pressure, temperature, and humidity in the atmosphere, which goves more pronounced affect for a viewer when the moon is near the horizon.

Answer: The answer was outdated, so it is deleted.

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.

Answer: The moon was not even born in Saudi Arabia, and could not be seen in Middle East. That's why it was not visible several hours later in North America. People get the news from Middle East that Ramadan starts from Dec 30, so they assume that moon has been sighted on Dec 29. The announcement does not even talk about moonsighting. It says, "The supreme Judicial Council endorsed that December 30, 1997 will be the first day of the holy month of Ramadan for the lunar year 1418 AH according to a statement released by the Royal Court on Monday evening."

Answer: Muslims in the Middle-East have made a mistake in seeing a cloud or jet smoke thinking it was the crescent moon. The moon was not even born on Dec 18, 1998. It could not even be seen on Dec 19, 1998 in Saudi Arabia, because its angular separation from the sun was 8.5° and it was too low on the horizon.

Answer: There is only one rational explanation for Saudi dates being ahead of USA, and that is their calendar is based on some convention and not the moonsighting. In fact it is quite contrary scientifically that Saudi date can see the moon and North America does not see on the same evening 8 to 11 hours later.

This Dhul-Hijjah, 1419AH, Saudi Arabia was only one day ahead of USA not two days. Pakistan and India are so close to Saudi Arabia, but they have every month at least one day behind Saudi; sometimes two days behind. The actual Islamic dates in India and Pakistan are checked by Moonsighting.com every month, and they have started their months according to scientific possibility of moonsighting, while Saudi dates seldome reflect possibility of sighting.

Answer: The difference of two days between India-Pakistan and Saudi Arabia date for Eid-al-Adha is attributed to practices in the two countries. India-Pakistan had celebrated Eid-al-Adha based on correct and authentic moonsighting as far as our scientific knowledge tells us. Saudi Arabia is using a pre-calculated civil Islamic calendar that is sometimes adjusted for religious months (Ramadan, Shawwal, and Dhul-Hijjah). However, if 30 days are completed by their pre calculated civil calendar then they start new month even if the moon is not sighted on 30th day. Sometimes 30 days completed argument is also used even if the moon is not born yet.

Now there is only one moon. If it was seen in Saudi Arabia on March 17, then where did it go to be invisible in India or Pakistan on March 17, or 18. It is against all the known facts about moonsighting, science, astronomy, and mathematics. It certainly was not seen in India/Pakistan on March 18, and was subsequently seen there on March 19. While Saudi Arabia fixed their dates as if the moon was sighted on March 17, two days before India/Pakistan. Either they have set their dates based on a criterion other than moonsighting, or accepted claims from people who saw something else (like a streak of cloud, or a jetsmoke) and believed it to be the moon.

We all know these things that you quoted from Quran and Hadith, and no one has any question about them. However, Quran or Hadith does not tell us to believe a Muslim blindly if we know that the moon was not there. The moon was not even born at Maghrib time of Saudi Arabia; it was born on March 17, 18:49 Universal Time that is 21:49 Saudi Time, which was 3 hours after Maghrib. The moon was not there to see. We know that for a fact. It is not a good argument that we should not look at the calculations; we believe calculations for prayer times; and we know that Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) said "Al-shamsu wal-qamaru bi-husbaan" (sun and moon follow course exactly compted) ; He also said, "li- ta'alamu 'adad al-sineena wa al-hisaab" (so that you may know the count of years and calculations). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "To seek knowledge is obligatory on all Muslims men and women". The first word form Allah was "Iqraa". If the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "la naktub wa la nahsib" and meant it to be an order for all times, then why do we write; we should give up writing too if we were asked to give up calculations. Think rationally, that Allah has given us the knowledge which we must use for the benefit of mankind and for establishing the truth and justice, in the way Allah and His Rasool please. We must not remain blind from the facts of existence of science, mathematics, and all other uloom that Allah has bestowed upon us.

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.

Answer: They could not have started Sha'ban with the sighting of the moon. In Saudi Arabia, they have a pre calculated (Ummul-Qura) calendar. It is basically used for civil purposes. This calendar is based on new (invisible) moon calculations or moonset after sunset calculations. They do not follow their civil calendar for religious dates. However, on the 29th Sha'ban or 29th Ramadan of that calendar they look for the moon, and year after year someone mistakes something else for the moon or they just complete 30 days from the calculated calendar. Hence they observe the new month, sometimes ONE day earlier than what it should have been, if they follow authentic sighting.

Answer: Telecommunication also tells us when Jumuah prayer is conducted in Makkah. Why do we not perform Jumuah in the whole world with them. If Saudis had all the tools for moonsighting as you believe, then they should know that the moon could not be sighted on Feb 23, 20001. Saudi Arabia Official announcement for Dhul-Hijjah did not mention anything about moonsighting. We should be one Ummah not for one day, but for all 365 days. The unity of the Ummah is not in praying Jumuah all over the world at the same time, and praying at different times does not break the unity. Similarly, the starting of a month at different times has nothing to do with unity; it is bound to be at different times in different locations, if we stick to local moonsighting.

Answer: Other countries did not claim to see the moon on Feb 23, 2001. They just follow announcement of Saudi Arabia. When people get the news of Eid-al-Fitr or Eid-al-Adha, they themselves translate that news into "Moon must have been sighted," and that is a wrong assumption. The news of Eid is merely telling us that the decision to start Shawwal or Dhul-Hijjah has been made by the authorities.

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."

Answer: The moon was born at about 10 to 30 minutes before Maghrib time in every location in Saudi Arabia. Also moonset was 10 minutes before sunset. Now, it is very clear that they cannot see the moon. What more justification is required to accept that it was a false sighting? They saw something that was not the moon; a thin peice of cloud, a stellite, a jet smoke, an airplane, a planet making crescent, anything can be mistaken as a moon. Nigeria reports to have seen the moon on Thursday, Nov 11, 2004, which was 21 hours before the new moon was born. How did they see the moon? Of course, they saw something else.

Answer: In Qur'an, several places Allah says, "La taziru wazirtun wizra ukhra" No one will take the burden of anyone else. This ayah has been repeated at least 5 times in Qur'an. For your satisfaction, please take a look at the following sections in Qur'an:
Surah 6, Ayah 164
Surah 17, Ayah 15
Surah 35, Ayah 18
Surah 39, Ayah 7
Surah 53, Ayah 38

Answer: Qur'an does not say that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw the split (Shaqqul-Qamar). Qur'an does mention about Shaqqul-Qamar (Moon-split). Hadith, mentions that the Prophet (pbuh) showed the split to the people as a sign for the nearness of Qiyamah (Judgment Day). This still does not necessarily mean that the moon actually split; may be; or it was shown to be split without actually splitting. Allah can do all things. But if the split occurred, one should expect that there should be a long-lasting mark on the moon's surface as well as deep inside. NASA has shown this picture which some Muslims believe that it is a proof of split. This picture is not enough proof, specially when NASA pointed it out that this fault line is short and not through the whole spherical surface of the moon.

See the exact date of this event calculated by Khalid Shaukat, Click here

Answer: After careful scrutiny of long term calculations of moon cycles we found that, in fact, there is no pattern. We have checked 4000 years of calculations i.e. 48000 months and found no pattern. The 19 year cycle of Gregorian year (equal to 228 months in Gregorian Calendar), is a cycle after which the moon phases roughly repeat. Remember the word ROUGHLY, NOT EXACTLY, an hence 228 Gregorian months (or 6940 days) are approximately equal to 235 lunar months (19 years and 7 month in Lunar Calendar). Similarly 30 lunar years (10631 days) are approximately equal to 29 years and 1 month of solar calendar, but again this is also APPROXIMATE. Long term calculations based on this rule sometimes gives results that are wrong by one day. Some others have pointed a cycle of 210 lunar years, and it has the same flaw as 30 year cycle. In short, there is no pattern that can be quoted exactly repeating.

Answer: Based on sightability of the moon, Ramadan may have started on July 19, 1947 in North America, while in the rest of the world, it must have started on July 20, 1947.

Answer: If sighting is required we cannot have Global Islamic Calendar. To achieve a pre-calculated Global Islamic Calendar, if Ulemaa of the world accept the need for it, a suggested convention could be to make Makkah a convention point, where if the moon is born before sunset, the month begins after sunset, and if the moon is born after sunset then the month begins the following evening. This would require two calculations; 1) New Moon Birth, and 2) Sunset in Makkah on that date.

A preferrable convention could be that if the moon is born before 12:00 UT, then the month begins at sunset of that day everywhere in the world. This requires only the calculation of new moon birth, which is well known. This convention has a strong basis of the visibility that somewhere on the globe the moon would be definitely visible given clear horizon, because the age of the moon would be 18 hours at sunset on a point just to the east of the International dateline if the moon birth took place before 12:00 UT. Astronomers agree that an 18 hour moon is visible (in some instances it may not be seen by the naked eye but with telescope it can be seen). This known scientific fact can be made the basis which has sighting requirement according to Qur'an and Sunnah, and then all the disagreements about when and where the month starts would go away.

Answer: Yes, according to calculations of moonsighting, up to three consecutive months of 29 days and up to four consecutive months of 30 days are possible, if sighting is limited to one location and not a big country. This is nothing unusual. This happens quite often. By actual observations, 4 consecutive days of 29 days would be possible, if for some (like clouds) reason, a sightable moon is not visible in one month, and next four months the moon is visible in different parts of one big country on the 29th day.

Answer: Yes. Also the calculations prove the fact that at any location on earth, the moon becomes visible either on the 29 day, or on the 30th day counted from the visibility of the previous crescent from the same place.

Answer: Yes, it is true that if we rely on local moonsighting, then a month may end up in 28 days. Here is the reason why. If two months successively are such that they both are destined to have 29 days [by the decree of Allah (swt)], and in the first month clouds make the visible moon invisible, and we count 30 days to start the month. In the second month moon will be visible on 28th day, instead of 29th. This is also in line with the Ittihadul-Matale' concept of Imam Abu-Hanifah's fiqhi opinion.

Answer: The definition of "New Moon Birth" also known as "Astronomical New Moon" or "Conjunction" is the moment of time when the earth, sun and moon are in the same plane. In scientific terms, the Birth of New Moon is the time when sun's ecliptic longitude and moon's ecliptic longitude are the same with reference to the center of the earth. This could happen at any moment from 0:00 hours to 23:59 hours Greenwich Mean Time (Universal Time), and at that moment the moon is dark as seen from the earth. So, you can also think of a "New Moon" as "Dark Moon" or "Invisible Moon". Some people calculate the ecliptic longitude of the moon and sun from a specific location on the surface of the earth. This may be called as topocentric new moon or topocentric conjunction. There are different algorithms to calculate astronomical new moon (conjunction) depending upon the accuracy desired. Some are more accurate than others. Less elaborate and sufficiently accurate formulae can calculate the birth of new moon with an error up to +2 or -2 minutes, and for most practical purposes this accuracy is sufficient. So, calculations of conjunction by different algorithms may disagree slightly.

Answer: Yes, the tilt of earth's axis of rotation is the reason why moon is first visible in Northern latitudes in March, and in Southern latitudes in September. But that tilt has no effect on the arc of light.
Twilight times also change with high latitudes and with seasons, and this does affect sighting in high latitudes (55° North and 55° South), because the longer background light affects visibility of crescent. Sometimes the sun does not go far enough below horizon to facilitate moon sighting.

Answer: Yes, it is true. The moon rotates around its own axis in about the same time as it takes to circle the earth. These two motions cause the same side of the moon turned towards earth in general. Due to some variations in these motions and some other minor phenomena (liberation and wobbling), the people from earth can only see about 59% of the moon's surface at different times and place, which is a little more than (50% of the lunar surface) one side of the moon as seen from earth.

Answer: The moon is totally dark object; it does not have any light of its own. It merely reflects sunlight falling upon it. When sun is on the opposite side of the moon looking from earth, the side of the moon facing earth is completely dark, and we can not see this moon for about 36 hour every month. On all other days, the moon is at a different angle from the sun and we see different phases of the moon. It rises and sets because of the curvature of the earth as earth revolves around its own axis.

Answer: Calculation for the movement of the moon is as accurate as that of the sun. However, the sun being a source of light can be seen easily, while the moon, that does not have any light of its own, can only be seen when the sun is in such a position that its light falling on the moon can come to the earth. Many a times the moon may be above horizon, but it can not be seen because the sun is in such a position that its rays coming to the moon do not make a sufficient thickness of crescent to be seen from earth.

Answer: Yes, it is possible. The moon quite often sets 5 to 25 minutes after sunset when new moon is not born yet, that is its age is negative. The moon can set several minutes after sunset even when there are 10 hours to go before the new moon birth. It could happen in different places on the globe in different months.

Setting of sun and moon are the functions of the curvature of the earth from a particular location. New Moon is one instant of time when one spot on earth faces the line between sun and moon. At that moment other places on earth have sunrising, sun overhead, or even midnight. Same way moon can be at different situations. Moon setting after sunset is just its position relative to sun and that position is different at different times and at different latitudes in Northern and Southern hemisphere.

Answer: Moon can set to the right or left of sun. The moon may set to the right of sun at some location on earth, while the same moon on the same evening may set to the left of sun at another location. All this can be precisely calculated in advance for different locations.

Answer: There are different algorithms to calculate astronomical new moon (conjunction time) depending upon accuracy desired. Some are more accurate than others. Less elaborate and sufficiently accurate formulae can calculate the time of birth of new moon with an error up to +2 or -2 minutes, and for most practical purposes this accuracy is sufficient.

Answer: When new moon birth takes place, moon may be anywhere between closest to farthest point from the earth. It is at a different position in its orbit every month when the birth takes place, i.e., when the conjunction occurs. So, it changes from month to month.

Answer: Moon sets in all directions in its average cycle of 29.530588 days. The very first observed crescent always sets in generally west direction, but the variation is from South-West to North-West. Yes, the moon can set in South-Eastern direction.

Answer: Moon rises just like the sun from somewhere North-East to somewhere South-East depending on the season.

Answer: The moon remains invisible as seen from a specific location on earth for about 24 to 36 hours, about 12 to 18 hours before new moon birth and roughly the similar time after new moon birth. Actual times may differ from these values in different season's and they also change every month depending upon moon's speed around the earth which varies along its elliptical orbit.

Answer: If astronomical month is defined as the time from new moon to new moon, then it changes every month. The value could range from approximately 29 days 5 hours to 29 days 20 hours, with an average cycle of 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes 3 seconds.

Answer: The distance of sun and moon from earth varies depending upon their positions in orbit. The sun is at an average distance of about 8.4 light minutes from earth. The moon is at an average distance of 1.38 light seconds (or 0.023 light minutes) from earth.

Answer: Although this question is not about moonsighting, it deals with the beginning of Iranian calendar, for Naurooz. That's why it is presented here. The sun passes over the equator on two days of the year, Spring Equinox, and Autumn equinox (which occur approximately on March 21, and September 21). On these dates the sun passes over the equator at some instant of time, which is different every year. For this year 1999, it will pass at Mar 21, 01:46am Universal Time (March 20, 20:46 NY time or 18:46 Utah time).

Answer: Thousands of years ago, astronomy was not this accurate. But then there were not many man-made objects in the sky either. Now a days people can see many man-made objects and think they saw the moon. We are trying to educate the people, so they understand the basic known facts about the moon, and when is impossible to see, such that when a Muslim or group of Muslims see something and believe it to be the moon, we all can differentiate that it was not the moon; they have seen something else.

Answer: Going to a higher elevation really does not change the situation except for a small time delay added to the setting times for sun and moon. This delay by itself helps very little. However, going to higher elevation helps the visibility, because the higher the elevation, the better is the air transparency, and the lower is the light extinction. But this does not mean that a moon of 10 hours old can be seen from high monutains or even from airplanes.

Answer: The notion that astronomy is prohibited in Islam is a misconception that emerged some 1200 years ago when Astrology and Astronomy were not considered separate science when Ilm-un-Nojoom was encompassing both astronomy and astrology. At that time Muslim Ulamaa' said something like this that it is prohibited in Islam. Now it is clearly understood that astrology is prohibited but astronomy (Ilm-ul-falakyat) is not. Astronomy is the knowledge of movement and position of cosmos (heavenly bodies), while astrology is the effect of position of those heavenly bodies on human beings future. Future is not known to anyone except Allah, so Astrology is considered "Haraam" in Islam.

Answer: It will take over 10,000 years and no one can say what would be the correct answer for such a long time in future. There are variations in speeds of earth and moon and for next 10,000 years those variation could not be predicted. This is precisely the reason, why our Prophet (pbuh) advised us for moonsighting. Calculations cannot be done correctly for distant future even 50 years from now.

Answer: More than 2000 years ago, earth's circumference was first scientifically measured by a Greek astronomer Eratosthenes living in Alexandria, Egypt. He read somewhere that in the nearby town of Syene midday sunlight shines straight down to the bottom of deep wells on the same day each year. In Alexandria, however, sunlight on that date did not reach the bottom of a well, but instead fell on its side.

Eratosthenes thought that if the earth was flat as was commonly believed then why the observation in Syene and Alexandria are different on the same day. He reasoned that this is possible only if the earth's surface is curved. So, by measuring the angle of incoming sunlight in Alexandria on that day he could estimate the size of the round earth. It was measured to be seven degrees away from the zenith, meaning Syene must be seven degrees away from Alexandria as measured on the circle that is Earth's circumference. Eratosthenes hired a man to pace the distance between Syene and Alexandria. Since a full cirle has 360 degrees, he took the ratio of 7 degrees/360 degrees and multiplied it by the distance from Alexandria to Syene and estimated Earth's circumference at 26,000 miles (42,000 km), only five percent away from the modern accepted value of 24,901 miles (40,074 km).

Currently, the Moon moves less than two inches a year farther away from Earth — a tiny amount, but easily measurable with modern laser-ranging devices.

As seen from earth, planets appear to move to the East generally. However, sometines a planet takes over the earth just like if you are going in a train and another train passes parallel to you faster, then you will feel as if your train is moving in the opposite direction. Retrograde motion is just like that, an apparent motion of a planet to the viewers from earth. It is not an actual motion. It has nothing to do with sun rise from East or West.

Answer: The moon becomes full at a specific moment within 24 hours. At that moment, there is sunrising somewhere, setting somewhere, night somewhere and all different times somewhere because of the time difference. At that moment, some areas in the world may have 13th day/night and some may have 14th day/night. Similarly, in some other month it is possible, that some areas have 14th day/night and some have 15th day/night.

Answer: For the money, Celestron's TravelScope 60 National Park Foundation telescope does a lot with (and for) a little. But this scope's 2.36-inch (6 cm) aperture is large enough to yield 140x magnification with its included Barlow lens. And it comes, ready to travel, with its own tripod, moon filter, mirror diagonal (for upright views), compass, and clip-on flashlight; all in its own backpack.
You can read more in depth information on all kinds of telescope on http://www.space.com/15693-telescopes-beginners-telescope-reviews-buying-guide.html

Answer: Eclipses occur when the Sun, Earth and Moon line up. They are rare because the moon usually passes 5° above or below the imaginary line connecting Earth and the Sun. In a solar eclipse the moon passes directly in front of the Sun. This can only happen when the phase of the moon is "new." That occurs because, for Earth-based observers, the far side of the moon is illuminated while the side facing Earth is in darkness. A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth comes between the moon and the sun, earth casting a shadow on the moon. It can only occur when the moon is "full."

At solar eclipse, the moon, which is 400 times smaller that the Sun, is 400 times closer! This means that the two objects appear to be the same size in the sky. An annular eclipse is a special partial solar eclipse. Because the moon's orbit around Earth is an ellipse, not a circle, the moon's distance from Earth varies. When the moon is far from Earth it appears slightly smaller in the sky. (Earth's orbit around the Sun is also an ellipse, and during January, Earth is at its closest point to the Sun. The Sun's size is slightly larger than during the rest of the year.) With a "small" moon and a "large" Sun the moon will not completely block out the Sun. For individuals in just the right location, the Sun appears as a ring (annulus) around the dark surface of the moon.

In a lunar eclipse the moon moves into Earth's shadow. Observers on the night side of Earth see the moon move into Earth's shadow. If the entire disk of the moon falls into the shadow it is total lunar eclipse. If only a portion does, then it is a partial lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipses are more common than solar eclipses.

Answer: Qur'an does not mention eclipses. However, numerous Ahadith mentioned eclipses, e.g.,

Narrated Al Mughira bin Shuba (Sahih Al-Bokhari)
The sun eclipsed in the lifetime of Allah's Apostle on the day when (his son) Ibrahim died. So the people said that the sun had eclipsed because of the death of Ibrahim. Allah's Apostle said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death or life (i.e. birth) of someone. When you see the eclipse pray and invoke Allah."

Narrated Abu Masud, also Ibn Umar (Sahih Al-Bokhari)
The Prophet said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death of someone from the people but they are two signs amongst the signs of Allah. When you see them stand up and pray."

Some people, basically Qadianis (Ahmadiyya), mention another Hadith: "Amr bin Shimr narrates from Jabir who told him that Muhammad bin Ali said that for our Mehdi, two signs are given which never occurred in the past from the creation of the heavens and the earth. One is that a lunar eclipse will occur on the first night of Ramadan and the second sign is that a solar eclipse will occur in the middle of Ramadan and these signs had never happened from the creation of the heavens and the earth (Dar Qutni)."

ATTENTION:
1. The 3rd narration mentioned above is definitely not the saying of the Messenger (SAW), as the narrator clearly assigns it as the saying of Imam Muhammad Baqir bin Ali which was written in the book of Dar Qutni. Attributing this to Imam Muhammad Baqir is also wrong as the first narrator mentioned was Muhammad bin Ali not Imam Baqir. There were several narrators by the name Muhammad bin Ali and there is no proof or reason to believe that this person is Imam Baqir. Moreover, Imam Baqir was born 47 years after the death of the Messenger (SAW), and for a narration to be a Hadith, it must have chains of narration going back to the Messenger (SAW). This narration clearly does not go back to Messenger (SAW).

2. "According to its authenticity, this saying attributed to Imam Baqir is extremely weak, outcast, and rejected. Looking at the chain of narration, the second narrator is Amr bin Shimr who has been labeled (in Meezanul-E'tidaal P262) as the big liar, a narrator of weak and fabricated Ahadith, a non-believer of Hadith, a person who uses abusive words for the companions of the Messenger (SAW), the Sahabah (Razi-Allahu unhum ajmaeen), and according to Ilm-ul-Hadith, his narration is not written as Hadith." These are the words of Allamah Shamsuddin Dhahbi (Rahmatullah Alayhe) who was an expert of the Funn-e-Rijaal, art of Men Narrators. Thus, it is clear that this narrator is absolutely not reliable nor trustworthy. So, to present this narration as a Hadith of Rasool (SAW) is not only a great false accusation and a lie but according to Hadith-e-Sahih (agreed upon Hadith, which says, "Whoever lies upon me deliberately and knowingly should know that he has made his abode in Jahannam"), it is making an abode in the Hell fire.

The third narrator is Jabir. There were several narrators by this name, and which Jabir is mentioned here is unknown; someone by this name was known to be a person of unknown parentage or lineage. One among the persons with the name Jabir was Jabir Ja'fi, who was described by Imam Abu-Hanifah (Rahmatullah Alayhe) as "among the liars that I met, no one was bigger liar than Jabir Ja'fi." Remember, that Imam Abu-Hanifah, Imam Baqir, Jabir Ja'fai, and Amr bin Shimr were all born after 47 to 80 years after the death of the Messenger (SAW).

None of the narrators mentioned that they heard this from Sahabah or Rasool (SAW), and the authenticity of these narrators is extremely questionable. Now you can tell, how can such narration be labelled as Hadith, and how can it be worth any discussion and argument.
Read more on this.

Solar eclipse only occurs at New Moon, when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth and the Moon's shadow sweeps across a portion of Earth's surface and an eclipse of the Sun is seen from that region. Solar eclipses are two to five per year, but the ground covered by totality is only a band of about 30 miles wide, length being that portion of the globe which is under the moon's shadow.

Lunar eclipse only occurs at full Moon, when the earth passes between the Sun and Moon and the Earth's shadow sweeps across a portion of Moon's surface and an eclipse of the Moon is seen. Lunar eclipses are less frequent that solar, and at any given location could be zero to three per year. Total lunar eclipses are visible everywhere that it is night time as the event takes place - essentially over half the globe.

Thus, the closest time between solar and lunar eclipse is 2 weeks. Solar eclipse always occurs at the end of an Islamic month. Lunar eclipse always occurs in the middle of an Islamic month.

At solar eclipse the sun is partially or totally blocked by the moon. Some people are confused with this phenomenon that the moon surface is seen, and the Islamic month has begun. There is a big difference in seeing this dark circle blocking the sun and the visible Crescent that marks the beginning of an Islamic month.

Let me emphasize that a solar eclipse is the proof of disappearance of the moon and does not mark the beginning of a month. Few years ago Sheikh Ali Al-Tantawi, the Mufti of Egypt at that time, also said the same thing when the eclipse occurred in Saudi Arabia, and he said in a fatwa that this was a proof of the disappearance of moon and it is not Hilal nor should it be taken as a Hilal.

An interesting story of lunar eclipse is related to Columbus, the sailor when one of his ships was damaged and he stranded all his ships and crew in Jamaica (caribbeans). In the beginning the crew traded things for food with the natives, but later, the natives became annoyed with some of the less respectful sailors, and refused to deal with Columbus. Columbus and his crew faced starvation. That's when Columbus used his astronomy knowledge of precalculated lunar eclipse on February 29, 1504. He told them that he would remove the moon from the sky if they would not cooperate with him. The natives at first did not believe him. Then the full moon rose a blood red, then it began to dim. The natives worried. The moon got very dim; the natives got very worried. Then the moon disappeared. The natives were in a panic and pleaded with Columbus. Columbus knew precisely when the moon would reappear. He agreed to bring back the moon in due time, if they agreed to give him food. The natives agreed, and were awash with relief when the moon reappeared. Columbus saved himself and his crew from starvation.

Answer: Within a given solar year, a maximum of seven eclipses can occur, either four solar and three lunar or five solar and two lunar.

Answer: I, Khalid Shaukat have done extensive research on the exact calculations of lunar and solar eclipses that occurred in the month of Ramadan in life time of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (1835-1908CE). Results of my research along with discussion can be seen here.

Answer: This is absurd. Solar eclipse always occurs on new moon, while lunar eclipse always occurs on full moon, therefore, the both can not occur on the same day. There is always a minimum of two weeks difference in lunar and solar eclipses.

Answer: The plane in which the moon orbits around the earth is 5° inclined to the plane in which earth moves around the sun. Think of an imaginary line joining the center of the sun and the center of the earth. At new moon birth the center of the moon precisely crosses this line, while the moon can be up to 5° above or below this line. Sun eclipse only occurs when the moon crosses on that imaginary line, which does not happen every month.

Answer: New moon is the time at which moon crosses a line between earth and sun. Shadow of earth will never fall on the new moon. The Shadow of earth sometimes falls on the full moon only (earth comes in between sun and moon), and then it is lunar eclipse. Solar eclipse occurs only on new moon day and only sometimes, when moon blocks sun as seen from the earth.

Answer: To see upcoming eclipses go to http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html or Click Here

Answer: Please go to http://moonsighting.com/faq_ms.html#Prophet-Eclipses or Click Here

Answer: Lunar eclipse always occurs on full moon. It cannot occur at any other time. However, it is scientific fact that when moon eclipse occurs, at that moment there are two days in the world; some areas have 13th day, and some have 14th. Similarly, eclipse may occur in some other months, such that some areas may have 14th day and some may have 15th day.

Answer: Solar eclipse always occurs when the moon is "New Moon" or "Invisible Moon". It occurs when the sun, the moon and Earth come in the same line. At that moment moon comes in front of the sun as seen from earth. This moon is totally invisible, because the moon does not have any light. It only reflects sun's light when it is not in line with the sun. This moon is not "hilal" and cannot be seen from any where in the world. It is also scientific fact that when sun eclipse occurs, at that moment there are two days in the world; e.g. on Monday, Oct 3, 2005, eclipse occurs at 10:28 GMT, which means 1:28pm Saudi Time, or 11:28pm at 165 Longitude on Sunday, October 2, 2005. This eclipse can be seen from Middle East, Europe and Africa on Monday, Oct 3, 2005.

Answer: Eclipse occurs at a Universal time (be it noon time) and date. At that moment two or three Islamic dates are going in different parts of the world (if based on actual sighting in different areas). So, in some areas, it would be 13th, or 14th or 15th day.

Answer: The definition of the "Hilal" never restricted that moon should be seen after sunset. In fact, 30th day moon sometimes can be seen before sunset. Hilal is the sliver moon that appears several hours after astronomical new-moon, not the dark disc of the moon that comes in front of the sun during solar eclipse.

Answer: When you think of a day (like solar eclipse day), that day could be 36 hours long day. Surprised?! It is true, but you have to really be patient to understand that. Solar eclipse is usually reported on a date with time in GMT.
Now, if eclipse occurs at 0:01 GMT on January 1 for example, it will be 12:01 midday of December 31 in Polynesian Islands, and on January 1, around 7pm their local time in Polynesian Island, the eclipse would have passed 31 hours, but it will still be January 1 (Eclipse day - has now gone past 31 hours) and such a moon would be visible in Polynesian Islands easily in many cases, but not always, because, if the moon is in extreme Norther Hemisphere, it will not be visible in Polynesian Islands even after 31 hours of sun eclipse. So you see, you cannot put any clear statement and situation could be different in different months and seasons. The answer in short is, that looking at the visibility curve, you can have an idea of whether it will be visible at all, and which part of the world.

Answer: Go after about 15 minutes after sunset. Look in the direction of the setting sun, just above it, also look to the right or left of it up to 30° in either direction of the setting sun. Keep looking until the time of moonset that you can obtain from local newspapers. Binocular helps. Have one or more persons with you, if possible. If you do this for a few months, you will know yourself about improving your procedure. What evening you should go to look, can be found from my web site, or if you know when was the moon sighted in your area for the previous month, then count 29 days from it.

Answer: For a specific location where you are, the new crescent moon in some months has the least age, in other months has larger age, and yet in some other months, its age is just below the visibility range (say, e.g., 12 hours), and then the next day its age grows by 24 more hours (to 36 hours). Of course, this 36 hour old moon looks so big that people may say that it is definitely second day moon. For your locality, it is still first day moon. However, for some other localities, it may have been seen the day earlier (at the age of 17 hours), and for them, it is second day moon when it is 41 hours old. So, you see, a 36 hour old moon may be the first day moon and a 41 hour old moon which is not much different from 36 hours is a second day moon.

Answer: The moon-sighting prediction calculations are not that simple as you think. If the moon surface facing the earth is completely dark and the moon is above 5° or 10°, or even 20° it means it is there but is invisible. 5 or 10° above horizon is a function of curvature of the globe. But for visibility, the moon has to reflect sun's light. To do that the moon has to be at about 10° angle minimum from the sun (this angle is also called elongation, or arc of light). Elongation was 5.2° in Detroit on Dec. 29; That is why you did not see the moon on that day. On Jan 28, you will still not see the moon, because the elongation is less than 10°, and the age is 17 hours, and there are other parameters of the moon that make it impossible to see it on Jan 28. However, on Jan 29, you will see a big moon that is 41 hours old, that still does not mean that it was yesterday's moon, because yesterday, it was 17 hours old and was not visible in your area or on the east coast of USA.

Answer: To answer your brother's question, firstly, moon is not always visible when it is 19 hours old. In some months 23 hours old moon is not visible. Secondly, on Jan 28, 1998, the moonsighting is difficult but possible on West coast 30 minutes after sunset, only if the optimum weather conditions persist (no city lights on west, favorable humidity, favorable temperature, and atmospheric pressure etc.).

In Hawaii, it should easily be visible. However, ISNA and Shura Council of North America have decided to announce the beginning of Shawwal after moon is sighted in Continental North America. They will verify the claims of sighting from the main land of North America. We can not wait for reports of sighting from Hawaii, because, it will be past midnight on the East coast, by the time we confirm the sighting claims. That is a burden on Muslims of East coast, specially in Nova Scotia which is 1 more hour ahead of Eastern Time Zone. Just a statement of possible sighting in Hawaii is not enough for ISNA to make a decision before actual sighting.

Answer: Full moon occurs at one specific moment (that can be in any time in 24 hours Universal Time). Now, we must realize that at every moment, there are two Gregorian dates in the world (parts of the world on either side of the International Dateline have different days at every moment). The practice of Muslims in most of the world is following the actual sighting of the moon, which can be affected by the clouds/rain and delay the starting of a month. This will be against the calendar made by Allah. He, almighty, has hung the moon in the sky to be a visible calendar, not affected by human weakness of vision, and also depending on clouds/rain. In my opinion, it is wrong to be dependent on the moonsighting for starting the month, (because clouds/rain can change the dates).

So, the answer to your question is that full moon must always be on the 14th night or 15th night in different parts of the world. However, Ulamaa' of our times are still hung up on actual sighting of the moon in their country. Boundaries of countries are man made and keep on changing as you can see that up to 1947 India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were all one country, and Islamic dates were one in all three areas. Now they can differ because of man made boundaries. This is causing the full moon on 13th night which in my opinion is wrong.

Answer: If the moonset is 37 minutes after sunset, it does not mean it is visible for 37 minutes. All it means is that the moon is above horizon for 37 minutes, and if it is less than 7° to 10° from the sun, then it is not visible. Visibility depends upon angular separation of the moon from the sun. If the angular separation is not enough to make a crescent, just the presence of moon above horizon is not enough for it to be seen.

Answer: The moon could be on the horizon before the birth of new moon. Therefore, new month can not start before the moon is born. If the moon is above horizon, its visibility may be impossible because of its relative position from the sun. If sun is in such a position that the crescent is not formed as seen from the earth, then moon cannot be seen, even if it remains above horizon after sunset. The visibility does not depend on age, but on the angular separation of moon and sun. A 13 hours age moon generally does not have enough angular separation for it to be visible. Also it takes about 20 to 25 minutes for the sun to go below horizon such that the background light of sun's glare diminishes to an extent that a crescent can be seen. However, a very thin crescent can not be seen until after 38 minutes past sunset.

Answer: No. But it is possible to see the moon on one morning before sunrise in the east, and then one the next day's evening (i.e. after about 36 hours) it can be seen after sunset in the west. This happens very seldom for a specific location. Usually the moon remains hidden for two days, a day before new moon, and a day after new moon.

Answer: The "Mahaq" is the time when the moon becomes invisible from any place. This period of Mahaq will vary for different places. The minimum period of Mahaq is about 30 hours (about 15 hours before new moon birth, and about 15 hours after it). But this does not mean that the moon is out of Mahaq for every place in that time. For some months and for some places it could remain in Mahaq for about 50 hours. For Shawwal 1419, the moment of new moon birth is Jan 17, 1999, 15:47 UT. Remember, the age of the moon is very wrong factor to look for visibility. The most important factor for visibility is the angular separation of the moon from the sun. This angle is not easy to calculate for everyone. That's why most people try to come up with an easy formula in terms of age or difference of moonset and sunset, and none of those formulae work. There is no answer for minimum age for sighting, either with naked eye or with instruments (telescope/binocular). However, there is a minimum limit of 7° for angular separation of moon and sun (Danjon effect, meaning the mountains on the surface of the moon block the sunlight coming to the earth).

Answer: Let me clarify what "Birth of New Moon" means. It is the instant of time when the moon crosses a line between the earth and the sun, and since the moon does not have any light (it merely reflects sun's light) it is dark at this time and therefore, it can not be seen. The sun light falling on the moon reflects back to the sun and the earth is facing the dark side of the moon. As the time passes from birth of new moon, the moon move out from in-front of the sun and several hours later it can be seen as a crescent.

Answer: It was not possible to see this Shawwal moon on Jan 17, 1999 anywhere in the world, because the sun has to be at certain angle for its light falling on moon to come to earth, and this is not enough either. The background light on the skies at the horizon must also be lesser than the brightness of crescent moon. For these two reasons, the moon was not visible anywhere in the world on Jan 17. So, if the moon is above horizon after sunset, it just tells us that the moon is there, and it may be dark, but for it to be visible, the angle from sun and the background light of the horizon conditions must be sufficient to see that moon. 6 to 7 hours old moon is not visible as proven by the observatories of the world using even most powerfull telescopes.

Answer: First you should understand, "new moon" and "new crescent moon". New moon is an instant of time; for example, this month it was at 4:21am Universal time on April 16, 1999. At that time it was 8:21pm on April 15, 1999 in California. At this time the moon is dark and cannot be seen. At that time there are different times at different locations in the world. Of course on April 16, in California it was 23 hours old, and was seen. So, looking at the date only for moon birth April 16 you are misleading yourself that if the moon is seen on April 16 anywhere in the world, it was a dark moon, since the moon was born on April 16, 1999.

Answer: If one knows where to look for the moon, it does not mean that the moon could be seen. Moon does not have any light. It reflects sunlight. At newmoon phase the earth is on one side of the moon and the sun is on the other side, so no sunlight falling on moon can come to the earth.

The programs like "Virtual Reality Phase of the Moon" only show you a calculated geometry of the moon surface facing a particular spot at a specific time on the globe not the whole world. The faintest crescent it shows does not mean that it can be seen. It requires the crescent to be of sufficient thickness and brightness compared to the background light of the sun in the sky, which is present on the horizon even after sunset. Moreover, the sunlight falling on the surface of moon is not reflected to the earth until about the angle of sun-earth-moon becomes 7° because the mountains on the surface of the moon block the sunlight until the angle becomes 7°. It takes about at least 13 hours after "newmoon phase" to see the crescent even from telescopes. For naked eye this time is about at least 15 hours or so. It does not mean the a 13 hour or 15 hour old moon will always be visible. In some months moon is not visible from any place on earth until it becomes 23 hours old.

Answer: YES, and such locations have factors better for optics than other locations. Locations looking out over the ocean are better than looking over in a direction of a populated city. Poor air transparency due to molecules and dust suspended in the air is also bad for visibility. The air transparency is better for higher elevations like mountain tops. Urban and industrial areas are at a disadvantage compared with rural and more arid areas. The average cloud cover is significantly higher at high latitudes and near equator than in the subtropics and lower temperate zone.

The haze effect also known as light extinction, dims the crescent by a large factor. At the low altitude where the most marginal crescents would be seen, only about 5% of the light from the crescent can penetrate the air, and 95 percent is lost because it is scattered away in other directions, even in the cleanest air. In a humid or polluted environment, much less than 1 percent of the light of a thin crescent comes to the earth. If the background light from the rest of the sky is brighter than the thin crescent, it would render the crescent invisible.

Answer: It could be one of the so many things people mistakenly think as the Hilal. In our times, there are numerous man-made flying objects, helicopters, air-planes, and satellites, that sometimes reflect sun light in such a way that people take it as a moon. A piece of c-shaped thin streak of cloud, a jet-smoke, or even a small piece of hair stuck to eye-glasses has been considered the Hilal by many sincere Muslims. Sometimes, the zeal of sighting, brings shear imagination that the person thinks (s)he has seen the moon.

Answer: Yes, what you saw was an old crescent (meaning crescent before it becomes new). The new crescent is going to be born on Sep 27, 2000 at 19:54 UT i.e. 15:54 Eastern Daylight Time. What you saw was the moon about 33 hours and 14 minutes before newmoon (from 6:40 EDT on 9/26/00 to 15:54 on 9/27/00). Of course a moon 33 hours before new would be easily seen and remember old moon is always visible on Eastern horizon near Fajr time and newmoon will always be visible on Western horizon near Maghrib time.

Answer: Visibility curve for Nov 27 will be the extension of the parabolas on left past the International dateline of the curves shown on Nov 26. So, most of the Eastern world would see the moon on Nov 27. There are three major reasons as to why Eastern countries started Ramadan on Nov 27:

1. Some one sees something other than moon on Nov 26 and reports it and the authorities accept it.
2. Some countries like Libya have some astronomical criteria to begin any month, e.g., if the conjunction has taken place before morning the new month begins.
3. Some countries (like Saudi Arabia) have a precalculated calendar, by which Sha'ban 29 was on Nov 25, and no one reported seeing crescent on the 29th Sa'ban, so they decided that Nov 26 is the 30th Sha'ban and Ramadan Begins on Nov 27. This is the consequence of a precalculated calendar not based on moonsighting. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Iran are among the countries which saw the real moon on Nov 27 and started Ramadan on Nov 28, 2000.

Answer: More often it is true that USA sees the moon a day before India, but not always. This time it was that exception. You will understand more if you see the visibility curves.

Answer: This would be possible very rarely, if on the conjuction day the total time span between the two sightings could be about 30-36 hours.

Answer: The question is should we blindly accept it. If that is supposed to be so, then why Hadrat Umar asked another Sahabi to go wash his face and then come back to see if he could still see the moon? Sure enough, when he came back he did not see the moon, and no ther person there was able to see the moon on a clear horizon.

Why did Imam Abu-Hanifa asked to accept testimony of moonsighting only when a large group of people confirm that? Imam Abu-Yusuf and Imam Muhammad required 50 Muslims from every community to confirm the sighting.

Why did Abdullah ibn Abbas, did not accept Hadrat Kuraib's sighting of Dimash and asked him to fast the 31st day in Medinah, when he had started his Ramadan 31 days ago in Dimashq (Hadith in Subulus-Salam).

All this shows that the Sahabah were all cautious to screen out the mistakes made by sincere Muslims who saw something and believed it to be the moon.

They all used whatever method was available to them for screening out mistakes. We use the methods available to us for screening out the same kind of mistakes. Past years experience of more than decade about sighting claims in North America shows us that mistaken claims are made many times.

The calculations we do are not final word; ISNA goes by actual sighting; we use calculations to screen out mistakes. Further substantiation of calculations is attained by actual sighting in places west of the claimed sighting, because it is scientific fact that if a moon is seen in one place, then it becomes easier and easier to see on places west of it. This is a good check of calculations, which have withstood this test for the past 9 years or so, almost every month. Calculations are chacked by other Muslims (e.g. Dr. Monzur Ahmad of UK, and Mohammed Odeh of Jordan).

Answer: When the Messenger of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) would see the crescent he used to say the folowing Dua:
"Allahu akbaru, Allahumma 'ahillahu 'alaynaa bil-'yumni wal 'eemaani, was-salaamati wal-islaami, wat-tawfeeqi limaa tuhibbu wa tardhaa, rabbunaa wa rabbuka Allahu."

This Dua is translated to mean: Allah is the greatest, O my Lord! make this crescent moon for us to be in the right path and faith, for peace and Islam (submission), and give us ability to do what You love and approve of. Our Lord and Your Lord is Allah.

Answer: You are not at a disadvantage in Europe. It does not always happen like this for Europe. It happens when the moon is in Souhern hemisphere. From September 22 to March 21 the moon remains in Southern hemisphere. From March 22 to September 21 the moon will come in Northern hemisphere. During March 22 to September 21, the Southern hemisphere people will be able to see the moon like more than 48 hours old (although there is much less land mass in Southern hemisphere at high latitudes).

Answer: It is possible, when the part of the sky is covered by clouds and there is an open window in clouds in which moon can be seen, which will normally be invisible because of the glare of the sun. But the sun blocked by clouds can make the moon visible. Also, there is a Fatwa by Dr. Yusuf Qaradawi, "Ramadan Moon Could Be Sighted After Noon:"
DOHA, October 2, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) - Prominent scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the head of the Dublin-based European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) said Muslims can sight the new moon after noon Monday, October 3, when the sun reaches its zenith.
"If the moon is sighted in the afternoon, Muslim scholars agree that the following day marks the beginning of the new month (i.e., Ramadan)," Qaradawi said in a fatwa, a copy of which was obtained by IslamOnline.net on Sunday, October 2, 2005.

Answer: In the context of moon, the same horizon means if the moon is seen at one location, it must be seen in the other location (provided there are no clouds). What is scientifically correct is that if moon is seen at a location, then all locations west of it will also see the moon (provided there are no clouds). So, it is possible that moon is seen in UAE but not seen in Indo-Pak which is east of UAE, but it is not possible that moon is seen in Indo-pak and not seen in UAE (provided there are no clouds).

Answer: I, Khalid Shaukat know Dr. Ilyas personally. I have spent some days with him, attending conventions for moon-Sighting and Islamic calendar. His criteria are very approximate, and have failed many times since 1996, that I have monitored regarding actual moon-sighting. The criteria described by you are not his criteria. They are the criteria adpopted in South East Asian countries, and will not yield a visible crescent.

Answer: We are trying to educate Muslims all over the world as well as Saudi Arabia. In-sha-Allah with our sincere efforts something good will come out with the help of Allah. May Allah bless you for your concern, and show guidance to all of us including the decision makers all around the world.

Answer: It looks to me that you are confusing "New moon" reported by US Naval Obs. with a visible crescent. "New moon" reported by US Naval Obs. is totally invisible. Any Islamic dates based on that would be 1 or 2 days ahead. We calculated dates based on a crescent that could be seen.

Answer: Minimum separation (elongation) for visibility, statistically known, is about 10.5 to 11° for naked eye, and about 7.5 to 8 for powerful telescopes. Remember, these are for perfect atmospheric conditions, which do not exist most of the times and places. To calculate this separation is not easy. It requires a lot of mathematical terms to calculate the positions of sun and moon based on local horizon in question, and then their separation angle is calculated using spherical trigonometry. The more accurate lunar theory and calculation methods you use, the better the results would be.

Answer: Time varies for locations and months. On one particular evening a crescent may be thinnest in Japan but the same crescent will be 15 hours to 18 hours thicker in USA, and would remain in the sky above horizon at different latitudes for different duration.

Sometimes the crescent may remain above horizon for more than 1 hour but it may not be seen, because it does not have any light of its own; it merely reflects sunlight, which it can only reflect if moon is at least a certain angle from the sun. Even when it meets minimum angle requirement, in some cases, the crescent is invisible because of being too low on the horizon, such that the background light of the setting sun on the horizon is brighter than the crescent.

If you understand that moon does not have its own light, then its presence on the sky does not mean it is visible. You should realize that on 28th or 29th evening of a lunar month the moon disappears from sight; this is mainly for the same reason that it is not at sufficient angle to reflect sunlight.

Answer: It takes a minimum of approximately 8.5 hours to 15.5 hours for the moon to move 7° away from the sun. 8.5 hours is the case when the moon is closest to earth and is 5° from the ecliptic plane at the time of moon birth (example: Dec 14, 1955). 15.5 hours is the case when moon is farthest from the earth and is 0° from the ecliptic plane at the time of moon birth (example: Dec 10, 1977). The crescent will be visible to the high powered telescopes about 2.5 hours after it has attained 7° angle from sun, i.e., at 11 to 18 hours of age. To the naked eye it would be visible at 16 to 23 hours of age.

Answer: Surface illumination is not the only factor that will make it visible. If that moon is too low on the horizon, such that the background sky illumination from the setting sun is more than moon's surface illumination then the moon will not be visible. Sky background illummination also depends on many other factors, like pressure temperature, humidity, particulates in the atmosphere, the distance the rays from moon travel in the atmospheric layer, the distance between moon and earth, the distance between sun and earth etc.

Answer: It is not easy to say what safe limits are, because there are so many other factors to be considered that cannot be put into calculations at all for example the human optics, specific atmospheric conditions on the day of sighting etc. Crudely speaking, the safe limit to disregard any claim of sighting in terms of age of the moon in hours for naked eye is about 14 hours and for high powered telescope is about 10 hours and these are for experinced observers only, who have enough preparation and practice to see the moon. For a casual observer who just looks in the sky without any preperation, the lower limit for the naked eye is 17 hours and for high-powered telescope it is 13.5 hours. It should be clarified here that this limit means that any claims before this limit should be very critically examined. However, it does not mean that before such limits all claims should be rejected. It shouls also be noted that meeting such limits does not necessarily mean that the claim has a merit to be accepted.

Answer: When the moon is sighted in a place on earth, right at that moment there are two days and dates prevailing all over the globe. Some places have already started their next day. Those places can not start the month at that time. They have to wait for the next sunset time to start new month, and hence their month will not start on the same day as the place where the moon was sighted.

Suppose the moon is only possible to be seen in Hawaii and nowhere in the world. The time of starting Islamic month will be after sunset in Hawaii (around 6:00pm). At that time in Tokyo (with 19 hours differece), the time will be 1:00pm of the next day. If this was month of Ramadan, this is way past Suhoor time in Tokyo. They cannot start fasting before the sighting However, if for the unity of Muslims, Ulamaa' decide some convention, then all Muslim Ummah can start the Islamic month on the same day.

Answer: The 2 people criteria you mentioned is not in Sunnah; it is an opinion of Fiqh. Use common sense, that if 2 persons see something else, and we know by laws of nature that the moon was not there; what they saw was not the moon then why you insist that we should close our minds and not think rationally and accept a simple mistake that we know is going to affect thousands of Muslims starting the month at the wrong time. It does not make sense.

Answer: This "would be visible" knowledge is not considered sufficient by Ulemaa. Actual Sighting is required. But, in future, if Ulemaa agreed to this "would be visible" argument then that can be done. As long as actual sighting is required, by the time the moon is actually seen in Hawaii, it will be hardship for the people of East coast of Canada to wait past 3:00 or 4:00am for the confirmed news of sighting. Consider what would happen for Japan. The time in Japan would be past 2:00pm the next day. Muslims in Japan could not begin fasting on that day, if it was the month of Ramadan.

Answer: Ikhtilaf-al-Matali' concept says, use different start dates. Ittihad-al-Matali' concept says only relatively close areas should start on the same day; it was not for the whole globe or for large distances. Time differences in distant locations of the world prove that Ittihad-al-Matali' concept is not applicable for large distances.

Answer: First of all, Qur'an does not say, "The whole Muslim Ummah on the globe must follow one moonsighting." Just like prayer timings are different in different locations, month starting is also different. Let me give you the answer to your question from hadith of the Prophet [pbuh]. Hadrat Abdullah Ibn Abbas [RA] in Medinah did not start the month of Shawwal, when Hadrat Kuraib and Moaviah [RA} reported that 30 days are completed based on sighting in Dimashq, and Ibn Abbas [RA} and all other Sahaabah [RA} did not see in Medinah. Abdullah Ibn Abbas [RA] in Medinah and other Sahaabah in Dimashq did Eid on different days [Hadith from Sahih Muslim] and remember, that Hadrat Ibn Abbas [RA] in Medinah required Hadrat Kuraib [RA] to fast for the 31st day of his fasting, because Kuraib [RA] started his Ramadan in Dimashq, one day earlier than Medinah, and Ibn Abbas [RA] did not accept the argument of 30 days completed. [Hadith from Subulus-Salaam].

Answer: According to Saudi announcement, someone saw the moon on Friday, Dec 18, 1998, so they started Ramadan on Saturday. They were UNABLE TO SEE Shawwal crescent on Jan 17, 1999 after 30 days. Note that if the month started with correct moonsighting, then after 30 days it is always visible, given clear horizon. Yet, they used the argument that 30 days have been completed, so Jan 18, 1999 is Eid-al-Fitr in Saudi Arabia.

Of course, moon could not be seen on Jan 17 anywhere in the world, and you in Malaysia would not even see on Jan 18 according to my calculations, so your Eid should have been on Jan 20, 1999, just like most of India and Pakistan celebrated Eid on Jan 20, 1999, two days after Makkah, not one day after. We in USA celebrated it on Jan 19, 1999 according to the authentic sighting in USA.

Answer: Unity of Mulsims is very important. We should all try to achieve that. However, unity on the right thing is more important then the unity on the wrong thing. No Aalim from anywhere supports the position that Eid-al-Adha in the whole world is after the day of hajj.

As far as majority is concerned, it is wrong to say that the majority of Muslims celebrated on Feb 22, 2002 with Saudi Arabia. Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Iran, Morocco, South Africa (70%), Kenya, UK (60%), Norway, Bermuda, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, and USA & Canada (70%) celebrated Eid-al-Adha on Feb 23, 2002. There may be others that we don't know.

The following countries, that we know, celebrated Eid on Feb 22, 2002:
[Indonesia, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Jordan, Syria, and Nigeria]

Answer: These are two Fiqh positions; both are considered valid Fiqh positions by the Ulamaa'. Ikhtilaful-Matali' means every locality can rely on its local sighting of the moon. This was adopted by Imam Maalik, Imam Shafi'i and Imam Hanbal. Ittihadul-Matali' means if authentic moonsighting news comes from other areas, then local moonsighting is not necessary. This was adopted by Hanafi Imams and scholars. However, Ittihadul-Matali' position was only meant for short distances considering Matla' remains the same. It never meant to be for large distances, certainly not for the whole globe (It is physically not possible). Here, another point should be made clear that following Saudi Arabia is neither Ittihadul-Matali' nor Ikhtilaful-Matali'. Ittihadul-Matali' was for any locality that sees the moon first, not Makkah or Suadi Arabia. Following Saudi is a third position, which is not a valid Fiqh position, until Ulamaa' do ijtihad and agree for it to become a valid Fiqh position.

Common sense tells us that Allah SWT created the globe and its rotation (with time differences). Matla' is different for far locations. Shari'ah, principles have never changed because of scientific inventions. Invention of watches did not change the paryer times that were in practice before watches. Telecommunications made it possible to know when Hujjaj are in Arafat. Before that, for centuries other locations did not know when was hajj. They were all celebrating Eid-al-Adha without knowing that based on local sighting. If it was important to know when is hajj, then the Prophet, Khulafae-Rashidoon and Khulafaa' after them could have send someone to Makkah and find out in 10 days when is Hajj. But this was never done in the 14 centuries.

Answer: IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO HAVE EID ON THE SAME DAY THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WORLD AFTER THE ACTUAL SIGHTING OF THE CRESCENT, because, when the moon is sighted in Hawaii around 6:00pm, it will be 2:00pm of the next day in Japan, and 4:00pm of the next day in New Zealand.

Answer: This 30 day complete argument is wrong. If you start fasting before new moon was even born, then you did not start the month on the right day. 30 day complete argument is only good when the previous month began with the correct sighting of the moon, and not by mistaken claims.

All experts of the world about moonsighting are unanimous that moon can not be seen in Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and East coast of North America on Jan 28, 1998 (Wednesday). Non-sighting of the moon after 30 days is a clear proof that the month did not begin correctly, otherwise moon is always visible on 30th day, given clear skies.

Answer: No, certainly not. It does not favor the Eid of Friday. Khalid Shaukat and many other tried to see the moon in Washington DC area even on Friday, Jan 7, 2000 and the finding was that despite very clear horizon (no clouds) and moon setting 1 hour after sunset, we could not see the moon even on Friday. That means the moon was impossible to see the day before.
The moon is visible all over the world within about 36 hours of the time it becomes visible first, except the polar regions. So, non-visibility in clear horizon on Jan 7, was a clear proof that it was not visible in that area the day before. Now moon was sighted in Texas, Arizona, and westward on January 7. So, even though it was not visible in Washington DC area we celebrated Eid on Jan 8, based on (Ittihadul-Matali) one horizon.

Now moon was visible more than 2 hours on Jan 8. Yes, of course; same thing happenend in Washington DC area. Even on Jan 7, it was setting 1 hour after sunset, but it was still not visible. So, do not look at a big moon of Jan 8, and estimate when could it have been visible. On Jan 6, in Washington DC area it was 4 hours old; on Jan 7, it was 28 hours old still not visible, and on January 8, it was 52 hours old. Age is very misleading factor for visibility. Moonset after sunset also is misleading for visibility. Also remember that moon sets about 50 minutes later every day, so on the third day you can expect it to set after two hours.

Answer: Hujjaj do not have a day of Eid. They never pray Salatul-Eid. According to all four school of thoughts, fasting is on the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah based on local sighting. This has been the way for over 1300 years. Just 50 years ago, people in Iran, Afghanistan, and Far East did not know when YAWM ARAFAH was in Makkah. How were those Muslims fasting on YAWM ARAFAH, or was their fast invalid? Also remember, that Hajj was prescribed seven years after Eid-al-Adha was prescribed. so, saying that Eid-al-Adha has always been on the day after hajj is not right.

Answer: On 4th Dec 2002, the crescent was invisible from almost all areas of the world. There was a remote chance of seeing it off the west coast of South America / Polynesian Islands on 4th Dec 2002 with optical aid but no reports were received. Reports from Hawaii say that moon was not seen in clear skies.

ISNA's methodology for determining the beginning of Ramadan and Shawwal for North America has been consistent since 1993. ISNA keeps telephone lines open to receive any witness of sighting on the relevant evenings. After receving the witness ISNA asks its astronomer consultants to evaulate it by talking to the witness. If the witness of sighting contradicts with indisputable scientific evidence then only it is rejected. This time for Shawwal 1423, not a single claim came to ISNA on Dec 4. ISNA waited until 6:30pm PST which was 90 minutes after sunset on west coast giving ample time to receive any witness of sighting. It was past 10:30pm on East coast of Canada and was getting too late in the night. Finally ISNA and Shura Council made their decision to call Dec 5 as 30th day of Ramadan, and Dec 6 to be Eid.

Based on authentic and correct moonsighting, Ramadan started in North America on Nov 6, 2002, while it started in India, Pakistan, & Bangladesh on Nov 7. Eid was celebrated on Friday Dec 6, in all the following countries:

(1) Japan (2) Indonesia (3) Malaysia (4) Singapore (5) Brunei (6) Bangladesh (7) India (8) Pakistan (9) Afghanistan (10) Iran (11) Oman (12) Mauritius (13) Kenya (14) Tanzania (15) South Africa (16) Morocco (17) UK (18) Trinidad and Tobago (19) USA (20) Canada

The problem is that when Saudi Arabia or any other country announced that Eid is on Thursday, Dec 5, 2002, people translated it as if the moon has been sighted there. In fact, about a week before moonsighting day, on Nov 27, Saudi Arabia declared Dec 5 as Eid day, as evident from a fax received by a prominent ISNA Shura member who mentioned it in the Shura Conference Call on Nov 27. How did Saudi Arabia see the moon a week before the 29th day of Ramadan?

Dr. Saleh AlSaab, former head of the Astronomy Department at the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh, currently teaching at the Institute for Gifted and Talented in Riyadh, reported that NONE of the 6 official Hilaal sighting committees saw the Hilaal on Wednesday evening. Yet the offical Saudi announcement was for Eid ul Fitr on Thursday, Dec 5! Jordanian Astronomical Society sent an airplane with expert observers with instruments to try to see the moon from above clouds, and they did not see anything on Dec 4.

Just because some cities or countries are celebrating Eid on Dec 5, 2002 does not mean they have seen the moon. They may be basing their decision on some calculations. A pious Muslim's testimony of spotting some other object for a moon does not fulfill Shari'ah requirement when he is clearly mistaken by scientific evidence as Allah (SWT) says, "Ashshamsu wal-qamaru bi-husbaan".

Abdul-Rashid Abdullah from Oahu Hawaii reported: "On Dec 4, five teams of at least 3 brothers each went to sight the Hilal all around the Leeward (west) side of Oahu and 1 team on Kauai. The skies were reasonably clear but there was no sighting of the Hilal." Remember, the most West has the best chances of visibility on any given day.

The conclusion is that moon was not sighted anywhere in North America nor any place East of it on Dec 4 2002. Any sighting claim has to be rjected because the moon was invisible, and people make mistakes in taking other objects (jet smoke, thin piece of cloud, helicopters, etc.) for the moon.

Answer: Very correct. The calculation confirms that new moon occurred at 21:07 GMT on February 25, 632 CE (Tuesday). On the following day, February 26, 632 CE in Medinah, the calculations for the moon show the following results:
Sunset at 6:25 pm, moonset at 7:04 pm. At sunset, the elongation is 10.1, Age of moon 18.3 hours, and Altitude above horizon 7.6°. Moreover, in those days there were no city light and the sky was definitely darker than these days. This is a greater factor in visibility at that time.

This crescent was visible on February 26, 632 CE (Wednesday), and the 1st of Dhul-Hijjah was on February 27, 632 CE (Thursday). Therefore the day of Arafat, 9th Dhul-Hijjah was on March 6, 632 CE (Friday).

Answer: Sun Eclipse occurred at Prophet's time when (his son) Ibrahim died. It was recorded in history that it was Jan 27, 632 CE (Monday), See the details of this eclipse. It was the 29th of Shawwal, while Dhul-Qi'dah 1, 10AH was on Jan 29, 632 CE (Wednesday). Dhul-Qi'dah was of 29 days also and Dhul-Hijjah 1, 10AH was on Feb 27, 632 CE (Thursday), such that Hajj-e-Nabavi fell on Friday, March 6, 632 CE.

All the solar eclipses that could be noticeable in Arabia during the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) are listed below (For details of any eclipse, click on it):

Sun-Eclipse visible while Prophet was in Makkah:
(Islamic date unknown because of undocumented practice of Nasi')

1. July 23, 613 CE (Monday) - Around 10 am Local Time
2. May 21, 616 CE (Friday) - Around 10 am Local Time
3. November 4, 617 CE (Friday) - Around 11 am Local Time
4. September 2, 620 CE (Tuesday) - Around 10 am Local Time

   Sun-Eclipse visible while Prophet was in Medinah:

5. April 21, 627 CE (Tuesday) - Dhul-Qi'dah 29, 5 AH - Around 11 am Local Time
6. January 27, 632 CE (Monday) - Shawwal 29, 10 AH - Around 10 am Local Time

Answer: Hadith books report that it was Monday when our Prophet (Peace be upon him) died, and it was about 3 months after the Hajj-e-Nabavi. 12th Rabi-al-Awwal date was considered based on a Hadith (book by Baihaqi), which reports, "The Prophet's death occurred after passing 12 nights of Rabi-al-Awwal, and it was Monday." So, after passing 12 nights, the day of 12th Rabi-al-Awwal starts and that was considered as the death date of our Peophet (Peace be upon him).

Moomsighting calculations for the month of Safar, 11 AH reveal that moon was visible in Medinah on Sunday, April 26, 632 CE. This means that 28th Safar was on Sunday, May 24, 632 CE. 28th Safar started on the evening of Saturday, May 23, 632 CE. So that date cannot be correct.

Moomsighting calculations for the month of Rabi-al-Awwal, 11 AH, reveal that moon was difficult to see in Medinah on Monday, May 25, 632 CE. So, if the moon was seen on May 26 (Tuesday) evening, then first of Rabi-al-Awwal was on May 27 (Wednesday), 8th Rabi-al-Awwal was on June 3 (Wednesday), 9th Rabi-al-Awwal was on Thursday, 12th Rabi-al-Awwal was on Sunday, 13th Rabi-al-Awwal was on Monday, June 8, 632 CE (Julian Calendar).

Answer: The calculations for new moon need some correction because of long passage of time (like 1400 years). The new moon calculations by U.S. Naval Observatory is fairly accurate for this passage of time. However, visibility calculations softwares I have seen do not account for corrections needed for old times. I have written my own program, to apply such correction. The new moon for Muharram 61 Hijri was on Sep 28, 680 CE (Friday) [This is the date according to Julian Calendar as the Gregorian Calendar took effect in 1582 CE], but the moon age on that day at Maghrib time of Karbala was less than 2 hours. So it can only be visible the next day, Saturday, Sep 29, and the 10th Muharram 61 Hijri would be Tuesday, Oct 9, 680 CE. I have been a student of Islamic history, and I have not seen the day of 10th muharram 61 Hijra being mentioned as Friday.

Answer: The practice of Nasi' was abolished in Zul-Hijjah of 9 Hijri (See Surah Tauba in Qur'an 9:37), when Hajj was made obligatory. If we calculate pure lunar months back from that month, it comes out to be 8 full lunar years and 11 lunar months before the month of Zul-Hijja 9 Hijri. That makes it 107 lunar months before Zul-Hijja 9 Hijri. Looking at the moon birth 107 months before Zul-Hijja of 10 hijri, the moon was born on July 14, 622 CE (Wednesday). The moon age on that day at sunset of Makkah was 10.5 hours and moonset was 17 minutes after sunset. The moon was 2.8 degrees above the horizon. These parameters are not sufficient to make the moon visible. The visibility of moon in Makkah or Medinah was only possible on July 15 and not before that. Therefore, the 1st of Muharram would have been on July 16, 622 CE (Friday).

Answer: Back in those days, the Chritian calendar was Julian Calendar, not the Gregorian Calendar. Gregorian Calendar started in 1582 CE in USA, 1752 CE in UK, and in many countries as late as 1911 CE.

It was certain that the Prophet was born on Monday, the 12th Rabi al-Awwal. Different historians give the year of birth as 569, 570, 571 based on their understanding of the calendar problem. Different reported dates include the following:

Nov.   4, 569 (Monday)	It cannot be correct because most tradition report that the Prophet was born in spring season
April 21, 570 (Monday)
April 20, 571 (Monday)
April 22, 571 (Monday)	It cannot be Monday. The correct date for Monday was on April 20, 571

So, the two dates remaining to be deciphered are April 21, 570 and April 20, 571, whether they were on the 12th Rabi al-Awwal.
To solve this puzzle, I took an independent approach. Since we know that a practice of intercalation (Nasi') of inserting a 13th month was going on in Arabia by Jews as well as by Arabs, I looked at the Jewish calendar in great depth. Jewish calendar has a cycle of 19 years, beacuse after every 19 years the moon phases repeat on the same solar dates. This is called Metonic Cycle in astronomy. Also Jewish calendar always starts from 1st of Tishri, which always comes close to Autumnal Equnox (September 22).

Looking for Jewish calendar of 568 CE to 571 CE, I found the start of Jewish year as shown in the following table:

Metonic Cycle	Jewish Year	Days in year	1st Tishri
16	4329	355	Sep 8, 568 Saturday
17	4330	383	Aug 29, 569 Thursday
18	4331	354	Sep 16, 570 Tuesday
19	4332	385	Sep 5, 571 Saturday

In those days, Nasi' month, Adar I, lined up with Arab's Nasi' month of Zhul-Hijja. So, corresponding months in each of the three calendars (Jewish, Arab, and Christian) were as follows:

	Jewish Calendar	Arab Calendar	Christian Calendar
1	Tishri	Sha'ban	September/October
2	Cheshvan	Ramadan	October/November
3	Kislev	Shawwal	November/December
4	Tevet	Zhul-Qi'da	December/January
5	Shevat	Zhul-Hijja	January/February
6	Adar I (only in leap year)	Nasi' Zhul-Hijja	February/March
6a	Adar (Adar II in leap year)	Muharram	March/April
7	Nissan	Safar	April/May
8	Iyar	Rabi al-Awwal	May/June
9	Sivan	Rabi al-Thani	June/July
10	Tammuz	Jumada al-Oola	July/August
11	Av	Jumada al-Ukhra	August/September
12	Elul	Rajab	September/October

Knowing that Rabi al-Awwal lined up with Iyar of Jewish calendar I calculate dates for Monday near 12th Rabi-al-Awwal based on possible sighting of the new moon in Makkah. The results are as follows:

Year	Jewish Date	Arab Date for Monday	Julian Date
569	Iyar 12, 4329	12th Rabi al-Awwal	April 15, 569 Mon
570	Iyar 14, 4330	13th Rabi al-Awwal	May 5, 570 Mon
571	Iyar 10, 4331	9th Rabi al-Awwal	Apr 20, 571 Mon

Monday, 12th Rabi al-Awwal falls on April 15, 569 CE, matching spring season. Year 569 is 53 years before Hijra (year 622 CE) and 63 years before Prophet's return from this world (year 632 CE). So this must be the birth date of the Prophet.

Answer: Yes, you are right in saying that those who live close to IDL - theoretically may have to offer Tharawih even before conjunction. But this will happen very rarely and only to the areas that are 3 to 4 time zones west of IDL, say, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. For those rare ocassions, Taraweeh prayer for those areas can be ommitted for the first night as it is not ("Fard") obligatory. This does not pose any problem.

The problem in your suggestion is that if we take 6:00 am UTC, cutoff time then if the conjunction occurs at 6:01 am UTC (0:01 at 90W longitude), the moon would be 18 hours old at local Maghrib time and it could be visible, and we would be asking them not to start the month. At 90W longitude, there are large areas of Central America and North America where people could see the moon. This situation in my suggestion would occur at IDL, where there is no big land mass, and hardly any Muslims to see the moon. This is the very specific reason to choose 12:00 Noon UTC.

Answer: The calculated Islamic calendar adopted by Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) are based on very exact calculations. Their position is that Ittihadul-Mataali' should be adopted for the sake of global unity. To exercize this Ittihadul-Mataali' they decided to choose Makkah for calculation. They recognized that calculations of visibility is not very exact, so they have chosen the presence of the new crescent moon above the horizon of Makkah when the sun sets in Makkah; whether it is visible or not is irrelevant. These calculations are very exact and there is no need to wait for sighting, because if we have to wait for sighting, then global calendar cannot be made. Ulamaa' of FCNA feel that the sighting was means of ascertaining the beginning of lunar cycle for a new month, and that is now attained by exact calculations of the presence of the new crescent moon on the horizon of Makkah. (August 2007) Similary, the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), headed by Dr. Yusuf Qaradawi also says that the sighting was means of ascertaining the beginning of lunar cycle for a new month, and that is now attained by exact calculations based on Ittihadul-Matale' concept. ECFR calculations are slightly different from FCNA. ECFR calculates that somewhere on the globe, the elongation should be at least 8 degrees and moon should be at least 5 degrees above horizon, to start new Islamic month. (2009)

Answer: The visibility maps are not for any specific time. They are composit maps, showing the visibility at local sunset time at every point (latitude and longitude) on the globe for a specific date shown on top left.

Answer: SAUDI DATES: We recently found out that many a times Saudi sightings were before sunset. Saudi desert areas have been known to be without any city lights, or city pollution. It is well known that Saudi Bedouins (Baddoos) see stars in the day time. So, it is very possible that they see the new crescent moon before sunset (sometimes several hours before sunset). Please note that our visibility maps are calculated for visibility at local sunset time at every point on the globe for a specific date. All those calculations are based on the collected observation data after sunset (from 1860 AD to the present) from different locations on the globe. The data of observations we have were all from cities which have city lights, city pollution and after sunset. We do not have any data for sighting before sunset. New evidence show that Saudi claims of sighting comes from desert areas and many times the sightings were before sunset. We, at moonsighting.com started calculating the possibility of sighting before sunset, and our finding for sighting possibility before sunset (under consideraion of Saudi desert areas) was a big surprise. The moon being few degrees above the horizon before sunset may have been seen, which would set in a short time and would not be visible if people try to see it after sunset. It should also be noted that the new crescent moon in desert areas with dry climate and no city lights and no city pollution would have very different refraction effects.
My scientific basis to believe such sightings are three things; elongation being more than Danjon limit, thickness of the crescent more than 0.11 arcminutes and human optics of desert dwellers. Human optics cannot be put in calculations. On this scientific basis I think sightings before sunset may be possible. Such moon may not be seen if the observer waits to see after sunset because many a times, it sets while Muslims still are praying Maghrib prayer, thus making it invisible after sunset.

You can see a Table for actual Saudi dates on www.moonsighting.com/actual-saudi-dates.pdf from 1389 AH (1969 AD) to the present.