Astronomical Calculations in Moon-sighting - By Moulana Mohammed Shihabuddin Nadvi -

Astronomical Calculations in Moon-sighting

By Moulana Mohammed Shihabuddin Nadvi

Islamic Voice MONTHLY * Vol 13-02 No:146 * FEBRUARY 1999/ RAMADAN 1419H




Eid al-Fitr is a day of rejoicing bestowed upon the Ummah by the Almighty as a reward for its labour of the month-long fasting. But in India these celebrations have been reduced to dispute and distress every now and then. The genesis of the problem is obviously the non-existence of central moon committee. And even if does exist, the state committees do not accept its findings and decisions. In fact the different state committees do not have any co-ordination either between themselves or with the central one. As a result each state has its own setup of moon-sighting and the resultant celebration of Eid. Consequently, in India it is celebrated on two days and some times even three days leading to considerable confusion and chaos in the general public. 1987 is the moot point when different parts of India celebrated it on three successive days. If Delhi and Meerut celebrated it on 28th May 1987, it was observed in Bombay, Calcutta, Kashmir, Lucknow, Punjab, Rajastan and Kerala on the 29th. And at the end of it, Karnataka, Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu solemnized it on the 30th. The year 1999 was no different either. Parts of Kerala were the first to celebrate it on 18th January followed by North India on the 19th and South India on the 20th. The present mess could have easily been averted had there been a central authority or at least some co-ordination between the state committees. All the more, it is the creation of the Islamic scholars and officials who have completely disregarded the consensus arrived at earlier by a collegium of distinguished theologist and jurists holding the entire Indian sub-continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh etc.), to be one single lunar unit wherein the difference of time in sighting the crescent shall be discounted with. Accordingly, the moon sighted in any part of the sub-continent shall be valid to all the remaining parts as well, as these countries fall under the category of “nearby states”. This is the unanimous decision arrived at by ten most eminent scholars of the time including Moulana Syed Abdul Hasan Ali Nadvi and Moulana Mohammed Manzoor Nomani at the Majlis Tahqeeqat-e-Shariah at Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow in 1967. Even under the British administration before 1947 the Id continued to be celebrated the same day in the entire sub-continent. There existed no such difference then among the Ulama on this score.



Sadly, we have disregarded this earlier consensus to engage in whimsical and sometimes even comical exercises by establishing a plethora of inharmonious committees on state and city bases thereby sowing the seeds of permanent discord in the general public. 1999 is an unprecedented year in the annals of Karnataka. Here the Central Moon Committee of moon-sighting in the region, declared 20th January to be the day of Eid al-Fitr with the 19th January to be the 30th day of Ramazan. But the news of the declaration of the Delhi Moon Committee of the sighting of moon in Lucknow and Delhi on Doordarshan in its 8-30 P.M. news bulletin and the subsequent late-night public pressure on the Karnataka Moon Committee, landed the latter between the horns of the dilemma. With great hesitation the Committee in its second sitting in the early hours of 19 January nullified its earlier decision to replace it with an innovative one to come out of the mess it was already into only to end up inviting more trouble. It announced 20th January to be the day of Eid al-Fitr and forbade fasting on the 19th terming it Haram! Some pertinent questions arise here; If 19th January is not the day of fasting, why not celebrate Eid then? If no Eid, how is the fasting Haram? Should the 19th January be counted in Ramazan or Shawwal? How can the date be suspended? Under which clause of the Shariah can it be so done?



The more pertinent question here is: does the sighting of moon in Delhi and Lucknow have any relevance in south India? If not, have not the south Indians and particularly those from Karnataka relied upon it in the past? Or have not they contacted Delhi to confirm the sighting earlier? If the answer is in the affirmative, why did we overlook its decision this time around? Indeed, the Central Moon Committee, Karnataka, has gravely erred and hurt the religious sentiments of the masses who were made to celebrate the Eid dejectedly.



To sum up, it is an unsavoury incident which should not be allowed to be repeated in future. At the moment this humble writer feels the necessity to convene an immediate joint meeting of the learned Ulama and astronomists on an all-India basis to chalk out the future plan of action based on consensus in this regard. The agenda of the meeting should also include, among other issues, a comprehensive discussion on the reliability and authenticity of the astronomical time-tables on moon-sighting. And whether scientific time-tables could be relied upon in calculating the moon-sight from the Shariah point of view. This writer had way back in 1987, when faced with a similar situation, authored a research paper based on the arguments from the glorious Qur’an and the holy Sunnah. Very shortly this paper shall be presented to the readers after a thorough revision. I particularly appeal to the learned Islamic scholars to ponder deep on the issues and contentions raised in the paper with an open mind and convey their written viewpoints, harmonious or dissenting, supported by arguments so as to enable us to arrive at a consensus on this contentious issue. Allah willing, Dar Al-Shariah proposes to convene a broad-based seminar on the topic in the near future in Bangalore. (Dar-Al-Shariah, 82 10th Main, BTM Layout, Bangalore -560029, Tel:0091-80-6684161/6682101 Fax:6682101)


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