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August 29th, 2008

Ramadan Message by our Head

The Ramadan message for this year by Hazrat Ameer Dr A.K. Saeed can be read at this link (opens in new window).

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 29th, 2008 at 7:54 am and is filed under general. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

4 Responses to “Ramadan Message by our Head”

  1. September 1st, 2008 at 8:47 pm
    From Abdul Momin:

    New Moon Sighted in Nigeria before its Birth!

    According to Dawn dated September 1, 2008, Muslims in Nigeria and Libya started fasting on Sunday, August 31, 2008. This report says:

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar, who is the spiritual leader of Nigeria’s 70 million-strong Muslim population, announced the start of fasting after the sighting of the moon on Saturday night.

    “Having received impeccable reports of moon sighting in various parts of Nigeria, I hereby declare Sunday as the beginning of the month of Ramazan,” Abubakar said in a radio broadcast.

    I checked the Sun Moon Astronomical Data at the US Naval Observatory for August 30, 2008 for Nigeria and Libya. On that date the New Moon – which occurs at the precise time when it becomes completely invisible when viewed from earth – is not even born until well after sunset. So where did the “impeccable” reports come from?

    It is one thing to have a different criteria than is commonly used to start a new lunar month. But for the Sutlan to say that there were “impeccable reports of moon sighting” on Saturday, August 30, 2008 is to delude the people of his country.

  2. September 1st, 2008 at 9:01 pm
    From Zahid Aziz:

    This has happened before in Nigeria, for example at Eid-ul-Fitr in 2006 when they were 1 day ahead of anyone else in the world.

    Nigeria is the most corrupt country in the world, and many world-wide e-mail scams and frauds originate from there. So what credibility can we give to anyone from there who testifies that they have seen the new moon?

  3. September 30th, 2008 at 4:06 am
    From Abdul Momin:

    Dawn 9-29-08
    “Religious authorities in Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest shrines, said the new moon had been sighted and that Ramadan would end on Monday with the feast to follow the next day. Lebanon and Jordan made similar announcements.”

    However for the western most point in Saudi Arabia according to :
    U.S. Naval Observatory
    Astronomical Applications Department
    Sun and Moon Data for One Day

    The following information is provided for %28no Name Given) (longitude E34.5, latitude N28.5):

    Monday  
    29 September 2008     Universal Time + 3h        

    Sunset                    18:30            
    Moonset                 18:21                

    New Moon on 29 September 2008 at 11:12 (Universal Time + 3h).

    The above is abbreviated data.

    So in Saudi Arabi, at sunset on 9-29-08, the new moon will be barely 7 hours old. Also the moon sets before the sun. If anybody has sighted it on Monday, this will be some kind of a record.

  4. September 30th, 2008 at 4:56 am
    From Zahid Aziz:

    First of all we had the news a few days ago that Eid in the Gulf states will be on 1st October. See this Arab website.

    Then yesterday came the announcement from Saudi Arabia of Eid on 30th Sept.

    On the website http://www.moonsighting.com it is stated:

    Official Decision and Announcement of the High Judiciary Council of Saudi Arabia: Since the moon of Shawwaal was sighted this evening, here in Saudi Arabia, we shall be completing twenty nine (29) days of Ramadhaan. Subsequently, we shall be celebrating ‘Eed al-Fitr on Tuesday 30th September 2008, inshaa.-Allaah

    Comment by Moonsighting.com: It was impossible to see the moon in Saudi Arabia. The moon set before sunset and moon age was only less than 7 hours.

    But the most amazing thing is that in Nigeria (well known as the most corrupt country in the world from where so many e-mail scams originate) Eid was on Monday 29th September! It is reported at moonsighting.com:

    September 28, 2008 (Sunday): Famuyide abiodun from Nigeria reported that Nigerian government approved Monday, Sep 29 as the first of Shawwal which lead to many people to break their fast in mostly Northern part of the country.

    Comment by Moonsighting.com: This is reported here for information, so the people can see what is happening in Nigeria. The moon was still in its waning phase.