The first light from the crescent moon determines the start of the lunar month which is of great importance to Islam and other religions. The start of Ramadan and other religious obligations depend on a lunar calendar. It is thus understandable that the new moon has long been a matter of Muslim scholars.
Dr. Muhammad Al-Awsat Al-Ayari [Muḥammad al-Awsaṭ al-ʿAyārī], a scholar of Tunisian origin who contributed to most of NASA’s space observatories, wrote a book titled “Sighting the Month,” that is challenging traditional methods of sighting the new moon. Muslim scholars are holding on to these traditional methods since it is written:
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ ۖ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ
“They ask you (O Muhammad) about the crescent moons. Say: They are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage.” (Surah Al-Baqarah2: 189).
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī collected sayings of the Prophet Muḥammad and recorded that the Prophet once said: “Do fast when you sight the (crescent) moon, do not break your fast until you see the (crescent) moon.” The Qur’an also states
إِنَّ عِدَّةَ الشُّهُورِ عِندَ اللَّـهِ اثْنَا عَشَرَ شَهْرًا
“Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year)” (Quran 9:36).
It is Sunnah to look for the crescent moon on the 29th day of each lunar month. If on the 29th lunar day, the crescent moon is not sighted locally and reliable/verified and news has not been obtained from a foreign authority either, then the month will be completed as 30-days. It is not permissible to start the month on a doubtful day since al-Bukhārī collected a saying that Ammar [ʿAmmār], one of the companions of the Prophet, stated: “Whoever fasts on a doubtful day has disobeyed Abul-Qasim [Abū al-Qāsim] (i.e. the Prophet Muḥammad”. Muslim scholars allow scientific calculations to plan ahead when and where to sight the crescent moon but it is not permissible to establish the beginning of a new month based purely on these calculations (see: https://www.moonsighting.org.uk/en/moon/8-importance-of-moon-sighting.html).
Moon sighting has been subject of international conferences where renowned Muslim scholars from different parts of the world confirmed the traditional sighting methods.
How did Dr. ʿAyārī come to challenge these traditional moon sighting methods? He writes in an email on September 2, 2021, “During a visit to my hometown, a ten-year-old child came in the company of her father to my parents home to request that I solve the outstanding problem of the Islamic dates of celebrations. I was humbled by what she said: "It is heartbreaking to see members of the same family divided on when to start fasting the month of Ramadan and when to celebrate the Eid -do you know how to solve this problem?" I told her the truth: I did not know. But I promised that I would try to answer her question. Little I knew this matter was about to commit extensive personal resources, continuous research work over two decades, and completely change my life. The young girl grew up, followed in my footsteps, and graduated from the same engineering school that I attended. In the meantime I was still working on her question :).
Today, a fundamental answer to her question rooted in science is finally provided in the book: "Sighting the Month," which has been translated to French and Arabic. I am attaching the Arabic translation in which you may find an introduction by two former ministers of religious affairs (and scholars) from Tunisia.
One would think the moon cycle has been identified long ago since the time of the Babylonians, the Egyptians, and the Mayans. The Babylonians had criteria for when the first light from the moon can be seen, wouldn't that be enough? The answer is ‘no’ because the new moon is first visible from different locations from month to month and only a global view can establish a unifying solution to the matter of first moonlight. Today, almanacs have the new moon defined to occur at conjunction. That is the time when the sun and the moon have the same geocentric ecliptic longitude. Even though this datum is analytically well anchored, it cannot be used as the start of a traditional social and religious lunar calendar. In all cultures, the start of the lunar month has long been the first moonlight visible from Earth’s surface. Even though this datum is important for all religions and cultures, it remained without a proper definition which made all lunar calendars plagued with controversies through the ages. The book addresses these controversies and derives the time and location of new moonlight first visibility.
Because the new moonlight is first-visible at a unique location and at a precise Universal Time, celebrations of lunar-based social and religious events can be synchronized across religious and geopolitical boundaries. Proposed synchronized calendric events for major celebrations are provided in the book and the timing of some historical events are revised using modern astronomical computations. There are several unexpected shortcomings from this work. Universal unification of celebrations in christianity and Judaism in addition to those of the Islamic faith are also proposed. Social celebrations in China and India can be unified as well around the world through what is coined in the book as a photometric calendar (e.g. the Chinese new year occurs at a single UTC time).
Furthermore, several results were established in the book:
- § A photometric calendric date and time is established for the exact time of Jesus' crucifixion. It is shown that the event occurred in what is identified as Orthogonal Illumination of the Globe. The photometry of the sky was precisely reconstructed in the book, explaining information from the Bible.
§ The transition from the Arabic calendar (lunisolar) to the Islamic calendar (Hijri [hijrī] calendar -a pure lunar one) has generated confusion over the dates of the historic events of the emergence of Islam. The source of the confusion is due to the adoption of the same names of the months. Calendric conversions between the Arabic, Islamic, Gregorian and Hebrew calendars reveal several important matters, including the fact that the prophet Muḥammad consistently celebrated Ramadan according to the old Arabic calendar, that is in the December time frame (short cool days) and not at different times around the year (including unbearable summers). The same is with the Hajj. It used to take place at the spring equinox. Did the followers of the prophet make a huge misinterpretation of pertinent Qur’anic verses after his death ? The answer is in the book.
- § The Islamic prophecy started in the holiest night in Islam, called Laylat al-Qadr (Laylat al is Arabic for “night of”). Its name means the Night of Power, or the Night of Decree or Night of Destiny. It is shown that this night happened on Christmas Eve. Perhaps Muslims will also celebrate Christmas eve one day!
There are several other findings and observations of historical value, including the identification of volcanic eruptions that preceeded the rise of Islam, and later the fall of the Islamic empire. The book also identifies the original Arabic calendar to be a solar one, explaining the seasonal names of the months. The original Arabic calendar was in fact similar to the Coptic and Ethiopian Christian solar calendars, but was transformed into a lunisolar one during the conversion of the people of Yemen to Judaism.
The book takes the reader on a journey through several disciplines : Practical astronomy, paleoastronomy, atmospheric optics, societal sciences, history, religion and mathematics. I hope you enjoy it.”
Tunisian humanitarian activist Ruqaya Al-Hafi [Ruqaya al-Ḥāfī] knowsDr. Muḥammad al-Awsaṭ al-ʿAyārī personally and wrote a review of his book for Arab-West Report. She notes the discrepancy between traditional thinking and science and louds the efforts to Dr. al-ʿAyārī to reconcille both since this is, in Ruqaya al-Ḥāfī’s words, “a way to unite humanity. It reduces the chasm and social animosity, and has the ability to achieve world peace among peoples.”
