Learning To Sight New Moon of Ramadhan

(A large number of Muslims in N. America started Ramadan fasting on August 11, 2010, not because Ramadan moon was seen but because ISNA fixed the date weeks ago.

Do you know ISNA has abandoned the Qur’an’s command, and Prophet (SAW) Sunnah to start Ramadan by moon-sighting. ISNA Fiqh Council bid’ah of forcing Saudi dates on the Muslims in N. America has blinded the Muslims to the fact that the Muslims always started Ramadan and prayed Eidain after sighting a Hilal. See below how Saudis violate the Quran and the Sunnah.)when they declare 10 Sept as first Shawal
or 9 Sept as 30th of Ramadhan!


Here an excellent article to refute the Saudi/ISNA claims :

A crescent moon’s first sighting depends on several interrelated factors. (For details see “Earliest Visibility Criteria” section.
Moon’s Age:

For a crescent moon to be visible its age should be around 24 hours, although the youngest sighted moon was only 14+ hours old. Often moon’s age may be 30+ hours but you cannot see it because its angle from the sun (elongation) and altitude (above the horizon) do not reach a minimum (12+10 degrees) visibility threshold.

Angle (Elongation):

For a naked-eye sighting the moon’s angle from the sun at sunset should be approx. 12 degrees.

Altitude:

Moon’s altitude at the sunset should be 10 degrees or more for a casual observer.

(Higher elongation may sometimes compensate lower (8+ degrees) altitude.
Moonset After Sunset:

You cannot see a faint crescent moon within the first ten minutes after the sunset when the time lag between the moonset and the sunset is less than 42 minutes. Usually a 29 days old moon will be visible 20-30 minutes after the sunset and a 30 days old moon will be seen after 10-12 minutes after the sunset.

Visibility Curve:

A crescent moon may first become visible from as far east as New Zealand or as far north as Japan, but it may not be seen in Saudi Arabia hours later. Moon’s visibility extends within a parabola and it takes 48+ hours to cover most of the globe.

Words of Caution:

Experienced professional moon-watchers may SEE a crescent moon at a little lower visibility threshold after meticulous preparation when the horizon is exceptionally clear. A good example was Sha’ban 1426 (Sep. 2005) moon from Arizona:

Sunset (at sea level) = 18:49
Moonset (at sea level) = 19:30

Age at 18:39 pm = 31 hr. 50 min.
Moon lag time = 41 minutes

Relative Altitude = 8.45 degrees
Elongation from sun = 13.77degrees

Crescent width = 26 arcseconds Illumination = 1.44 percent

Casual Muslim Observers:

However, casual Muslim observers all over the world claim seeing moons that are “Impossible”. Naïve “experts” and Ulema accept their claim only because they are “Adil”. The results are disastrous. Eid al-Fitr on the last day of Ramadan, Eid al-Adha on 9thD. Hijja and Ramadan on 28 Shaban.

If the earliest sighting is not by a large group and not confirmed from places located west of the first claim the “Shahadah” should be rejected as doubtful.

(This year, Malaysia begin fasting 2 days early than Morocco (Friday) eg. Wednesday due to wrong ideas/experts. The sunna is look for new visible moon on the horizon after maturity age/conditions, not to look for new moon too young too be seen or mot birth of new moon according to falak/computer calculation !)