Three Eid ul Fitar in three days; where is the science?

 

From a scientific point of view, it was not possible to see the new moon through binoculars in any part of Pakistan on May 12

The "Newborn" Route-e-Hilal Committee of the God-given Kingdom of Pakistan fulfilled its promise to hold "Eid" across the country in such a way that for the first time in three consecutive years this year, "the first day of Eid-ul-Fitr" in Pakistan. 'Celebrated.

In the Hasukhel area of ​​North Waziristan, on the night of May 11, many people witnessed the sighting of the moon, on which Eid was celebrated there on May 12.

Then, on the night between May 12 and 13, at about midnight, Pakistan's Central Route Hilal Committee dropped a bomb on the ears of the people of the country saying, "Tomorrow will be Eid." And as a result, there was a wave of chaos and confusion across the country.

Eid prayer gatherings were held in most parts of the country on May 13, but some people refused to accept the decision of the Central Route-e-Hilal Committee and completed 30 days of fasting and offered Eid prayers on May 14.

According to reports so far, Eid-ul-Fitr prayers were offered in congregation at a mosque in Karachi and at least 21 places in Gujranwala on the morning of May 14.

The moon, which was drawn from the "consensus", was so inconsistent that even Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar could not live without protesting against it, while the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, Raja Farooq Haider, also announced the formation of a separate crescent sighting committee. ۔

Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, the former head of the Central Route-e-Hilal Committee, offered Eid-ul-Fitr prayers on May 13 in obedience to the decision of the "state" but could not stay without objecting. He said that the government needed a puppet-looking Hilal Committee.

Not only that, but he also accused the present Central Ruwit Hilal Committee of waiting for Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai of Qasim Khan Mosque. As soon as he announced the sighting of the moon, the Central Committee for the Sighting of the Crescent also announced the sighting of the moon.

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz described Mufti Muneeb's statement as "a reflection of a negative attitude" which gave the impression that perhaps the reason for Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman's objection was his recent resignation from the Central Route Hilal Committee. Retirement.

We are not in favor of Mufti Sahib, but since the announcement of Eid-ul-Fitr last year, there has been a rumor circulating in the ruling circles that the head of the Central Committee for the Sighting of the Crescent should be a person who Be obedient and announce whether or not there will be a moon on their "order". But, according to the late Ardeshir Kausji, the thief does not give a receipt for his work, just as these things will probably always be circulating like speculation.

Opportunity for cooperation in Islam and science

In the case of the sighting of the crescent, our position is that it can be the best means of cooperation and harmony between Islam and science, but every time this opportunity is wasted.

With the help of science (astronomy) we can confidently tell about the "possibilities" of the moon from its birth to its observation. In view of this information and the relevant data, the evidence for the sighting of the crescent can be analyzed to determine whether it is true or false. (This was done as long as Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman was the head of the Central Crescent Sighting Committee.)

Shari'ah commands that Ramadan and Eid be determined by looking at the moon (from the sighting of the crescent), while the Islamic month can be a maximum of 30 days. (That is, even if the moon does not appear on the 30th day, the Islamic month will end and the new Islamic month will start from the next day.)

The real controversy behind the sighting of the crescent is that if many Muslims testify to seeing a "new moon" but according to careful astronomical estimates, the moon is not there at the moment, then what should be done? Should we reject this evidence on the basis of astronomical calculations? Or should these testimonies be accepted, giving priority to the religious status and status of the witnesses?

Ijtihad can easily solve this problem, but perhaps the intellectual stagnation among us Muslims has reached such a level that we have not even been able to think from this point of view.

 

It is important to remember that the possibility of error in science is never overlooked. And the best models / ideas are always devised to minimize this "possibility of error." As a result of these efforts, we are now able to accurately predict the sighting of the crescent in such a way that the probability of error is less than a second.

In this regard, we are reminded of the objection of a religious scholar representing Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai during a 2006 forum discussion on a controversy over the sighting of the crescent in a newspaper in Karachi.

He said that Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman "does not accept the testimony of our scholars and protectors but (pointing to Dr. Shahid Qureshi present there) gives priority to the opinion of these scientists."

If this is the case, then those who claim the sighting of the crescent on the evening of May 11 in North Waziristan must have been practicing and raining Muslims. It is possible that local scholars were also involved. Suppose this was not the case, but at least those who accepted the evidence must have been scholars who belonged to the local Hilal Committee.

Following the integration of the tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the evidence of the sighting of the crescent from North Waziristan on May 11 will also be considered representative of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The question is why the Central Committee for the Sighting of the Crescent did not take these evidences into account.

·         The moon of Shawwal was born at 11:59:54 pm (ie, just 6 seconds before midnight) between 11 and 12 May Pakistani time.

·         At sunset in Karachi on the evening of May 12, the crescent (new moon) was as follows:

·         Sunset: 7 pm 7 minutes and 8 seconds

·         Crescent sunset: 7:42:47 p.m.,

·         Time difference between sun and moon / crescent sunset: 35 minutes and 39 seconds (ie, the moon also set just 35 minutes and 39 seconds after sunset.)

·         Age of the moon at sunset: 18 hours 59 minutes and 52 seconds

·         At sunset, the height of the moon / crescent horizon: 7.5 degrees

·         Explaining his point in the context of the age and possible sighting of the moon, the teacher further wrote: Due to which its phase (ratio of bright part and full moon) will be only 0.5%.

Some people saw the "big moon" on the evening of May 13 and thought that it was "the moon of the second date", that is, the announcement of the sighting of the crescent on May 12 was correct.

It is also important to correct this misunderstanding. First of all, it is important to understand that as the moon ages, not only does it increase in size, but the interval between sunset and lunar eclipse also increases.

At sunset on the evening of May 13, the moon was about 43 hours old and had a phase of about 2.5 percent, five times more than on the evening of May 12. The moon remained in the sky for about an hour and a half after sunset. Due to this, the general public got the impression that the announcement of the Eid moon this year was correct.