How

are months calculated in Islam? Islam uses a lunar calendar. This means that Muslims must rely on the sighting of the new moon in order to determine the advent of the new month. But how do we calculate when the new moon begins? What is the new moon? There are two different views of what constitutes a new moon. Islam insists upon the second. 1. New moon conjunction the new moon appears in total darkness, as the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth, and therefore appears to us to be in total darkness. 2. New moon (post-conjunction) the new moon appears in the form of a crescent. The Moon is no longer directly between the Sun and the Earth, therefore we can begin to see the Sun illuminating the Moon in the shape of a crescent or sliver. For Muslims, this crescent is called the hilal.

The advent of the month of Ramadan

How long is Shaaban? Shaaban is the month preceding the month of Ramadan. It can have either 29 or 30 days, depending on the visibility of the hilal. When does Ramadan begin? Ramadan begins when the hilal is seen on the 29th of Shaaban. If the hilal is not seen due to inclement weather, for example Shaaban is given an additional, 30th day. If Shaban has 30 days, the month of Ramadan begins automatically following the end of the 30th day of Shaaban. In other words, the 30th of Shaaban would have been the 1st of Ramadan had the hilal been sighted. How to sight the moon? Muslims go out on the 29th of Shaaban to sight the moon either with their eyes or an instrument. There are contrasting views on the permissibility of using instruments to sight the hilal, as some of the clergy approve of it and some do not; you should take this into consideration. For the most part, however, the hilal is usually sighted with the naked eye with ease.

 Is sighting the moon a necessity? Islam is ruled by tradition, and tradition means ahadith (prophetic narrations). The different sects have different ahadith, but they all agree that the physical sighting of the moon is a necessity; ergo, tradition rejects the use of calculations. The ahadith for announcing the advent of Ramadan are all freely available online. What is the calculation method of announcing the new month? Some Muslims follow the calculation method of announcing the advent of the new month. This is achieved by calculations which measure the likelihood of the hilal appearing on a given date. However, this method is not a surety of the hilal appearing. The only method which is certain is physical sighting. Cant we just follow Saudi Arabia or family overseas? A resolute no! A physical sighting of the hilal is the only permissible method of announcing the advent of Ramadan. This is achieved by following the sighting of a reliable Muslim if, due to various reasons, you cannot sight the hilal yourself in reasonable proximity to you; it is unreasonable to follow a sighting on the other side of the Earth to you. Do not follow the practice of your family overseas, as you should physically sight the moon yourself or follow the sighting of your actual location. Isnt it wrong for there to be two different dates for Ramadan worldwide? No. In fact, Islamic history has different lands beginning their fast at different times from another because the hilal was sighted at a different time for them. There is no harm in it.