The Scottish Hilal Forum (SHF) has announced Ramadan and Eid dates for 2018 under the supervision of Ulama in line with agreed Islamic criteria and including data from Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (British Observatory).
Based on the agreed criteria:
The first day of Ramadan 2018/هـ1439 will be on Thursday, 17th of May 2018
and
Eid ul-Fitr will be on Friday, 15th of June 2018/هـ1439 insha Allah.
The Muslim community in Scotland has faced confusion for many years regarding the starting of Ramadan and Eid. This has resulted in severe difficulties for students, employees and the self-employed who could not take time off from work or from educational institutions due to the wait for last minute confirmation of Eid day.
SHF, by Ulama agreeing on Islamic and Scientific criteria, has been able to announce the required dates ahead of time, allowing the community to plan ahead while keeping united.
Scottish Hilal Forum agreed that the Shara’i new month is ascertained if the following conditions are satisfied:
- The conjunction must have actually occurred.
- The moonset follows sunset.
- The visibility falls either in Category A or B or C for either Makkah, or any city in the UK or any city in North, North West, West, South and South West African countries.
- The city that is chosen in the regions/ counties mentioned above in the point 3 for the start of Hijri month must be same for the end of Hijri month.
we can safely determine Thursday, 17th of May 2018 as the 1st of Ramadanهـ1439. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in the following categories on 16th May 2018:
City Visibility Lag time (minutes)
Makkah A 65
Rabat A 73
Cape Town – South Africa A 70
Dakar – Senegal A 76
Accra – Ghana A 73
Freetown – Sierra Leone A 75
London A 69
Glasgow B 69
It should be noted that the moon will be born on 15th May 2018 but according to the British Observatory, it will be in Category F for the cities/ countries listed above, which means it will be below the Danjon limit, not visible even with the help of a telescope.
Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO) has categorised the visibility of the moon as follows:
A. Easily visible
B. Visible under perfect conditions
C. May need optical aid to find the crescent Moon
D. Will need optical aid to find the crescent Moon
E. Not visible with a telescope
F. Not visible, below the Danjon limit
Similarly, we can safely determine Friday, 15th of June 2018 as the 1st of Shawwal هـ1439. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in the following categories on 14th June 2018:
City Visibility Lag time (minutes)
Makkah B 44
Rabat B 49
Cape Town – South Africa B 56
Dakar – Senegal A 55
Accra – Ghana A 54
Freetown – Sierra Leone A 55
London F 38
Glasgow F 33
Following mosques and centres are agreed with the Scottish Hilal Forum’s criteria:
- Minhaj ul Qur’an International – Glasgow
- Al-Furqan Mosque – UKIM – Glasgow
- Jamia Islamia – Tantallon Road – Glasgow
- Zia-ul-Qur’an – Glasgow
- Hamilton Islamic Centre – Hamilton
- Airdrie Islamic Centre – Airdrie
- Coatbridge Islamic Centre – Coatbridge
- Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) – Glasgow
- Masjid-e-Bilal, Dundee
- Somali Muslim Community (SMC) – Glasgow
- Salahuddin Mosque and Islamic Centre – Glasgow
- The Leaf Network, UK