The Scottish Hilal Forum (SHF) has announced Ramadan and Eid dates for 2021 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 2021/1442هـ will be on Wednesday, 14 April 2021
and
Eid ul-Fitr 2021/1442هـ will be on Thursday, 13 May 2021, 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.
Ramadan 2021/1442هـ
We can safely determine Wednesday, 14 April 2021 as the first day of Ramadan 2021/1442هـ.
According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in category ‘A’ for many countries on 13th of April 2021:
| Monday, 12 Apr 2021 | Tuesday, 13 Apr 2021 | ||||
| City | Visibility | Lag time (minutes) | Visibility | Lag time (minutes) | |
| Makkah | F | 23 | A | 72 | |
| Rabat | F | 29 | A | 84 | |
| Cape Town – South Africa | F | 28 | A | 57 | |
| Dakar – Senegal | E | 31 | A | 78 | |
| Accra – Ghana | F | 29 | A | 73 | |
| Freetown – Sierra Leone | E | 30 | A | 75 | |
| London | F | 26 | A | 93 | |
| Glasgow | F | 26 | A | 98 |
It should be noted that the moon will be born on 12th April 2021 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.
Eid ul-Fitr 2021/1442هـ
Similarly, we can safely determine Thursday, 13 May 2021 as the1st of Shawwal 1442هـ.
According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in categories ‘B’, or ‘C’ on 12th May 2021 for most of the cities/ countries listed below:
| Tuesday, 11 May 2021 | Wednesday, 12 May 2021 | ||||
| City | Visibility | Lag time (minutes) | Visibility | Lag time (minutes) | |
| Makkah | C | 39 | |||
| Rabat | F | -8 | C | 49 | |
| Cape Town – South Africa | F | 31 | |||
| Dakar – Senegal | F | -3 | B | 46 | |
| Accra – Ghana | B | 42 | |||
| Freetown – Sierra Leone | F | -3 | B | 44 | |
| London | F | -14 | D | 54 | |
| Glasgow | F | -15 | E | 57 |
It should be noted that the moon will be born on 11 May 2021 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.