The Scottish Hilal Forum (SHF) has announced Ramadan and Eid dates for 2023 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:
Eid ul-Adha 2023/1444هـ will be on Wednesday, 28 June 2023, in sha Allah.
The Muslim community in Scotland has faced confusion for many years regarding the starting of Ramadan and Eids. 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 occurred in the UK (birth of new moon).
- The moonset must occur after sunset in the UK.
- The visibility of moon must fall either in Category A or B or C for either Makkah, or any city in the UK or any city in Australia, Asia, Europe or Americas.
- 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 Wednesday, 28th of June 2023 as the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah ذو الحجة 1444 هـ. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in the following categories on 18th of June 2023:
Moon Visibility on Sunday 18th June 2023
| Sunday, 18 June 2023 | |||
| City | Visibility | Lag time (minutes) | |
| Makkah | F | 29 | |
| Rabat | D | 44 | |
| Dakar – Senegal | E | 35 | |
| New York | C | 59 | |
| Washington DC | C | 58 | |
| San Diego, California | B | 59 | |
| London | F | 62 | |
| Glasgow | F | 74 |
First Dhul Hijja will be on Monday, 19th June 2023 and Eid al Adha will be on Wednesday, 28th June 2023, insha Allah.