Category: Hajj

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:

1. The conjunction must have occurred in the UK (birth of new moon).
2. The moonset must occur after sunset in the UK.
3. 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.
4. 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, 19^th June 2023 and Eid al Adha will be on Wednesday, 28^th June 2023, insha Allah.

The Scottish Hilal Forum (SHF) has announced Eid ul Adha date 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:

Eid ul-Adha will be on Tuesday, 20th of July 2021/هـ1442 insha Allah.

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:

1. The conjunction must have actually occurred.
2. The moonset follows sunset.
3. 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.
4. 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 Tuesday,  20th of July 2021 as the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah ذو الحجة‎ هـ1442. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in the following categories on 10th of July 2021:

Moon Visibility on Saturday 10th July 2021

	Saturday, 10 July 2021
City	Visibility	Lag time (minutes)
Makkah	E	34
Rabat	D	44
Cape Town – South Africa	F	20
Dakar – Senegal	C	41
Accra – Ghana	D	36
Freetown – Sierra Leone	C	39
London	F	51
Glasgow	F	55

First Dhul Hijjah will be on Sunday, 11 July 2021 and Eid al Adha will be on Tuesday, 20 July 2021, insha Allah.

The Scottish Hilal Forum (SHF) has announced Eid ul Adha date for 2020 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 will be on Friday, 31st July 2020/هـ1441 insha Allah.

Moon Visibility on 20th and 21st July 2020

Dhul Hijja 2020  ذو الحجة 1441هـ

	Monday, 20 July 2020			Tuesday, 21 July 2020
City	Visibility	Lag time (minutes)		Visibility	Lag time (minutes)
Makkah				A	52
Rabat	F	10		A	58
Cape Town – South Africa				B	49
Dakar – Senegal	F	6		A	60
Accra – Ghana	F	1		A	57
Freetown – Sierra Leone	F	4		A	59
London	F	17		C	56
Glasgow	F	20		C	55

 It should be noted that the moon will be born on 20^th July 2020 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.

The Scottish Hilal Forum (SHF) has announced Eid ul Adha date 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:

Eid ul-Adha will be on Wednesday, 22nd of August 2018/هـ1439 insha Allah.

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:

1. The conjunction must have actually occurred.
2. The moonset follows sunset.
3. 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.
4. 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, 22nd  of August 2018 as the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah ذو الحجة‎ هـ1439. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in the following categories on 12^th August 2018:

City                                                                  Visibility         Lag time (minutes)

Makkah                                                                 A                      63

Rabat                                                                     A                      64

Cape Town – South Africa                          A                      81

Dakar – Senegal                                               A                      73

Accra – Ghana                                                   A                      74

Freetown – Sierra Leone                              A                      75

London                                                                   B                      51

Glasgow                                                                 B                      46

It should be noted that the moon will be born on 11^th August 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

The following mosques and centres are agreed with the Scottish Hilal Forum’s criteria:

1. Minhaj ul Qur’an International – Glasgow
2. Al-Furqan Mosque – UKIM – Glasgow
3. Jamia Islamia – Tantallon Road – Glasgow
4. Zia-ul-Qur’an – Glasgow
5. Hamilton Islamic Centre – Hamilton
6. Airdrie Islamic Centre – Airdrie
7. Coatbridge Islamic Centre – Coatbridge
8. Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) – Glasgow
9. Masjid-e-Bilal, Dundee
10. Somali Muslim Community (SMC) – Glasgow
11. Salahuddin Mosque and Islamic Centre – Glasgow
12. Govanhill Neighbourhood Centre
13. The Leaf Network, UK