Scottish Hilal Forum

The Scottish Hilal Forum (SHF) has announced Eid ul Adha date for 2019 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 Sunday,  11th of August 2019/هـ1440 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 Sunday, 11th of August 2019 as the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah ذو الحجة‎ هـ1440. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in the following categories on 1st  August 2019:

Moon Visibility on 1st August 2019
		Thursday, 1 August 2019
City		Visibility	Lag time (minutes)
Makkah		F	30
Rabat		D	37
Cape Town – South Africa		F	29
Johannesburg – South Africa		F	28
Dakar – Senegal		C	39
Accra – Ghana		C	36
Freetown – Sierra Leone		C	38
London		F	35
Glasgow		F	34

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 Scottish Hilal Forum (SHF) has announced Ramadan and Eid dates for 2019 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 2019/1440 هـ will be on Monday, 6^th of May 2019
and
Eid ul-Fitr will be on Wednesday, 5^th of June 2019 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:

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.

 Ramadan 2019/1440 هـ
We can safely determine Monday, 6^th of May 2019 as the 1^st of Ramadan 1440 هـ According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in category ‘B’ or ‘C’ for many countries on 5^th of May 2019:

	Sunday, 5 May 2019			Monday, 6 May 2019
City	Visibility	Lag time (minutes)		Visibility	Lag time (minutes)
Makkah	E	33		A	90
Rabat	D	39		A	190
Cape Town – South Africa	D	41		A	82
Johannesburg – South Africa	C	39		A	83
Dakar – Senegal	B	42		A	98
Accra – Ghana	B	40		A	94
Freetown – Sierra Leone	B	42		A	96
London	F	34		A	106
Glasgow	F	34		A	109

 

Eid ul-Fitr 2019/1440 هـ
Similarly, we can safely determine Wednesday, 5^th of June 2019 as the 1^stof Shawwal 1440 هـ. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in categories ‘A’ on 4^thJune 2019:

	Monday, 3 June 2019			Tuesday, 4 June 2019
City	Visibility	Lag time (minutes)		Visibility	Lag time (minutes)
Makkah	F	6		A	67
Rabat	F	12		A	74
Cape Town	F	17		A	68
Johannesburg	F	15		A	68
Dakar – Senegal	F	17		A	76
Accra – Ghana	F	15		A	73
Freetown – Sierra Leone	F	17		A	75
London	F	3		A	72
Glasgow	F	0		B	71

 It should be noted that the moon will be born on 3^rd June 2019 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 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, 17^th 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:

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 Thursday, 17^th of May 2018 as the 1^st of Ramadanهـ1439. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in the following categories on 16^th 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 15^th 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 1^st of Shawwal هـ1439. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in the following categories on 14^th 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:

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. The Leaf Network, UK

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. Imam Abu Hanifah (RA) held the opinion of ittihad-ul-mataley’ – إتّحادالمطالع (unity of horizon) – i.e. global sighting is valid.
4. The city that is chosen in the regions/ counties mentioned above in the point iii for the start of Hijri month must be same for the end of Hijri month.

Now we can safely determine the 20^th of November 2017, Monday as the 1st of Rabi’ ul Awwal ه1439 insha Allah. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in the following categories on 19^th of November 2017: (please refer to the attached sheets for details):

City	Visibility	Lag time (minutes)
Makkah	A	56
Rabat	A	63
Cape Town – South Africa	B	51
Dakar – Senegal	A	63
Accra – Ghana	A	60
Freetown – Sierra Leone	A	62
London	B	66
Glasgow	C	67

Note: Although the moon is born on 18^th November but its visibility for all the above cities and any other cities in Europe, Africa and Middle East falls in category F; hence 19^th November cannot be the 1^st of Rabi’ ul Awwal 1439ه.

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. Imam Abu Hanifah (RA) held the opinion of ittihad-ul-mataley’ – إتّحادالمطالع (unity of horizon) – i.e. global sighting is valid.
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.

Now we can safely determine the 22^nd of September 2017, Friday as the 1st of Muharram-ul-Haram هـ1439. According to Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), the visibility falls in the following categories on 21^st of September 2017:

City	Visibility	Lag time (minutes)
Makkah	A	62
Rabat	A	63
Cape Town – South Africa	A	79
Dakar – Senegal	A	71
Accra – Ghana	A	71
Freetown – Sierra Leone	A	72
London	B	52
Glasgow	B	49

Note: Although the moon is born on 20^th September but its visibility for all the above cities and any other cities in Europe, Africa and Middle East falls in category F; hence 21^st September cannot be the 1^st of Muharram-ul-Haram هـ1439.

The Scottish Hilal Forum (SHF) announces Eid-ul-Adha  2017/ 1438h under the supervision of ‘Ulama and in line with agreed Islamic criteria and including data from Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office (British Observatory).

Based on these agreed criteria, Insha Allah Eid-ul-Adha will be on Friday , 1st September 2017.