According to the International Astronomy Center, the central conjunction for the month of Dhu al-Qi`dah will occur on Friday, May 19, 2023, at 18:53 Mecca time.
Some Arab countries differed in surveying the crescent of the month of Shawwal for this year, which led to some countries fasting Ramadan for 29 days, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan, while other countries such as Oman and Morocco fasted for 30 days. But does this difference extend to Eid al-Adha as well?
To understand the reasons for the difference and agreement from an astronomical point of view, we need to learn about the nature of the moon’s rotation around the earth. When we raise our heads to the sky at night, we see the moon in multiple phases, such as the crescent or humpback, for example. These phases are nothing but a reflection of sunlight on the surface of the moon, and the difference between them appears due to the moon’s rotation around the Earth, once every 28 days.
You can easily observe this cycle from the roof of your house. Starting from the first day of any Hijri month, you can go out at the same time every day and look for the moon, contemplating its position in the sky, and you will find that it changes its position as if it jumps in the sky day after day, moving away from the sun after sunset.
Rather, if you owned a telescope and watched the moon hour by hour, you would have noticed its movement, which seems very slow, so that our eyes do not notice it.
central coupling
Now, let us hypothetically suppose that we can turn back time day after day, then this means that the moon will return to stand next to the sun completely, and in astronomy this is the moment of central conjunction, and we cannot see it because the sunlight blinds us, but calculations can Accurately determined astronomical.
After the moment of conjunction, the moon begins to move away from the sun in the sky little by little, and we cannot see it at first easily because it is close to the sun, but after about 14 hours from the moment of conjunction, two naked eyes can see the moon in the sky after sunset.
In Islamic law, the calculations of the Hijri months depend on vision, which is a different matter from the central pairing. And vision means that specialists from the legal bodies go out to search for the crescent of the new month after sunset on the 29th of the Hijri month, and if they were able to observe it, tomorrow would be the beginning of the new month, and if they were not able to do so, tomorrow would be the completion of the current month.
Vision requirements differ from one country to another, whether with the naked eyes, telescopes and their advanced cameras, or even astronomical calculations.
Possible agreement in Dhu al-Qi`dah
According to the International Astronomy Center, the central conjunction for the month of Dhu al-Qi`dah will occur on Friday, May 19, 2023, at 18:53 Mecca time.
For countries that fasted Ramadan for 29 days, this is the day of sighting, and because the distance between the moment of conjunction and sunset is very short (less than an hour), it is likely that these countries will not be able to see the crescent with naked eyes or optical telescopes, and therefore the next day (May 20) may be announced. / May) complements the month of Shawwal, and the 21st is the first day of Dhul Qi’dah.
As for the countries that fasted Ramadan for 30 days, they will go out to see the crescent after a full additional day from the moment of the central conjunction (on May 20), which enables specialists in the legal bodies there to see the crescent with the naked eyes, so the next day (May 21) is announced. The beginning of the month of Dhu al-Qi’dah, and thus it is likely that the Arab countries will agree on the first of Dhu al-Qi’dah.
Controversy about Eid al-Adha
And the foregoing means that the day of sighting for the month of Dhu al-Hijjah in all Arab countries is likely to be Sunday, June 18th, and the central conjunction will occur at exactly 07:37 am Mecca time on this day, leaving that for the crescent less than 12 hours before sunset. the sun.
Just International Astronomy CenterThis means that the crescent can be seen with optical telescopes only, and not with the naked eyes, in most countries of the Arab world, except for southern Arabia (Yemen and Oman).
Of course, each country has its own way of applying the legal texts in this context, and assuming that these countries can see the crescent on the day of sighting, this means that Eid al-Adha will be on June 28, 2023, which is likely for most Arab countries this year.