Seeking Unity in Diversity (UK)
By Eng. Qamar Uddin, ICOUK (June 2025/Dhul Hijjah 1446) [download pdf]
It was a UK record to sight the youngest crescent moon (17 hours old) on Tuesday, 27 May 2025, by several experienced moon sighters before nearby Muslim countries like Morocco, leading to a united Eid-ul Adha on Friday, 6 June 2025, Alhamdullilah. This was proof that local moon sighting can be the basis of unity, and following different foreign countries has the potential of causing divisions and disunity (as they may have different start dates), as experienced by most UK Muslims for the past 40-50 years (see bit.ly/WhyTwoEids).
Many UK Muslims have been asking the same question: How can we achieve a united Eid in future years? The answer lies in understanding the different moon sighting criteria used by different Muslim groups from many different nationalities and ethnicities. Please review the predicted crescent visibility (Imkan Al-Ruyat) dates for the next Hijri year (1447 AH) from the attached table, which includes the UK, Morocco (MA), Saudi Arabia (SA), and South Africa (ZA) that different UK Muslim groups have been following for historical reasons.
One of the main causes of disunity in the past has been due to our UK community leaders not fully understanding the variations of the moon's orbit around the Earth in different seasons, especially during the Major Lunar Standstills (MLS) every 18.6 years when the moon’s altitude is low in the winter months and high in the spring months. This phenomenon happened around the years 1987, 2006, and 2025 (next 2043).
Furthermore, looking for the moon in the UK on the 29th date of foreign countries could lead to failing to see the moon throughout the year as the moon might be in the invisible phase (Mahaq), which could be the 27th or 28th lunar date. This difference is very well illustrated in the attached comparison table with Hijri start-dates between the UK and the other countries mentioned above (MA, SA, ZA).
Realise that the Saudi Ummul Quran Calendar (UQC) dates are based on the moon-birth and not on the moon-visibility, so their dates will always be 1 day ahead of other nearby countries, like Morocco (except on rare occasions). Therefore, those groups who wish to follow the moon visibility by the human eye (Ruyat Basari) and not calculations of the “New Moon plus Moonset-after-Sunset”, should ignore the Saudi dates altogether (unless they are visiting Saudi Arabia for Hajj/Umrah).
For historical reasons, most UK Muslims used to follow Morocco (1970s) or Saudi Arabia (1980s). However, with the advent of modern technologies, it became increasingly clear that moon sighting news from Saudi Arabia was unreliable. Hence, new groups were formed in the 2000s to follow South Africa instead. It is clear from the attached table that following South Africa will not bring unity, as it’s over 8000 miles away with 4-5 hours of sunset differences (like with Saudi Arabia). Hence, such groups should also leave South Africa, too!
The above “process of elimination” leaves only the UK and Morocco options to be considered by the UK Muslims. There have been doubts in the past that a UK-only moon sighting criterion will fail the Hijri calendar rule due to the low altitude moons of the Major Lunar Standstills. However, many hundreds of UK Muslims (inspired by our ICOUK members) have been trailing the UK-only criteria for the past few years (since 2018), including the two winters of the Major Lunar Standstills (2023-2024), and have found it to fully meet the rule of Shariah (29-30 days/month), as proven from the data on the ICOUK website (bit.ly/ObsResults).
Allah says: “And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided.” (Quran 3:103)
Therefore, to unite the diverse UK Muslim communities on a common moon sighting criterion, we highly recommend that all groups encourage their followers to attempt (or include) monthly moon sightings on the UK 29th date and the next day (if not seen on the 29th), and report it to our national database on the ICOUK website. Any observation data obtained from personal experiences (for at least 6 - 9 months) will be more convincing than third-party data and answer many unanswered questions. An online survey could be conducted to agree on a united criterion based on the Quran and Sunnah, Insha’Allah.
Note that looking for the moon on multiple dates is highly recommended in the Quran (36:39), which was the practice of the early Muslims, who looked at every phase of the moon. So, it would not be against the Sunnah to look for the moon on multiple days, Insha’Allah (see bit.ly/WhyLook3days).
Checked by: Maulana Abdullah Ahmed (6/2025)
Related: Predictions for Eid ul Fitr 1445-1455 | Summary of UK Moon Sighting Fatawa | UK Moon Sighting Fatwa by Mufti Abdul Waheed