For ummah consensus in moon-sighting

Allah (SWT) has set crescent sighting as the only means for establishing dates of various Islamic occasions such as Eids and Hajj. He says: “They ask you (Muhammad) concerning the new moons. Say: They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time for men and for Hajj (pilgrimage)”. -Baqarah 189.The Prophet (SAW) has also […]

Allah (SWT) has set crescent sighting as the only means for establishing dates of various Islamic occasions such as Eids and Hajj. He says: “They ask you (Muhammad) concerning the new moons. Say: They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time for men and for Hajj (pilgrimage)”. -Baqarah 189.
The Prophet (SAW) has also emphasised that crescent sighting is required in determining the beginning and the end of the month of Ramadan. The Sahabah (RA) have similarly reported that the Prophet (SAW) said: “Fast when you see the crescent. If it is obscure to you, then complete 30 days in the count of Sha`aban. And break your fast when you see the crescent. -Bukhari and Muslim.
It is reported that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) took great care to determine the precise beginning of Sha`aban, because one can then count 29 days and watch for the crescent of Ramadan or complete 30 days before starting the fast.
Ummul Muminin, Aishah (RA) said: “The Messenger (SAW) used to be more concerned about (determining the beginning of) Sha`aban than about other months. Then he used to fast at the sighting of (the crescent of) Ramadan. If it were obscure, he would count 30 days (of Sha`aban) and then fast.  -Abu Dawud and Ahmad.
There, however, has been lack of concensus among the Muslims on how to arrive at the beginning of the blessed Month of Ramadan (which is the month that takes on special importance). The method mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and followed by the Prophet (SAW), which is dubbed traditional method, is to look to the sky and visibly sight the slight crescent moon (hilal) that marks the beginning of the month. If one sees the hilal at night, the next day is the first day of Ramadan and thus the first day of fasting.
The cantankerous division over the sighting of the new moon to signal commencement of the Ramadan fast is especially pronounced in Nigeria. And this is despite that there is a national body charged with the responsibility of coordination of moon sighting in the country – the Nigerian National Moon-sighting Committee.  
The members of the committee are “deployed with appropriate gadgets to various parts of the country for easy sighting of the moon. However, other individuals who are able to sight the crescent are requested to contact, through appropriate authorities, any of the following,” the Nigerian Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), with the Sultan of Sokoto as President-General, normally makes this announcement a couple of days to the end of Sha’aban.
However, with diverse sightings reported over time in the country which have left the Muslim communities commencing the fast on divergent dates and subsequently celebrating the Eid on different days, one is left to wonder: “Is our own sky different? Is our own moon manufactured in Nigeria?”, to borrow a poser posed last year by Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Prof. Is-haq Olarewaju Oloyede, on the announcement of the new month of Shawwal on Sunday, July, 27 2014 by the Sultan, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, around midnight on Saturday.
The Chairman of the Nigerian National Moon-sighting Committee, Alhaji Hafiz Wali, and a member, Sheikh  Habeebullahi Al-Ilory, were reported by Premium Times in its July 27, 2014 edition as saying that “in no other country was the sighting of the moon reported by anyone” on that date.
“The moon was not sighted anywhere in the world,” Sheikh Al-Ilory said. “As at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, our committee advised that the moon was not sighted…. I’m just wondering why we have to do this to Islam. Is our own moon different from the rest of the world?
“As far as we are concerned, tomorrow (Monday) is Eid-el-Fitr,” he said.
It was also reported that two globally respected moon-sighting websites, http://makkahcalendar.org, which provides very accurate prayer times for all countries around the world, and www.moonsighting.com, indicated that the celebration of Eid in Nigeria last year on Sunday was “based on mistaken claims of sighting” the moon.
“We are very pleased to announce that North, Central and South America, all of Africa, all of Europe, and almost all of Asia except Japan and North Korea and few countries of Oceania will be able to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr 2014 (1435) on Monday, 28th July 2014,” makkahcalendar.org website announced on Sunday afternoon, with a section of the Nigerian ummah long since back from the eid prayer and hours into the festivities.
Aside from the seeming ulama/oligarchy manipulation of the date for this all-important religious issue giving rise to different days in the commencement of the Ramadan fast and the eids, and their other effects, there also are those who insist on PERSONALLY sighting the crescent before commencing the fast. The sects snub announcements on the sighting via radio or television and even from the religious leadership.
That the ulama agree that based on numerous reports that the Prophet (SAW) has said: “If two just Muslim witnesses testify (that they saw it) then fast or break your fast..” -Authentic; narrated by Ahmad, an-Nasa’i and ad-Daraqutni, does not convince this group. 
Lumped with the above are those who suggest the use of astronomical computations either exclusively or partially to determine the crescent sightings. The suggestion is not really a new thing, as it was made even at the earliest times of Islam and the Prophet (SAW) rejected it thus: “We are an illiterate nation. We do not use astronomical writing or computation (in our fasting). A month is so and so and so (and he pointed with his hands three times, folding the thumb on the third time, meaning 29 days) or so and so and so (and he pointed with his hands three times, meaning 30 days).” -Al- Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud and An-Nasa’i.
Meantime, in a communique after its annual Pre-Ramadan conference on Sunday, 19th Sha’ban,  (7th June), at its national secretariat in Kaduna with theme, “Leadership and Followership: Duties and Responsibilities from the Islamic Perspective”, the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), among others,  called on Islamic scholars to focus on the real exegesis of the Glorious Qur’an which depicts love, kindness, fear of Allah (SWT), good neighbourliness, honesty etc, in their respective Tafsir sessions during the Ramadan; that “despite the progress recorded in terms of uniting the Ummah especially in the issue of moon sighting, there are still some challenges that need to be resolved” and recommended that “as we approach the month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the country are called upon to look for the crescent and follow the appropriate channel to communicate any information to His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto who is the sole authority to announce the sighting of the moon in the country” and that “the Ramadan moon sighting reporting time has been extended to 12 midnight, to allow for deeper scrutiny of the reported sighting of the crescent and to foreclose any further controversies on the issue.”
The communique, signed by Prof. S. W. Junaidu, Chairman, LOC  and Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, Secretary-General, JNI, said “the conference wishes the new leadership in the country Allah’s guidance and calls on all leaders to be responsible in executing their duties.” It also called on all media houses that air Ramadan Tafsir to censor tapes capable of destabilising the Ummah.”