CAIRO: Muslims in Egypt and Saudi are wondering if Ramadan ended prematurely and whether they celebrated Eid Al-Fitr a day early, a decision that was based on a now controversial sighting of the crescent on Monday evening. The Hijri year depends on a lunar calendar, where the beginning and end of each month is determined by crescent sighting. On Monday evening, between the Maghreb and Eshaa prayers, Egypt's Dar Al-Ifta announced that the holy month of Ramadan would end on the same night and that Shawwal would start the following day. Eid El-Fitr is celebrated on the first three days of Shawwal. The Monday announcement, which is traditionally made after Eshaa prayers, followed a similar one by Saudi Arabia. Egyptians expected Eid to start on Wednesday, based on rumored astronomical reports about the lunar cycle. The surprise turned into doubts when on Tuesday reports claimed that Saudi based its decision on a sighting that confused Saturn with the moon. Egypt's top religious authorities, Al-Azhar and Dar Al-Ifta, refuted these reports in a statement, saying that the crescent marking the start of Shawaal was sighted from a number of locations around Egypt. It is “100 percent correct. The holy month of Ramadan was 29 days this year and Tuesday was the first day of Eid El-Fitr,” the statement read. The statement said every country is different in its crescent sighting, referring to doubts raised in Saudi Arabia. Some officials in Saudi dismissed the Saturn reports as untrue. Egypt's National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research in a statement by director Hatem Aouda said that the final say on crescent sighting of Shawwal is up to the religious authorities, pointing out that it is different in every country. He explained that Shawwal's crescent appeared at 5:04 am on Monday, Aug. 29, and set in the majority of Arab countries 1-10 minutes before sunset. In other countries it set 1-18 minutes after sunset, which was why the authorities were able to make the official announcement after Maghreb prayers. Dar Al-Ifta, the official body responsible for religious edicts including the announcement of Hijri months, has seven committees located across the country for the crescent sighting: in Helwan, Sixth of October City, Sohag, Toshka, Moqattam, Aswan and El-Wadi El-Gedid, where the crescent was observed with the naked eye. “Astronomical reading is one of the ways to confirm the sighting of the crescent, in addition to the sighting by the naked eye,” said Shiekh Mahmoud Ashour, member of the Islamic Research Center. “When the religious authorities of the country announced that Ramadan has ended and the person celebrates the Eid and doesn't fast, even if they later announce that it was an incorrect sighting, the person does not have to make up for the day or give out any money [as compensation] because they were following the religious authority,” he explained. In case Muslims skip fasting in Ramadan for reasons such as illness or travel, they are required to fast at another time and/or give money for charity.
