First sighting of the new moon

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I am confused by when Eid starts in relation to the first sighting of the moon ...

Is Eid on the day after the first sighting of the new moon?
That's assuming the moon is sighted during the night ...
What if the new moon rises during the day time? Would Eid then be on the same day?

I am sorry if this question sounds daft.

I guess what I am really interested in is how short notice people might get before Eid starts.
Is it usually a day's notice, or could it just be a matter of hours?
 
Let's say today is the 29th, People would go out to sight the moon. Anyone who sights it tells to others and verifies it and then it is announced tomorrow is Eid. And today we have the communications and technology to easily spread the message to large masses. If no moon is sighted by anyone anywhere then you finish the 30 days of the Month and the next day (1st of the new month) is Eid.
 
Thank you, islamirama

Is the day of Eid still a day of fasting, and the Eid celebrations start in the evening after sunset?
 
glo said:
Thank you, islamirama

Is the day of Eid still a day of fasting, and the Eid celebrations start in the evening after sunset?
Click to expand...

No, it is forbidden to fast on the day of Eid (festival). It is a day of celebration much like xmas but lot more fun. Usually people go shopping the night before to get new clothes and stuff to wear. On Eid day, people get up early and cook stuff, mostly sweets (thus sometimes its called the "sweet" eid) and people eat and then go to masjid to do eid prayer, after that its visiting friends and relatives all day and enjoying as kids get money from adults to go spend and have fun. The difference between this Eid al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha (festival of sacrifice) is that since you're not fasting so you eat first before you go out to prayer, where as in the Adha (sacrifice) you go pray first, come home and slaughter meat first and then eat. Eid Al-Fitr celebrations the ending of fasting and permissibility of eating again, where as Eid Al-Adha commemorates the sacrifice Ibrahim (abraham) tried to offer of his son Ishmael showing total obedience to God.
 
I see.

Of course people won't be caught completely unawares by Eid - because there seems to be only a choice between two days as to when the new moon is sighted.

But theoretically people only know for sure that it is Eid on the actual day of Eid?

If the new moon is sighted tonight, today was the last day of fasting?
 
glo said:
I see.

Of course people won't be caught completely unawares by Eid - because there seems to be only a choice between two days as to when the new moon is sighted.

But theoretically people only know for sure that it is Eid on the actual day of Eid?

If the new moon is sighted tonight, today was the last day of fasting?
Click to expand...

every body is vigilant in sighting the moon or finding out if tomorrow is the Eid. Muslim countries have religious committees who check to verify if the moon as been sighted. Via internet and telephone it is announced to everyone easily. You can go with global sighting (meaning you do Eid whenever is the moon sighted anywhere in the world) or you can go with local sighting (your community/country does their own sighting), the global view is more prevalent though.

People know the night before the Eid as to when the Eid is. Because if a moon has not been sighted then they still have to fast and finish the 30 days of the month. So everyone does know the night before. Now if the case is that the moon was not sighted so everyone fasted on the 30th but later it was found out that it was sighted at another place, then they (people) would break their fast and start celebrating that day.

Yes, if moon was sighted tonight then today was the last day of fasting and tomorrow would be Eid day.
 
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north_malaysian said:
If the moon is sighted...Eid already started by that time...our new day begins from sunset.
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That makes sense.
It's the same with the Jewish perspective - a new day starts with the setting of the sun. Whereas the Western view is more that a day starts a midnight (or even as we wake up in the morning ...)

I did some googling and noticed that there are many Islamic websites dedicating themselves to trying to predict (scientifically) when the new moon is likely to be sighted by the human eye.

http://www.hilal-sighting.com/
http://www.islamiccentre.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=524&Itemid=42

One more question related to the topic:
Every year there seems to be some discrepancy as to when Ramadan/Eid begins ... and different Musims groups seem to celebrate on different days.
It may depend on whether people rely on local or global sighting, and I can understand that.
It just seems a shame that on Ramadan/Eid, out of all times, Muslims seem to lose their sense of unity.
My Somali muslimah colleague told me this year that Pakistani Muslims seem to be the ones who celebrate a day later than the rest. Is she correct in saying that?
 
Hi glo


The basic rule is that you follow what is going on in your land/area etc, for example - people in the UK should do Eid together, and people from another far away land should do it on a day - while being united - when they see the new moon etc.

Basically, you unite together with the area you are located at - for unity. And the reason why other Muslim nations might do it on another day is because they saw the moon on another day [and since communication isn't always so easy between different nations i.e. in the past due to distance - it's a Mercy that the Muslims do it according to when they see it - while being united with the ones they are located with.]
 
Thank you for your reply, Qatada. It certainly makes sense to me.

I think the issue mentioned by my work colleague may be a local one.
The local mosque is used by Pakistani Muslims, because the Muslim population has historically been Pakistani.
The teaching there is done in Urdu, which prevents Muslims from other countries from attending there.

So my friend from Somalia relies on the TV announcement for the first sighting of the new moon, whereas the Pakistani Muslims affiliated to the local mosque probably go by the guidance given at the mosque ...
 
:salamext:

Oh I wish we all do Eid on the same day, it ould be soooooooo kool, coz we started fasting on the same day as well....InshaaAllaah!!!
 
Its Already decided by the turks that tomorrow is Eid ! InshaAllah
 
^I realy want to find that out too !!! :D lol They have already decided :D
 
islamirama said:
let's say today is the 29th, people would go out to sight the moon. Anyone who sights it tells to others and verifies it and then it is announced tomorrow is eid. And today we have the communications and technology to easily spread the message to large masses. If no moon is sighted by anyone anywhere then you finish the 30 days of the month and the next day (1st of the new month) is eid.
Click to expand...

inshalah

it makes sense now

martyr
 
^lol duh! :D

we aswell inshaAllah , but i still dont understand how the turks calculated this:?
 

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