Introduction

This website is dedicated to the determination of the commencement and cessation of Ramadan by calculation.

The Sunnah clearly states: When you see the crescent (of the month of Ramadan) start fasting, and when you see the crescent (of the month of Shawwal) stop fasting, and if the sky is overcast (and you can’t see it) then regard the month of Ramadan as of 30 Days.^[1] However, pursuant to various fatwas, it’s clear that most bodies in Australia and worldwide, are using calculation to determine the commencement and cessation dates of Ramadan.

In 2023, ANIC, AFIC and the LMA all announced Eid, some 11 days before the date. As such it’s clear that these bodies are not using sightings and are relying on calculations. However notwithstanding that they all sought to rely on calculations there was still a difference of opinion in relation to the dates with one group breaking fast on Friday 21 April 2023, and the other the following day. Some community leaders in Sydney sought to come together and determine Ramadan and Eid Il Fitr by consensus or Shura, a method for which there does not appear to be any legal basis.

If most are using calculations, how can there genuinely be dispute? If the dates for the commencement and cessation of Ramadan are now being determined by calculation, then they are no more required to be determined by an Islamic Scholar that the times of prayer. The time has come for the commencement and cessation of Ramadan to be determined as accurately as any prayer time. This website will provide the dates of the new moon based on astronomical data, calculations and a theoretical global sighting. It is a website dedicated to astronomical accuracy, and regrettably not unity.