ON June 14, when the Ruet-i-Hilal committee met for the sighting of the moon before Eid-ul-Fitr, it had already been seen in Indonesia and Malaysia around two to two and a half hours before Pakistan time.

Over here it was around 5.30 pm and sunny outside. The moon was of course on the horizon but it was impossible to see it at that time. Being the new moon, it lasted for a few minutes then vanished.

Eid was thus celebrated in Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, a few Middle Eastern countries, Europe, North Africa, and North America on June 15. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia, a few days earlier, had already declared June 15 as the first day of Shawwal.

The moon sighted on June 15 was in its second-day phase, having aged by at least 26 hours from 5.30 pm on June 14 according to https.//www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/.

Our Meteorological Department failed miserably in its duty to clarify this fact to the Ruet-i-Hilal committee. Under these circumstances the meeting of the committee on June 14 was a waste of time and energy.

With due respect to our maulanas: please spare us the ridicule and mockery of the world. Science has penetrated the deep and dark recesses of the universe, and the whole world is benefitting from its discoveries. After life, science is the greatest gift of God. We should take full advantage of it to determine the moon’s precise movements lest we blunder and commit sin.

Zahid Hussain Borhani
Karachi

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2018