In a statement issued here, the Supreme Court said that according to a royal order and a cabinet's decision, it called on all Muslims throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to sight Ramadan's crescent either through naked eyes or telescopes and to report to the nearest court to register their sighting.
The Supreme Court called on Muslims for joining committees formed in the regions for sighting the crescent as it is in the pursuit of cooperation in righteousness and piety.
Click [url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/middle-east/Saudi-allows-telescopes-to-determine-Ramadan-start/articleshow/4907666.cms]here[/url] to read how media twists the news! The above fatwa is more than a decade old and look at the headline that this newspaper has given.
Does allowing the use of telescope equal to allowing using astronomical(mathematical) calculations?! Click [url=http://alifta.com/Fatawa/FatawaChapters.aspx?View=Tree&NodeID=2746&PageNo=1&BookID=7]here[/url] to read the various fataawa of the Permanent Committee forbidding it to use calculations instead of actual sighting of the moon.
Moon sighting through observatories is permissible
Sheikh Saleh Bin Fowzan Al-Fowzan, member of the Permanent Committee for Fatwa and Board of Senior Ulema has approved sighting of Ramadan and Shawal crescent through observatories.
Replying to a question by Al-Madina on possibility of depending on observatories in sighting the crescent of Ramadan and if the sighting with a naked eye is obligatory, Sheikh Al-Fowzan said "Sighting the Ramadan crescent with observatories and telescopes is permissible as is the case with sighting it with a naked eye."
He added the Prophet (peace be upon him) said in a Hadith "Fast at its sighting and terminate the fast at its sighting."
However this shows that it doesnęt matter if the sighting is with the naked eye or through observatory.
Again, it should be noted that seeing moon through observatories is quite different from using mathematical/astronomical calculations which is forbidden.
sajid_chauhan_81
20-08-2009 @ 10:17 PM
24-08-2009 @ 8:44 PM
26-08-2009 @ 6:59 PM