Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti (MCW member) from Oxford, UK, reported: Not Seen
Not seen in Indonesia and Morocco. I am unable to perform the sighting in Oxford. Although today, Tuesday 11th of September, is still the 28th of Sha’ban in the UK, this is to report negative sightings in the Indonesian islands despite clear skies there today. The national authority there has declared that Ramadan will begin on Thursday, 13 September 2007. We are expecting Ramadan to begin the earliest in the UK on Thursday, subject to positive sightings anywhere East of the UK tomorrow, by which time I will make another report.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti (MCW member) from Oxford, UK, reported: Seen in East of UK (S. Africa)
I am travelling and unable to perform the obligatory sighting today for the UK on 29 Sha’ban or Wednesday, 12th of September. However, I have received news that sighting is not possible in Oxford because the horizon there is overcast. Nevertheless, news of positive sightings to the East of UK today, such as in South Africa, despite not being able to sight locally in the UK, makes it sufficient for those in the UK to establish the month of Ramadan [thubut al-hilal] for the UK to be tomorrow, Thursday, the 13th of September, with the Tarawih prayers beginning tonight after Isha. This is by following the default rule [dabit] in Islamic Law in this matter that whenever it is known that the crescent has been positively sighted in the East, local sighting inevitably follows, but not the other way round [mata hasalati r-ru’yatu fi l-sharqi lazima ru’yatuhu fi l-gharbi wa la-‘aks]. Ramadan Karim & may Allah accept our fasts and prayers during this blessed month!
The Sunni Voice 