Many of us are aware that the Holy Month of Ramadan is a time when Muslims around the world fulfil the Islamic obligation of fasting for the whole month. It is also a highly celebratory and auspicious time in Qatar.
As the Islamic calendar is lunar, the start of Ramadan is identified by the dawn of the new moon.
Year after year, we hear that the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) in Qatar specifies a day by which the Ramadan Crescent moon will be looked out for to announce the start of Ramadan; but what does it really mean or how is it sighted.
The ILoveQatar.net (ILQ) team is here to tell you all about the Ramadan moon sighting in Qatar!
The crescent moon gets monitored all across on the 29th day of Sha'aban, which is the 8th month of the Islamic calendar, which is the month just before Ramadan.
There is a dedicated team to observe and monitor the crescent moon in Qatar, which is known as the 'Crescent Observation Unit'.
The dedicated team works on observing the moon from a technical aspect to prepare a report which outlines the size of the moon, its height and even the moon's distance from the sun. This report is prepared based on observations made using technical equipment such as telescopes, cameras, lenses and infrared rays and other measuring devices.
Although the work of this team is purely technical, they work closely with the assigned Crescent Sighting Committee at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs to take a decision regarding the crescent sighting.
Aside from using technical devices complemented with the necessary experience & knowledge, the crescent moon observation requires certain geographical conditions to be met as well.
The location from which the observation is made has to be away from city lights.
While there is a dedicated team to observe and monitor the crescent moon, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) annually calls on the public or residents of Qatar to monitor the sky for sightings of the moon.
In such instances, if anyone believes they have sighted the Ramadan Crescent moon, they must proceed to the Ministry headquarters, which is located in Al Dafna, to report their observation.
Source: Islamonline/Awqaf
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