When is Ramadan 2022 (1443AH) in the UK?

Imad Ahmed
25 March 2022 / 21 Shaban 1443

Q: When is Ramadan 2022 in the UK?  Some people say Saudi always claim to 'see' the moon too early,  and will begin Ramadan a day too early. Is that true?

A: The Ramadan dates are given below, together with a full explanation. Yes, Saudi might claim to 'see' the moon on Friday 1 April - a day earlier than it is scientifically possible to see - as they have a history of scientifically impossible sightings. 

Please be warned, any claim that the crescent has been seen on Friday 1 April from the UK, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia etc is scientifically impossible. 

Our predicted dates for Ramadan

For those who want a quick answer, here are our predicted dates for Ramadan.

For those who follow LOCAL UK SIGHTING

First fast: Sunday 3 April

For those who follow FOREIGN-NEWS REPORTS

First fast if you follow Morocco, South Africa: Sunday 3 April

First fast if you follow Saudi Arabia: Saturday 2 April*

*(assuming Saudi claim to see an impossible moon on Friday 1 April,  as we predict - see below for details)

All dates are predictions, and of course subject to moonsighting attempts, insha allah.

Please continue reading for a fuller explanation [Estimated read time - 4 minutes]

The Ramadan Moon, Royal Observatory Greenwich Livestream with New Crescent Society, 2018

Background

Once again, we head into Ramadan expecting the UK community to be divided over their Islamic Calendar dates. 

If you are unfamiliar with our work, at this stage I’d recommend you watch the first ten minutes of this video for background.

This video is from last year. It offers a clear outline into the different positions about the Islamic Calendar, why people differ, and our proposed solution for a united Islamic Calendar in the UK

Whilst it is not essential to watch this video to understand this blog, it will greatly aid you.

How do different mosques/groups in the UK determine their Islamic Calendar date?

There are many different Islamic positions in the UK about how to determine the Islamic Calendar, which naturally leads to differing dates.

There are many ways of framing this debate. For the sake of simplicity in this article, we could divide them into the following camps:

·       LOCAL MOONSIGHTERS: this group sights the moon every month in the UK. They determine the Islamic calendar date according to local moonsighting. This was the practice of the Prophet Muhammad (s)

·       FOREIGN NEWS-REPORT FOLLOWERS: these groups follow the Islamic calendar of other countries. Some follow Saudi, others follow South Africa, or Morocco, and so on… 

This is of course a simplification, but it will help us for the sake of this explanation. Again, more detailed explanations can be found in our blog, our video linked above, and our social media output.

Why do mosques in the UK follow the Islamic Calendar of other countries? That doesn’t make sense!

Although LOCAL sighting is the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (s), and of Muslims throughout history until today, it has only recently been carried out seriously in the UK.

In the past, mosques who followed other countries did so on the MISTAKEN notion that the moon was not visible in the UK, and thus they falsely believed that we had no choice but to follow other countries. 

And this is the root of the problem, because:

• Different countries see the moon on different dates. This is perfectly scientific and natural.
• Different countries begin their Ramadan and Eid on different dates.
• If we, in the UK, have various mosques following various different countries, it is inevitable that we will have different start dates for Ramadan and Eid within the UK.

The idea that the moon is not visible in the UK is a total myth. The moon is visible, and is very beautiful, in the UK. We’ve demonstrated over the last five years that you can have a perfectly functional Islamic lunar visibility calendar here in the UK, just like other Muslim communities abroad. We see the moon month on month, alhamdulillah, as long as we try.

Great shot of the hilal by Musa, from Hackney, for the month of Rajab

Incredible capture of the crescent, Shaban, from Samira Mian

Interestingly, the three countries we have mentioned in this article (Saudi Arabia, Morocco, South Africa) all insist that local sighting is the sunnah position, and have advised us in the UK to follow our local moon!

Here is a Saudi scholar advising other countries to follow their own local moon:

Here is an interview that I conducted with the Heads of the Moonsighting Committee of Morocco, where they advise us not to follow Morocco, and to follow our own local UK moon:

I also interviewed the Chair of the South African Crescent Observers Society, who offered the same advice. Click the poster if you want to watch the whole interview:

Please note, we do not say that following other countries, whether Morocco, South Africa, Saudi or otherwise is haram - no! Each position has a valid argument behind it. Rather, we believe that following multiple countries on these isles causes division, and that returning to local sighting - the position closet to the sunnah - is our best chance at creating a united Islamic Calendar in the UK,

What are your predicted Ramadan dates for this year?

This is a predicted lunar visibility map for Saturday 2 April. It demonstrates where the moon is predicted visible on that evening. The data is produced by HM Nautical Almanac Office, which is an historic department of the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Saturday 2 April is the date that local moonsighters will be looking for the moon in the UK, corresponding to 29 Shaban.

As you can see, the whole of the UK is covered in dark-green, which means the moon should be visible, insha allah, as long as the weather is clear.

In fact, most of the world is covered in dark-green. On this occasion, most (practically all) of the inhabitable world will first see the Ramadan-moon on Saturday 2 April, and thus their first fast will commence on Sunday 3 April.

So for those of us who follow local UK sightings, and indeed those who follow other countries such as Morocco and South Africa, we predict that we will all begin our first fast on Sunday 3 April, insha allah.

Why do you predict Saudi might claim to 'see' a scientifically impossible moon?

Saudi Arabia will be looking for the moon a day earlier than us here in the UK, on Friday 1 April. This is because they started their previous month (Shaban) a day earlier than us, so their 29 of Shaban corresponds to 1 April. 

To be clear - this is the correct date for those in Saudi to look for the moon, as it is their 29 Shaban.

This is the predicted visibility map for Friday 1 April.

As you can see Saudi Arabia (as well as the UK, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia) is in ‘clear’ zone, which means it is scientifically impossible to sight the moon on Friday 1 April in Saudi Arabia. There is 0% chance of the moon being sighted there.

You can also read this data yourself on the HM Nautical Almanac Office website - here is a screen grab:

Sadly, Saudi Arabia have a strong history of false moonsightings. This means that Saudi Arabia have historically and continuously claimed to have seen the moon when it is too thin, too small for the human eye to perceive, and indeed have claimed to have seen the moon when it is below the horizon.

This has been documented by astronomers, both Saudi and non-Saudi alike. There have been numerous academic studies on the phenomena of Saudi Arabia's false crescent sightings, looking over a period of decades, demonstrating their inaccuracies. Examples of Saudi astronomers themselves confirming this include Ayman Kordi's paper (2003) and Gadi's presentation [in Arabic].

Here are some press cuttings reporting similar stories over the years:

Based on my experience of Saudi (who are very unpredictable!), I believe they will claim to have seen the scientifically-impossible moon on Friday 1 April . If this happens, Saudi – and all the mosques who follow Saudi in the UK – will begin their fasting on April 2nd, a day earlier than others in the UK.

Of course, all dates I have predicted are subject to moonsighting insha allah. I may be wrong (indeed I do hope I am wrong) and perhaps Saudi Arabia will do the right thing this year: declare they haven’t seen the moon, and fast on April 3^rd. 

This would give us a chance for a united Ramadan start date.

But I do want to let you know in advance, on Friday 1 April this year, be vigilant. If your friend, your next door neighbour, or anyone tells you that they have seen the moon in the UK; or if you have heard that the moon was seen in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, or Australia - they might be sincerely mistaken, but know that the moon is not visible on Friday 1 April!

BE VIGILANT ON APRIL FIRST

HOW TO SIGHT THE RAMADAN MOON YOURSELF!

Whatever your belief about the Islamic Calendar, we urge you ALL to sight the Ramadan moon for yourself. You'll love the experience. 

There is a famous saying of the Prophet Muhammad (s) about Ramadan, which is: Fast when you see [the crescent] - you'll have the chance to live these words on Saturday 2 April

Take your children, your family, go to a park on Saturday 2 April, and see if you can see the moon! It's easy, all you need is a clear view of the sunset.

Here is a one minute video showing you how to see the moon on Saturday

And here is a handy guide. Save it on your phone, and remember to look on Saturday 2 April.

If you SEE the moon on Saturday 2 April, make sure to let us know on social media, Facebook and Instagram!

Let your mosque know you support a unified calendar in the UK, based on local sightings

We often speak to mosques who support this idea, but have some concerns that their congregation will not understand a switch from following another country (such as Saudi, or Morocco) to a local calendar system, after decades of 'outsourcing' our calendar to other countries.

As such, we will continue to work with communities. You can help us by speaking to your mosque and letting them know of our work, that we would love to work with them, and reassure them that they have your support