Saudi false moonsighting. Do UK Muslims have to follow Saudi's calendar for Hajj?

Imad Ahmed
8 June 2024 / 1 Dhul Hijjah 1445

Saudi false moonsighting. 
Do UK Muslims have to follow Saudi's calendar for Hajj?

Unfortunately, we've found ourselves in the same situation again!

Muslims in the UK will be celebrating Eid, and fasting for Arafah in the UK, on different dates. This is particularly painful on the day of Arafah, where some Muslims will actually be celebrating Eid, and other Muslims will be fasting!

At this time of the year we often get the question: Do Muslims in the UK have to follow Saudi Arabia for Eid al Adha? 

The short answer is 'no, you are not obliged to follow Saudi. Quite the opposite'. 

We have prepared some resources which answer the question, below. 

But first - what are the dates for Eid al Adha 2024 / 1445?

Dates according to Local Moonsighting

Eid: Monday 17 June / 10 Dhul Hijjah 1442

Fast of Arafat: Sunday 16 June  / 9 Dhul Hijjah 1442

This is based on local sighting, from the moon we saw ourselves in the UK on Friday 7 June 2024, beautifully captured in some of the following shots:

Suliman, East London

Shemanara and Julie, Saltburn on Sea

Juned, Derby

Saudi-following mosques will be doing all of the above one day earlier - leading to a split Eid. 

The heart of the difference boils down to an alleged moonsighting in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, where a moon was claimed to have been sighted, even though it was scientifically impossible to see!

Saudi 'Phantom' Moons and Early Eids

The Saudi calendar system has several flaws, which means that almost every Eid date is scientifically incorrect. We've written about this more in depth in this blog, you can read about it here and here.

For this year, the primary problem was that Saudi claimed to see a moon one day too early, when it was scientifically impossible to see the moon.

On Thursday 6 June, a single location in Saudi Arabia reported a moonsighting.

The only person who claims to have seen the moon in the whole world?

However, a simple look at astronomical data shows that it was scientifically impossible to see the moon on Thursday 6 June. 

Consider the two maps below, from two different sources, showing lunar visibility. 

As you can see, these maps show that the moon was not visible in Saudi at all!

Moon not visible in Saudi - source HMNAO

Moon not visible in Saudi- source moonsighting.com

This is also supported by the data published by HM Nautical Almanac Office, an astronomical data organisation related to the Royal Observatory Greenwich

Source: His Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office

Other than a single location in Saudi Arabia, no other location claimed to see the moon on planet earth.

If the moon was truly seen in Saudi, we would have expected to have had more moonsighting reports later in other parts of the world. 

The moon would have been bigger, higher in the horizon, and easier to see by the time people were looking in Moroco, and then America - and yet no one else saw the moon.

Yet - irrespective of what Saudi does, the question still remains for us - do we Muslims in the UK have to follow them anyway? 

Do we have to follow Saudi Arabia for Eid al Adha and Arafat anyway?

One of the most common questions we are asked at New Crescent Society is: Do we have to match our Eid dates with the Eid in Saudi? 

There does seem to be a misconception that we are obliged to follow Saudi. 

People tell us often: "We can see the Hajjis on TV on the mount of Arafat, so we feel we need to fast in solidarity with them. We want to match our ritual sacrifice with the date that are doing it in Hajj. Intuitively, almost, it feels like we have to follow them" 

This notion, however, is absolutely misplaced. 

Muslims in the history of Muslim civilisation NEVER attempted to synchronise their Eid with Makkah, nor did they think this was desireable. The dates of Eid (10 Dhul HijjaH), and Arafah (9 Dhul Hijjah) are DATES in the calendar, which has always been determined by Muslim communities sighting the moon locally.

We've put together some resources to help further elucidate this question.

1) Saudi Arabia themselves say that other locations should not follow them

Please find this video where Saudi Arabian scholars themselves say we should not follow them according to their understanding of Islamic law:

You can also read a written and signed fatwa here by Shaykh Abdullah Bin Baz, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, and Shaykh Salih al Uthaymeen, one of Saudi Arabia's most prominent scholars.

This document is dated 1981. There are some other non Saudi scholars who countersigned this too, including Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi, an Indian cleric and Chancellor of Darul Ulum Nadwi.

Shaykh Abdullah Bin Baz also said this  in another fatwa/religious edict which you can find online, helpfully placed onto this infographic here:

2) Another helpful infographic from moonsighting.org.uk, which summarises some of the points. It is taken from this article.

3) Another video, which I myself made a few years ago, answering the same question. Hope you like it!

There are also some very good videos available on TikTok/insta, which we will be sharing on our social media too.

Here is a good choice of them.

Engineer Qamar Uddin explaining why UK Eid and Saudi Eid are not linked - probably one of the best explainers available anywhere online:

Mufti Menk explaining Saudi doesn't require us to follow them:

Imam Salman from High Wycombe explains in his Eid Khutbah from a few years ago:

If that isn't enough, I've also been sent this video by Shaykh Suliman Gani, where he delivers the same information in a khutbah at his mosque in Purley:

Solution to divided Eids

We appear to have divided Eids annually - so what is the solution? 

Please watch this video which explains everything well.  In summary, New Crescent Society advocate for a return to the sunnah practice of moonsighting in the UK, as the practical and sunnah means of uniting the UK in an Islamic Calendar.

Hope that helps! 

Any comments or questions, please put them in the comments!