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Will ISNA lunar
date start from New Delhi? Will it start from Makka before
sunset? Why should it start at Greenwich? Will Ramadan date
begin from New York, Los Angeles, or International dateline (at
12 mid-night)? By the established Shariah rule a Hijri date and
month should start where the crescent moon will become visible
at sunset long after 12:00Noon GMT.
If ISNA calculated
date starts from sunset around New Delhi, or Makkah then areas
east of New Delhi or Makka would be a lunar day/date behind and
in the previous Islamic month. Only areas west of New Delhi or
Makka will share the new date and Islamic month from their
sunset.
“Muslim Unity”
argument imposes the same lunar date for all countries that
“share the same night.” New Delhi shares the same night eastward
with Tokyo on the same solar date, but with Hawaii, LA and New
York of the previous solar date. How far back ISNA would extend
the lunar date?
There are many
more complications. For example, in the following lunar month
the conjunction will move to a different time. Accordingly, the
sunset location will move westward. This constant movement
results in several more complications. The Islamic date and
month will start from a different location on earth every month,
making the same month 29 days long for some regions of the globe
but 30 days for the rest. Lunar visibility “anywhere on the
globe” is already discarded from the new ISNA criterion. |