بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله رب العالمين. اللهم صل على سيدنا محمد و على اله و صحبه و سلم
All praises and thanks belong to the All-Seeing Lord who grants sight to whomever He pleases. All praises and thanks belong to Al Hadi, the Guide, who reveals His signs to whomsoever He pleases and allows them to see what others cannot. This weekend of the 10th and 11th of February was incredibly special. One of these evenings marked the end of the sacred month of Rajab and the beginning of the blessed month of Sha’baan. As a moon sighter for nearly ten years, if not more, it is truly a gift from Allah to be able to sight the hilal. The significance of sighting the hilal to determine the new month is encapsulated in the following verse of the Quran,
2:189
۞ يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْأَهِلَّةِ ۖ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَٰقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَٱلْحَجِّ ۗ وَلَيْسَ ٱلْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُوا۟ ٱلْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰ ۗ وَأْتُوا۟ ٱلْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَٰبِهَا ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ١٨٩
They ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about the phases of the moon. Say, “They are a means for people to determine time and pilgrimage.” Righteousness is not in entering your houses from the back doors. Rather, righteousness is to be mindful ˹of Allah˺. So, enter your homes through their ˹proper˺ doors, and be mindful of Allah so you may be successful. — Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran
In line with this verse of the Qur’an, Muslim moon sighters strive to go out every 29 or 30 days to sight the moon to determine the months of the Hijri calendar. This year, the 29th of Rajab landed on February 10th, 2024. As I do nearly every month, I went out to my local mosque to sight the hilal. I prayed the maghrib prayer and walked outside to the courtyard area of the masjid to begin my search. Unfortunately, the western horizon was filled with a layer of clouds on top of another layer of clouds. Hoping that the hilal might show, I remained outside until the moon was expected to be at 2.95 degrees altitude which would be too low to see from my vantage point. If I followed the local sighting criterion of the Shafi’ madhhab, the matter would be decided, and I would have declared that Rajab would have a 30th day and Sha’baan would begin on the 12th of February 2024. Since I do not follow that criterion, I decided to wait for any further news reports of hilal sightings. The reports began to enter. Throughout the east coast of the United States of America (U.S.) there were no positive sightings of the hilal. I was even told that it was cloudy and rainy in Memphis, Tennessee and Houston, Texas, respectively. So, it a came as a surprise to me when the Central Hilal Committee (CHC) declared that Sha’baan would be the next day due to hilal sightings in the “Midwest Region.” Midwest Region? Where is that referring to? This terminology was not used by the CHC in previous declarations. This declaration was vague and allusive. I reached out via the telephone to the headquarters of the CHC and no one answered. I was then informed that the Chicago Hilal Committee declared the start of Sha’baan due to multiple sightings across North America. This made me quite skeptical since this information was delivered before the sun set on the western coast of the U.S. and by the accounts from experienced moon sighters across the country, it had been too cloudy or rainy to sight the moon. The Metropolitan Toronto Hilal Committee then released their declaration for Sha’baan. I attempted to reach each one of these committees by telephone, email, or social media. The coordinator for the Toronto Hilal Committee answered and informed me that he had received no U.S. reports of a sighting of the hilal of Sha’baan. He did, however, received reports from Panama, Granada, and Trinidad. Later in the evening, CrescentWatch.org declared the start of Sha’baan based upon moonsighting reports from Wisconsin and California among other sightings in North America.
The information provided by the hilal sighting organizations made me very skeptical of an actual sighting of the hilal. I decided not to make an immediate declaration and to await any further information from the inquiries that I had submitted. On the 11th of February 2024, I returned to the masjid to pray the maghrib prayer and sight the hilal. Like the day before, the western horizon was quite cloudy. In the last sujood of the prayer, my supplication before Allah was a request for Him to open the clouds for me so that I may witness the hilal of Sha’baan. Sure enough, after the prayer, when I walked outside into the courtyard of the masjid, I was able to witness the hilal of Sha’baan through the clouds. Alhamdulillah, I called the people in the masjid to witness this sign of Allah as well. As the hilal weaved through the clouds, appearing, and disappearing, more worshippers would come out of the masjid, and I would call them to this sight. They would wait a few minutes and then jump at the sight of the hilal. I was ecstatic and in awe because Allah had immediately answered my prayer. I was reminded of the following verse of the Qur’an,
2:186
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ ١٨٦
When My servants ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Me: I am truly near. I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me. So let them respond ˹with obedience˺ to Me and believe in Me, perhaps they will be guided ˹to the Right Way˺.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran
I can honestly bear witness that Allah has spoken the truth. From that moment on, I considered the sighting of the hilal , this sign of Allah, as a gift from our Lord, the Lord of the Hilal, and my Lord. Barring any fiqh related circumstances regarding reporting, I told myself that I could not deny another brother or sister’s reporting of this gift to them from their Lord. I was determined to wait for Allah to grant me clarity on the matter of the start of Sha’baan.
On the 12th of February 2024, Crescent Watch replied to my inquiry with them and informed me that they too had inquired about the “Midwest Region” declaration by the CHC. They were provided images by the CHC and a location of Madison, Wisconsin for the sighting mentioned in their declaration. It was also reported that unverified sightings were also reported from Florida and Texas. Crescent Watch also received a report from an organization called the “Phoenix Hilal” which sighted the moon in Phoenix, Arizona and lastly, many California moon sighters reported the hilal. I was informed by several people in California in the bay area of their sightings and was given photos of their sightings as well. Again, Allah had answered my prayers and granted me the clarity needed to make a determination of the start of the month of Sha’baan. Alhamdulillah. I am grateful and aware that it is my responsibility to answer the call of my Lord. May Allah make it easy for me and all of us as we continue into this blessed month of Sha’baan which began in the evening of the 10th of February 2024, making the first day of Sha’baan the 11th of February 2024.
This evening and every Monday of Sha’baan, we will commence with our annual fasting refresher sessions to prepare for Ramadan. The flyer and zoom link will be provided on the Online Classes page of thegreenislamicfoundation.org website. I am pleased with my Lord as Allah. I am pleased with Islam as my religion and I am pleased with the Prophet Muhammad,صل الله عليه و سلم as my Prophet and Messenger. May Allah bless our Sha’baan and allow us to reach and complete Ramadan.
The Executive Director of The Green Islamic Foundation
Lavon Brown
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