RIYADH, 20 September 2006 — The Supreme Judiciary Council yesterday urged
Muslims in the Kingdom to look for the new moon of the month of Ramadan on
the evening of Thursday. Those who sight the new moon are directed to report
the matter to the nearest court so that it can be recorded, the Saudi Press
Agency reported yesterday.

Beginning of Ramadan: Following the Saudi Moon Sighting.

Q. Some people in my home country do not begin the Ramadan fast according to
their country; they follow Saudi Arabia. They do the same with the Eid and
mark it on the same day as in Saudi Arabia, while people at home may be
still fasting. Please comment.

A. These people are well meaning. They think that Islam is practised in its
best form in Saudi Arabia and they want to follow it. But their practice is
wrong because it does not have a solid basis. If we were to extend their
practice to its logical conclusion, we should offer prayers according to the
timings in Saudi Arabia, rather than our own timings. Thus,we should import
Saudi calendars and follow the timings indicated in them. Similarly, we
should fast the same number of hours as fasting is indicated in Saudi
Arabia. This is easy nowadays, because of satellite television. We can
always watch the time in Saudi Arabia and follow it. Needless to say, no one
will agree to this although some logical argument could be presented in its
support,such as the unity of all Muslims.

Yet the practice of all Muslims is that each locality has its own
timings.The difference in prayer time between Jeddah and Dammam, at the two
coasts of Saudi Arabia is around an hour. No one suggests that it should not
be observed. In fact if it is not observed, we run the risk of having our
prayers rendered invalid.

The difference in starting Ramadan has always been known, and the Prophet's
(peace be upon him) companions accepted it. Abdullah ibn Abbas asked someone
who had traveled from Damascus to Madinah about the day they started
Ramadan.

When he was informed of the day, he mentioned that the people of Madinah
sighted the moon on a different day. People asked him whether he would defer
to the sighting in Damascus since it was the capital city of the Muslim
state at the time, but he said: "Each have their own sighting." This is a
clear answer to those people by one for whom the Prophet prayed to be a
scholar. Needless to say, he was a scholar of high distinction.

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