There was confusion on Saturday night over
whether the new moon of Shawwal was
sighted in Nigeria to mark the end of the
Muslim Ramadan fast. The Sultan of Sokoto,
Abubakar Sa’ad, who is also the President of
the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic
Affairs, NSCIA, had around midnight on
Saturday announced the sighting of the new
moon and therefore the end of Ramadan.
”The new month of Shawwal was sighted in
different places within Nigeria and therefore
tomorrow (Sunday) is the first day of
Shawwal equivalent to 27 July 2014,” the
Sultan said in an announcement aired on the
Nigerian Television Authority [NTA]. But
when contacted after the Sultan’s
announcement, the Secretary-General of
the organisation, Is-haq Oloyede, a
professor of Islamic Studies, said he was
not aware that the moon had been sighted.
“I spoke to the Sultan about four times
tonight and he did not tell me that the moon
has been sighted,” Mr. Oloyede told
PREMIUM TIMES. “In any case, any such
claim is ridiculous and unscientific. It cannot
be right. “The National Moon-Sighting
Committee has not informed us of any
credible sighting of the moon. Rather, they
said the moon wasn’t sighted. The new
moon was only born at 11:45 P.M. tonight
(Saturday) and it will take several hours for
it to be sighted. “Is our own sky different? Is
our own moon manufactured in Nigeria?”
Professor Oloyede urged Muslims to
continue their fast on Sunday and prepare
for Eid-Fitri on Monday in line with the
verdict of the National Moon-Sighting
Committee, [NMC]. PREMIUM TIMES learnt
that the chairman of the NMC, Hafiz Wali,
from Kano, had on Saturday night forwarded
the report of his committee to the Sultan and
Mr. Oloyede, indicating that the moon had
not been sighted. “Assalamu Alaikum. As
expected, the NMC has not received any
credible moonsighting report,” Dr. Wali said
in a short message report to the NSCIA
leaders. “Our team in Gwandu has reported
that the Moon has not been sighted.” Sultan
Sa’ad could not be reached as at the time
this report was published at 1:56 a.m on
Sunday and it is not clear where he got the
report that the moon was sighted. Prof.
Oloyede had issued a statement on Friday
asking Muslims to look out for the new
moon on Sunday and dismissing any
possibility of sighting the crescent (of
Shawwal) on Saturday. Crescent Moon
Visibility, Sunday, July 27… Photo Credit:
www.moonsighting.com “… Any information
on sighting the crescent (of Shawwal)
should be conveyed to the National
Moonsighting Committee so that the
President-General of the NSCIA, His
Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, may
pronounce the end of fasting,” Mr. Oloyede
had said. “It is an indisputable fact that the
old (Ramadan) moon will set just before
sunset in Nigeria on Saturday, 26 th of July
2014. The new astronomic moon would be
born few minutes before midnight of that
Saturday. “Consequently, the search for
Shawwal moon is on Sunday 27th of July
2014. It can be sighted in Nigeria on
SUNDAY with optical instruments or with
some difficulties with naked eyes. Any claim
of sighting a moon that is yet to be born is
not only false, mistaken or impossible but
also ridiculous.” The sultan is said to have
approved that statement. PREMIUM TIMES
also consulted popular moonlighting
website, www.moonsighting.com, which
compiles reports of moonsighting all over
the world. In a detailed report Sunday
morning, the website said: “Moon is not
possible to be seen anywhere in the world”
on Saturday, July 26. Controversy in Nigeria
over sighting of new moon to mark end of
Ramadan “Moon is not expected to be seen
in almost the whole world except with
difficulty in South America, and with ease in
Polynesian Islands, where there are not
many Muslims reporting moonsighting.
There is small possibility in South Africa but
only experienced observers may see it.” It
added, “The Astronomical New Moon is on
Saturday July 26, 2014 at 22:42 UT. There is
no possibility of moonsighting on that day.
On July 27, the moon can be seen with
difficulty in South America, but can easily be
seen in Polynesian Islands. However, there
are not many Muslims reporting
moonsighting. On July 28, the moon can
easily be seen in almost the whole world,
except Northern Asia and Europe.” Also, a
Nigerian and member of the Moonsighting
Committee Worldwide [MCW], Kareem Isa,
from the Kado estate mosque area of Abuja,
was quoted as reporting not sighting the
moon. “It is Ramadan 29 today in Nigeria. It
was partly clooudy, and I tried from 19:00 to
19:20 local time,” Mr. Isa was quoted as
saying. The same kind of confusion now
trailing the end of Ramadan in the country
also marked the commencement of the holy
month in late June, with miscommunication
within the NSCIA itself. The Council later
apologised for the situation and promised
Muslims in the country that it would work
hard to avoid a repeat. “It is in this respect
that the NSCIA wishes to remind all Muslims
who know, and notify those who do not, that
there is an established structure for moon-
sighting in Nigeria,” Mr. Oloyede had said in
a statement. “Due to its significance and
technicalities, the Council has a National
Moonsighting Committee under the
leadership of an expert. The Committee is
equipped with necessary equipment and
technological gadgets that are relevant to
the discharge of its assignment.” Sultan
Sa’ad has now announced the end of
Ramadan and the beginning of Shawwal
without recourse to the committee.

I have not sighted any moon too.
So fasting continues