Moonsighting…

Praise be to Allah and peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohamed, his household, his companions and his followers until the Day of Judgment.

For years, Muslims in London have aspired to unify the timing of the five daily prayers that would bring them together and avoid the many discrepancies in prayer times between mosques. These discrepancies are especially evident in summer when the signs of Isha and Fajr overlap or vanish completely for a number of weeks. This has resulted in significant challenges in determining the times for prayer. Such variations in Fajr and Isha times, in turn, result in considerable confusion within the community, especially when the blessed month of Ramadan falls in summer.

There are numerous schemes to determine prayer timing in countries at latitudes above 48° North, including Britain. Each one of these schemes is supported by sound Fiqh and evidence from the field of astronomy. The work of scientists and researchers, may Allah reward them well, on this subject is readily available in the minutes of Fiqh Councils’ meetings, books, magazine and websites specializing in prayer times. It has been customary for mosques to adhere to one scheme or another, and each will be rewarded for their choice, Allah willing.

In the hope of achieving a unified prayer time schedule, a number of Masajid and Islamic Centres in London have met several times over the last eighteen months to address this issue. After a detailed review of the various prayer times schemes, consulting specialists and with the intention of seeking ease for worshippers, which in itself is an honorable objective in Sharia, an agreement, alhamdulillah, has finally been reached to approve a unified schedule for prayer times in London.

This agreed schedule is based on credible and documented efforts based on trustworthy sources. These sources have sought to produce a prayer timetable guided by observations with the naked eye of the times for Isha and Fajr. These observations have been done each day for a whole year (subject to weather conditions) in Blackburn, UK  and in other  locations above  latitude 48° North,  as detailed in www.moonsighting.com.

It has also been agreed to regularly revisit the issue of prayer times in the light of any relevant new findings emanating from specialized institutions, Fiqh Councils and conferences, such as the International Islamic Conference on prayer times.  We expect this will be held, Allah willing, in Makka Al Mukarramah later in this year.

May Allah bless our prayers and all ibadat, and grant us all life to witness the blessed month of Ramadan, and enable us to observe it as it should be observed and render us amongst the successful.

Allah is the Guide to the right path.

• Islamic Cultural Centre & London Central Mosque
• Mayfair Islamic Centre
• East London Mosque
• Muslim Welfare House
• Al Muntada Al Islami Education Trust
• Al Manaar, the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre
• Masjid Al Tawhid & Islamic Sharia Council
• London Muslim Forum
• West London Mosque Forum
• SLMCC (Sri Lankan Muslim Cultural Centre – Harrow)
• Islamic Association of North London
• Islamic Cultural Centre (Monks Park, Wembley)

Sha’aban 1432

July 2011

The Saudi Authorities have declared the sighting of the moon for Dhul Hijjah so Sunday 7th November will be the first day of Dhul Hijjah, With the Day of Arafat falling on Monday the 15th Nov, and Eid ul Adha on Tuesday 16th November 2010 inshAllah.

RADIO HAJJ will be broadcasting from 6 November until 21 November 2010 inshallah, across NW London, and of course online…

Keep tuned for fantastic interactive discussion shows and much, much more..

The great debate of moonsighting would be amongst other interesting shows on Radio Hajj this year – www.radiohajj.co.uk

Welcome to moonsighting.co.uk – Getting the issues resolved for Britain!