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An observer who has witnessed many new moons and full moons can easily understand the dates prescribed for man by Allah (swt) by watching the phases of the moon. This is clearly explained in simple language in the chapter of the Qur’aan, Yaseen and Yunus, which mention about the phases and Manazil of the Moon and their calculations. The rules of movements of the Sun and the Moon are subjected to computation (Q55: 5) and the dates can be predicted by calculations.
The Islamic months are based on the cycle of the Moon. The months begin with the appearance of the first Hilal. Now we shall examine whether the Imams and the Fuqaha (Jurists) agree to have common dates for the Islamic calendar, from the quotations from the writings of their own. Let us examine the views of the Imams of different Schools of Thought of the Muslim community regarding the observation of the Hilal to begin the months of the Islamic calendar: |
