Don't make assumptions on Raya date, wait for astronomers to sight moon, says group

SHAH ALAM - Everyone need to respect the role of astronomers and authorities in determining the date of Raya instead of making their own assumptions on the date.

The @majalahsains Twitter account admin said the start of Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri will only be officially declared by the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal.

"April 20 is equivalent to 29th of Ramadan. The sighting of the new moon of Syawal is set on the evening of the 29th day of every Hijri month and not on the 29th of Syaaban and the 29th of Ramadan only.

On Friday, shares about Hari Raya Aidilfitri to fall on April 21 had gone viral on social media and WhatsApp groups.

It had became a hot topic among the people because the date was different from the date recorded in the calendar which is on April 22.

It followed a screenshot stating Ramadan ends on April 20.

Meanwhile, the Twitter admin said the date of a new month in the Hijrah calendar in Malaysia was decided using Rukyah (observation) and Hisab (calculations) method based on the Imkanur Rukyah criteria which is the position of the sunset corresponding to the moon's altitude at >3° (no less than 3°) and the distance of the curve (elongation) of the sun and moon > 6.4° (no less than 6.4°).

The account said there will be no lunar eclipse on April 6 and if the actual date is on May 6 then there will be a penumbral lunar eclipse phenomenon expected to occur.

"The dark effect is not as noticeable where the moon becomes reddish compared to when the moon enters the umbra.

"The total duration of the solar eclipse on April 20 is only 1 minute and 16 seconds instead of 4 minutes.

"It is different and confusing. The Imkanur Rukyah criteria outline the conditions for the altitude (height) of the moon and the distance (elongation) of the moon-sun in degrees instead of percentage," the admin explained.