Fawad Ch confirms birth of Shawal moon

He said we have uploaded the Hijri calendar and application on the website of the ministry.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has confirmed the birth of Shawal moon today (Monday) and said that it is likely to be sighted on Tuesday.

The federal minister while thanking the masses for their support said that the birth of the moon will occur at 03:02pm on Monday and its age will be four hours and sixteen minutes at sunset. The moon will be 28 hours and 16 minutes old at sunset in Karachi on Tuesday.

The minister said that not only the complete horizon could be seen through application but it has also been linked to different system.

Fawad said the Almighty Allah and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have also ordered the use of study. He said Hijri calendar and application details have been uploaded on the website of Ministry of Science and Technology.

Fawad announces to open 66 MET sites 

Earlier today, he announced to open all 66 sites of Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) for public to sight the Shawwal moon.

All 66 sites of MET will be open for public for moon sighting, some facilities are very modern others are basic but we ll make sure this time people themselve see moon and trust Science and modern technology more than few individuals. pic.twitter.com/k664ci7PoX

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) June 3, 2019

Fawad Chuadhry tweeted the list of all 66 MET sites for public to witness the moon themselves as he showed determination for people to use the scientific facilities.

Minister of Science and Technology expressed that few of the facilities are modern whereas others are basics but they want to assure that people trust science and modern technology now rather than few individuals.

The Met Office has said that the moon will remain on the horizon for one hour after the sunset on June 4, and moon sighting is expected on Tuesday across the country including Peshawar.

The Ruat-e-Hilal Committee headed by chairman Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman will meet at the PMD office tomorrow in Karachi for moon sighting.

Brave Step

The minister for science and technology took a brave step to set up a scientific committee for moon sighting.

The objective of the new initiative is to end the controversy over moon sighting and the confusion amongst people, especially on the occasions of announcing big events such as starting of Ramazan and Eidul Fitr. Moon-sighting committee normally meets every month to decide the beginning of the lunar Islamic month, but they come into limelight only on big occasions.

Pakistan and many other Islamic countries face problem over moon sighting issue. The new committee has been formed to predict key dates and months of the Islamic Calendar, with an aim to put an end to moon-sighting controversies in the country.

The controversy over Ramazan surfaced again this month as the official moon-sighting committee said the Ramazan in Pakistan began on May 7 while the controversial cleric Mufti Shahabuddin Popalzai from Peshawar disagreed with the official announcement and said Ramazan in Pakistan started on May 6. As a result, a large number of Muslims who follow Mufti Popalzai fast on May 6 while the rest of people began fasting on May 7.

Religious scholar’s objection

Fawad Chaudhry s move to set up a scientific moon sighting committee created a lot of stir across the country as many considered his move as against the Islamic norms but others welcomed his initiative.

Islamic scholars who argue that the moon must be physically seen to decide the beginning of the fasting month, have already started criticizing the minister and the government.

Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman, the chief of the central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, asked the minister to refrain from commenting on “religious matters” and appealed to the premier to let “only concerned ministers speak on religious issues”. The cleric added: “Our moon-sighting announcements have never been wrong. Everyone bears witness when the moon is sighted.”

“‘The minister is unaware of the system and if he is interested, we can make a 100-year lunar calendar for him,” he added. He advised the minister to not distort Pakistan s history and asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to instruct his ministers the same.