Kerala has a specialist for sighting the Ramzan moon

Sometime next week, a man in a village in Kozhikode district will return after sunset from the nearby seashore bearing news of great significance for the devout waiting for the holy month of Ramzan to begin. Nobody in Kerala appointed AT Koya as the official watcher of the Ramzan moon, the sighting of which heralds the beginning of the month of fasting and observances that culminates in the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, but the entire state trusts his word for it.That’s because the 47-year-old has performed this task assiduously for three decades, keeping alive the ancient tradition of moon-sighting that is pivotal to Islam. So, as the Islamic month of Shaban draws to a close, this resident of Kappad village can be found scanning the skies near his home to catch the first little sliver of the crescent moon.Koya is fully aware of the significance of the sighting to Islam, which has 12 months each of 29 or 30 days. The Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle, unlike the Gregorian calendar, which is based on the movement of the sun. The announcement of the commencement of Ramzan – the ninth month of the Islamic calendar – by religious leaders in Kerala is in most years accompanied by the information that the decision was based on the sighting of the new moon from the Kappad coast, which is incidentally the site where centuries back Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama first set foot in India.Per Islamic precepts – followed more or less across the country (see below) – any reliable and pious person can report the sighting of the new moon to their local qazi, which should be attested by two witnesses. The sighting can be made from any location. If the qazi finds the testimony credible, he will share it with the religious leaders who are to make the announcement.Though technology and powerful telescopes allow precise astronomical calculations that can help with the Ramzan moon sighting, Muslims have generally followed the method of sighting with the naked eye to determine the date of commencement for Ramzan and other Islamic religious occasions.Medium108407402 “As a child, it was with wondrous excitement that I watched elders gazing for long hours at the skies from quiet corners of the beach and then rushing to the mosque. Soon after, we’d hear the chanting of the Thakbeer heralding the start of Ramzan. Out of curiosity I started joining them and learned how to look for the new moon. There were chapters on astronomy in our religious classes and I started tracking the moon phases on my own by going to the beach at night. Then, one year I was able to spot a Ramzan crescent, but the elders did not accept it as I was a minor then,” said Koya.But Koya says that ever since the qazi of the Kappad juma masjid accepted his testimony – he was 18 then – of the sighting of the new moon, he has had the good fortune of making crescent sightings based on which the date of commencement of Ramzan and that of Eid in the state have been decided on dozens of occasions.Years of observations and interest in astronomy taught him where and when to look for the new moon and what are the chances of its visibility on a given day, says Koya, adding that he tracks the moon round the year and records the sighting ofthe new moon of every month in a notebook. Koya’s tryst with the crescent moon has earned him the moniker ‘Masa Koya’ (Koya, the man of the months) among locals.But more than personal passion, the moon sighting is a communal obligation , says Koya, a devout Muslim who works for a local orphanage.“Though I have not been particularly entrusted with the task by anyone, I consider myself fortunate to witness the moon sightings and inform the qazis about it. But there is a responsibility involved and the task has to be carried out with utmost care and diligence since a mistake can affect the entire community,” he said.Koya says he would be looking out for the new crescent moon after sunset on March 22. If it is sighted, Ramzan would begin the following day, else it would commence the day after.Medium108407404 The View From Elsewhere Across the country, the process for announcing the sighting of the Ramzan moon is much the same and based on established principles. In Bengal, there is a committee of over 20 scholars, imams and eminent persons that convenes for the purpose in Kolkata’s Nakhoda Mosque.“Members gather on the terrace of the mosque or in the tallest minaret to sight the moon, which is to be accomplished without the help of any binoculars or other aid,” said Nasser Ebrahim, convenor of the committee. Once the moon is sighted, the Ramzan announcement is made. What if the moon is not sighted in Kolkata due to overcast skies but reports come from the districts that somebody has spotted the moon?“In that case the person has to appear in front of the local imam or any other authorised person and explain how, when and where the moon was seen. The imam then has to give testimony that the individual can be trusted. We then get in touch with peers in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and other cities. If they confirm that the moon has been sighted we declare it in Bengal, too,” said Ebrahim.Lucknow follows a similar method. “Anyone who manages to spot the moon can call us on our helplines,” said Shia Markazi Chand Committee president Maulana Saif Abbas. “If due to the weather we cannot see the moon, we have to rely on other cities and consult the different committees.”