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School to perform 'rukyat' to determine end of Ramadhan
The Assalam modern Islamic boarding school (Ponpes) in Pabelan, Sukoharjo, Central Java, has said it will carry out rukyat or lunar-sighting to decide the start of Syawal 1, or the fall of Idul Fitri 1436 H, on Thursday afternoon
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he Assalam modern Islamic boarding school (Ponpes) in Pabelan, Sukoharjo, Central Java, has said it will carry out rukyat or lunar-sighting to decide the start of Syawal 1, or the fall of Idul Fitri 1436 H, on Thursday afternoon.
The adviser to the Ponpes Assalam astronomical club (CASSA), Ustadz AR Sugeng, said the school would carry out two important activities on Thursday, namely rukyat or direct observations of the lunar cycle to determine the start of Syawal 1, and yaumu rashdil qiblat, or straightening out the direction of the qiblat.
Observation of the appearance of a new moon after sunset on Thursday would determine whether this year's Ramadhan would comprise 29 or 30 days, Ustadz said.
He added that the sun would be right above the Ka'bah at noon, Thursday, making it the right time to straighten the direction of the qiblat.
Sugeng said that in Surakarta and surrounding areas, the sun would set at 5:34 p.m. If the moon was clearly visible through a telescope, then Friday was the start of Syawal 1 or Idul Fitri.
'According to the hisab [astronomical] calculation method, if the moon's position after the sun sets is at a height of above 3 degrees on Thursday, the moon can be directly observed. The minimum height that enables us to directly see the appearance of a new moon is 2 degrees,' said Sugeng.
The astronomical team, he added, would determine the proper direction of the qiblat in an observation which would be held before the sun set on Thursday. (ebf)
