Should Ramadan start by astronomical calculation instead of moon sighting?

Sighting with one’s own eyes remains the standard. Whether the crescent can really be seen in a given place depends on many local conditions, and looking for it together has a spiritual value of its own.

Today satellites and calculations can determine very precisely when the new moon occurs and when the moon is above the horizon. So many people ask why Ramadan is not simply fixed by the calendar. That would be more convenient and easier to plan.

Here two things must be distinguished. That the moon is above the horizon by calculation does not yet mean that a person can see it. Close to the horizon the air is full of dust and haze. The thin crescent must first rise some way above it before it becomes visible. How far depends on the weather, on dust and rain, and on the landscape. Over flat land one sees differently than among mountains. Whether the crescent can be seen with the naked eye in a particular place therefore cannot be predicted as exactly as it might seem.

Something else matters even more. Looking out for the crescent together has a value of its own. People stand together in the evening, scanning the sky, and suddenly someone calls out that they have seen it. That moment awakens joy and awe. It connects worship with creation and people with one another. The second hadith above shows how the sight of the new moon becomes a prayer.

Finally, before Allah it is not decisive whether Ramadan begins a day earlier or later. God desires ease, not hardship. If the sky is overcast, one completes the month and counts thirty days. The rule is simple, and no one needs to worry about being a day off.