•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

With Ramadan coming to a close in the next few days, Muslims around the world, including in Indonesia, are pondering the annual question of just when to observe Idul Fitri, the post-fasting month celebration.

According to the Islamic calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar, Idul Fitri always falls on the first day of Syawal , which follows Ramadan as the 10th month of the Islamic calendar.

In Indonesia, depending on which group you fall in, Idul Fitri this year will either start on Tuesday or Wednesday. The difference occurs due to the different methods used by the country’s main Muslim organizations to calculate the start of the month.

Although different organizations often disagree on the exact date, all agree that Syawal signals Idul Fitri and begins when a crescent moon is first spotted over the horizon. Muhammadiyah, the country’s second-largest Muslim organization, uses an astronomical computation, known as hisab , to determine the start of Idul Fitri. Other groups, like Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Muslim group, require the computation to be validated by visual observation, or rukyat .

Even Muslim organizations using the hisab method, like Muhammadiyah, can arrive at two different interpretations. This happens because while these groups base their determination on the wujudul hilal , the location of the moon after sunset, others consider instead the imkan al-rukyat , or the sighting of the moon when it is measured at least 2 degrees above the horizon.

Given these differences in measurement, Muhammadiyah has decided that the first day of Syawal will fall on Tuesday, while a Bandung-based organization, Persis, says it will be Wednesday. Another Muslim organization, Al-Irsyad, reportedly will follow Persis’s decision, but will wait for the formal announcement from the government.

Aside from the different interpretations among Muslim organizations that apply the hisab method, there are also be different conclusions on the first day of Syawal among Muslim organizations that apply the hilal method. Nahdlatul Ulama will decide on the start of Idul Fitri based on a physical sighting of the moon, although it did plan ahead when printing it calendar for this year and put Idul Fitri on Aug. 31. Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia uses the hilal method but tends to decide the date based on the day announced by Saudi Arabia.

In previous years, Saudi Arabia decided Idul Fitri’s date in advance, holding the position that the technical calculation of the moon’s height versus the zero-degree horizon determines the matter.

And what about the Indonesian government’s decision? Since independence, the government has always decided Idul Fitri based on rukyat hilal . The formal decision on Idul Fitri is coordinated by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The ministry holds an istbat session, attended by representatives of the government, Muslim organizations throughout the country and diplomatic representatives of Muslim countries. This year, the isbat session will be held on Monday.

From previous experience with the physical sighting of the moon, it can be said that with the position of the moon at less than 2 degrees, or even at 1.5 degrees above the horizon, the istbat session will decide on Idul Fitri by allowing 30 days for the fasting month, known as istikmal . It is predictable, then, that the government will declare that Idul Fitri will start on Tuesday, as Persis decided.

How about the Prophet Muhammad himself? In one hadith, the sayings of the Prophet, he said that if the moon was not clear, there should be 30 days of Ramadan; while in another he said to use a method of calculation. The Prophet Muhammad also said in another hadith that “the month can have 29 days or 30 days.”

Considering the long history of different interpretations of the day that Idul Fitri falls on, all Indonesian Muslims and Muslim organizations should have learned to tolerate each other’s approaches by now.

There is no need to claim that one’s opinion is correct, while someone else’s is not. There is no need to exaggerate our differences. Muslims should hold on to what they believe in without pushing their beliefs onto others. There is no need to declare that members of Muslim organizations are not true followers of the organization if they disagree with its decision. The Prophet Muhammad accepted such differences. We should follow his lead.

 

Mahmudi Asyari holds a PhD from the Jakarta State Islamic University. Muizzudin is a lecturer in Islam at the University of Indonesia.