New Moon

This morning before 6:00 a.m. my daughter called out excitedly to me that there was a beautiful crescent moon and a star hanging in the sky.

I rushed out to see and indeed it looked like a dangling earring, with the star and the crescent moon against the backdrop of the clear sky.

Normally the moon would not be sighted at this time as it is still Ramadan, the fasting month which all Muslims observe. It had been announced that the night of 18th of August would be the date to sight the moon so that if it is sighted, then the following day would be the celebration of the Hari Raya Adil Fitri, the culmination of a month’s fasting.

However, when I asked the old lady who had come to weed my garden about it, she said this sighting is not the one that will determine the end of the fasting month. The moon is not in the correct sector of the sky. According to her it should be on the other side, above the ocean. This morning’s sighting was on the land side, near Mount Kinabalu.

I defer to her explanation as she is a Muslim and she’s old, wise and experienced in these matters. She said that Hari Raya will be celebrated on this coming Sunday and she will not be coming to weed next week.