Eid-ul-Fitr
Why is Eid-ul-Fitr determined to be Monday, March 31st? In Islam, Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated the day after the sighting of the new moon. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community uses the scientific calculation of the moon to determine when the moon can possibly be visible by the naked eye in our local area or country. Instead of following any other country, which can be thousands of miles away, Muslims are to determine Eid based on when the moon is visible with the naked eye. Therefore, Eid-ul-Fitr is Monday, March 31st, this year due to the fact that the moon will only be visible by the nake eye on Sunday, March 30th.
In order for Eid-ul-Fitr to take place on Sunday, March 30th, the new moon must be visible to the naked eye on Saturday, March 29th. The below images come from the HM Nautical Almanac Office, which is a multi-disciplinary group of specialists who provides astronomical data and predictions to aid observers. Its data illustrates the likelihood of observing the young lunar crescent on the evenings of March 29 and 30. This first image illustrates the different gradients of visibility of the moon on Saturday, March 29th:
In this map, there is no place in the U.S. that is covered in red - meaning that there is nowhere in the U.S. where the moon will be visible on March 29th with the naked eye. There is, however, a tiny portion of the U.S. in Hawaii that is covered in the orange color, which indicates the possibility of viewing the moon with the naked eye only in perfect conditions. But that is not deemed significant enough to change the date of Eid-ul-Fitr for the entire country. Reports from Saudi Arabia of the moon being sighted on Saturday also contradict this data, illustrating a scientific impossibility of the moon's visibility on Saturday, March 29th.
The following is the map for Sunday, March 30th:
This illustrates that on Sunday, March 30th, the entire country (and most of the world) is covered with red, which means that on Sunday we will all be able to see the moon with the naked eye, InshaAllah.
Thus, humbly submitted, this means Eid is Monday, March 31st, InshaAllah. Please join us at the Portland Rizwan Mosque for Eid prayers on Monday at 10am.