November 2, 2005 (Wednesday):

Dr. Shabbir Ahmed, (MCW member) Imam of Rooty Hill Mosque, Sydney, Australia: Not Seen
The Hilaal of SHAWWAAL (EID UL FITR) 1426 has not been sighted on Wednesday 2nd November 2005 anywhere in Australia, therefore moon-sighting committee of Australia and Majlis ul Ulamaa of Australia have declared that the month of SHAWWAAL will start from Friday 4th November 2005. And Eid ul Fitr will be celebrated on Friday 4th November 2005.

Ali Said Al Sumry, (MCW member), IT Manager, Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, Muscat - Oman: Not Seen
On Nov 2, Wednesday, a team of 3 astronomers from Diwan & Sultan Qaboos Univesity with portable telescopes (mead 10" & 12") and 2 other Muslim brothers, arranged three telescopes in three different locations, Jabal Shams (3000M hight) Jabal Haarim, and a ground location. Where I was, there were about 15 Muslims who tried to see the moon from Jabal shams through a 14" telescope. We did not see any moon.

Hussain Khushaish (MCW member) from Kuwait: Not Seen
In Kuwait on Wednesday 2 Nov 2005 I & a group of 91 persons could not see the crescent even with 20*60 binocular. The western horizon was clear except from a layer of haze to 4 ~5 degrees up from the horizon which made the sun disappear 2~3 minutes before its local sunset. The moon lag was 5 minutes & 0.75 deg altitude.

Bankih Kacem, (MCW member) from Beni Isguen, Ghardaïa, Algeria: Not Seen
The Shawwal 1426 crescent was not seen on Nov 2, from Merkich station in Beni Isguen. More than 70 persones have tried to observe the crescent but it was not seen.

Yusuf Yearwood from West London: Not Seen
Non-Sighting. It is raining intermittently and there is complete cloud cover here In Acton, West London. There is no chance of any sighting from this location, masha'Allah. Some of the UK will have Eid tomorrow after counting 30 days from Tuesday 4 October. Some who started on Wednesday will still break tomorrow. The rest of us will celebrate on Friday, Insha'Allah.

Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti (MCW member) from Oxford, UK: Not Seen
Negative sighting. At the end of the 29th day of of the preceeding lunar month (Wednesday, 2nd November) at the usual moonsighting site, the two of us could not sight the new crescent. We came well before Maghrib and came prepared to have Iftar. The horizon was partly cloudy. Although the moon set before Maghrib by 11 minutes and it was definitely below the horizon, we nevertheless attempted the sighting in order to perform the religious obligation [ta'abbud] of going out to spot the moon on laylat al-ru'ya. By the time of Isha', we receive news from Morocco that professional observers there could not sight the moon ['adam thubut] in spite of clear skies and that the Qadi Offices there has declared that they will be completing [istikmal] 30 days for the holy month of Ramadan. Therefore, by following Morocco, the 1st day of Shawwal in the UK should be on Friday the 4th of November.

Rashid Motala (MCW member) from Signal Hills, S. Africa: Not Seen
The Hilaal for Shawwal was not sighted in South Africa this evening, inspite of the fact that large crowds of people were looking for it in various parts of the country. Eid-ul-Fitr in SA will be on Friday (30 days of Ramadaan). Al-Hamdulillah, we did not have any false sightings reported.

Dr Abdurrazak Ebrahim (MCW member) from Signal Hill (Cape Town): Not Seen
The Shawwaal Hilaal was not sighted anywhere in Southern Africa this Wednesday [2/11/2005] evening. Therefore the Holy Month of Ramadaan has been extended to 30 days. The official first day of Shawwaal [Eid-ul Fitr] will correspond with Friday, 4 November 2005. At my sighting location Three Anchor Bay in Cape Town there were about 7000 people present and we performed a massed Maghrib Salaah. The sun set behind a thick band of cloud cover approximately 1 degree above the sea level horizon. Above this cloud layer was clear blue sky. I tried sighting the crescent with binoculars [10x50] but was unsuccessful.

Muhammed Yasin Qamardeen (MCW member), Ilorin, Nigeria: Not Seen
Today, Wednesday, 2 November, 2005, I with two other members of lajinatul hilal tried to see the moon after sunset time of 18:12 {but clouds cover the horizon}, and we could not see it even with binocular{ 10*25}. Meanwhile the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in Nigeria had declared on Tuesday night that the Shawwal crescent was sighted at Yola, Maiduguri and Sokoto, so Eld was marked officially on Wednesday, 2 Nov 2005.

Jourdain Derick Cornwall, from Port of Spain, Trinidad: Not Seen
On Nov 2, no observations were possible due to poor weather conditions.

Kahiam Hosein for Darul Uloom T&T, from Trinidad: Not Seen
The Darul Uloom Trinidad and Tobago is the main Moonsighting coordinating body within Trinidad and Tobago and several Islands of the Carribean. Fifteen subcommittees within Trinidad and Tobago as well as corresponding committees in Barbados, Grenada and Guyana has reported to us that the moon to commence the month of Shawwaal and for Eid was NOT SIGHTED AFTER SUNSET ON WEDNESDAY 2ND NOVEMBER 2005. There was also a cluster of dark clouds on the western horizon. Therefore Thursday 3rd Nov will be the 30th day of fasting in Ramadaan and Friday 4th would be the day of Eid ul Fitr.

Riyaad Siddique, (MCW member) from Georgetown, Guyana: Not Seen
We have coordinated moonsighting for the region here in Guyana and have received no reports of a moonsighting tonight (Nov 2) from the countries of the Hemisphere, including South America. The Central Moonsighting Committee of Guyana has announced that Friday is Eid.

Zaheer Hussain from Somerville, NJ: Not Seen
Looked for moon in Somerville, NJ between 5:20 - 5:25 pm. No success. My relative, Bashir Qureshi, looked at the same time in Bridgewater, NJ with no success.

Javad Torabinejad (MCW member) from Blacksburg, VA: Not Seen
This evening Wednesday (2nd of November), I tried sighting the moon in Blacksburg, VA, with no success. The sky condition was very good (no clouds and little haze). We arrived at the sighting site at sunset (around 5:23 local time) and stayed till 5:45, well past moonset (5:35). On arrival, using a pair of 7X50 binoculars, I scanned the Western horizon and was unable to see the moon.

AbdurRahmaan Abu Abdullaah (MCW member) from Columbia, SC: (Not) Seen
On Wednesday, 02 November 2005, Time: 17:25 – 17:50 EST, Location: Columbia, South Carolina, at Lake Murray on the Saluda Dam with an unobstructed view of the western horizon, Weather Conditions: Perfect! A completely cloudless sky on all horizons, cool, low humidity, and no haze.

Two obervers used Nikon OceanPro 7x50 7.2° CF WP compass binoculars, tripod, 35mm SLR using Fuji Film 100 w/ 75-300mm Zoom f5.6 to get a compass reading on top of sun as it set. Result: 256°. Using the difference in azimuth values above (circa 10°), subtracted 10° from compass reading to get a compass reference for the still non-visible hilal: 246°. Using this compass bearing I was able to locate a landmark on the distant horizon, a cell-phone tower on the other side of the lake, completely non-visible without the binoculars or 300mm camera lens. Using the landmarks relative to the calculated position of the Moon at sunset, I shot 48 frames of film at various focal lengths, centered on various headings between the computed azimuth of the moon and the sighted setting of the sun from sunset until after the time of the calculated moonset. To ensure optimum detection of even a faint hilal, each change in shot placement was done with 3 different exposure settings: +0, +1, and +2 while in aperture priority mode (lens was stopped down to the smallest aperture). My fellow observer scanned the area, I operated the SLR on the tripod. I was also observing using the SLR as a telescope when setting the focal length to 300mm for the telephoto shots. We saw a beautifully clear, orange sky without a trace of crescent moon.

Muhammad Hafiz (MCW member) from Pembroke Pines, Florida reporetd: Not Seen
I tried to observe the Hilaal on Wednesday, 2nd November, 2005 after sunset from Pembroke Pines, Florida, USA. No Hilaal was observed despite clear skies.

HiMY SYeD (MCW member) from Toronto, Canada: Not Seen
Tonight, Nov 2, I looked for the moon from just outside the front door of Masjid Toronto, I was looking westward straight down Dundas avenue in the spot where the new crescent moon would normally be expected to be seen. I did not see it.

I then biked to King's College Circle in the centre of the University of Toronto, St. George campus. The lack of tall buildings from that north east vantage point should allow anyone to easily see the new moon. Again I did not see it.

Lastly a few minutes ago ( 6:52 pm EST ), I searched for the new moon from near the intersection of Bloor and Spadina in downtown Toronto's Annex neighbourhood. Three strikes, no crescent sighted, it looks like taraweeh tonight and a Friday Eid al Fitr.

Paul Burnham (MCW member) from Chino Valley, Arizona: Not Seen
To no one's surprise, the crescent moon was not observed from Chino Valley, Arizona this evening of November 2. From sunset on, the plotted moon track was obscured by cloud until sighting was possible in a 1/2 to 2 degree zone on the horizon. Through this slot, nothing was seen although several distant illuminated contrails were very clear, albeit distorted by atmospheric turbulence. We'll try again tomorrow.

Gary Peterson (MCW member) from Mesa Arizona: Not Seen
I looked for the moon just after sunset but did not see it and I didn't expect to see it since it set only 20 minutes after the sun set. The angle of the ecliptic to the horizon is narrow at this time of year and the moon was also well south of the ecliptic which makes it even harder to see.

Gulamabbas A. Khakoo (MCW member) from Long Beach, CA: Not Seen
Unable to sight the crescent this evening of Wednesday, Nov. 2nd, 2005 from Long beach, California. Sunset 4:58pm, tried with binoculars till 5:45pm. Slight thin cloud at the sighting area. Insha-Allah I will try again tomorrow Thursday, Nov. 3rd.

Nasseam Elkarra from San Francisco, CA: Not Seen
My father and I went to Fort Funston at the San Francisco coastline. Rain was expected today but it did not rain. There were some clouds in the sky but it was clear near the horizon. We searched to the left of the location where the sun set but did not see anything with our eyes or binoculars. It was too bright and the moon set too quickly after the sun set making it impossible to see.

This is the visibility curve for Thursday evening, 3 Nov 2005.

November 3, 2005 (Thursday):

Salah Sukkarieh from Sydney, Australia: Seen
We sighted the new moon today at 7:55pm Sydney time. The weather was cloudy but we managed to take a few photos between the cloud cover.

Mohamad ibnu Maleki (MCW member) from Johore Bahru, Malaysia: Seen
I, Zainal Abiden ibnu Hani with my other friends about 14 person from Johor Bahru also went to see the Syawwal Hilal at Tanjung Keling, Melaka and see it clearly with naked eyes. Our friends about 16 person went to see the Hilal of Syawwal at Pontian on Thursday, November 3th, 2005. The sky is cloudy and we see the hilal with our naked eyes above the darker side of the horizone and difficult to see . Our other friends about 9 person see the Hilal of Syawwal at Johore Bahru and Muar. Although the Malaysian government announced that yesterday ( Thursday, November 3th) is the 1st of Syawwal even hilal not seen but we should stick to the ru'yah not the calendar . We celebrate Eidul Fitri on Friday, November 4th 2005.

Kalim, from Karachi, Pakistan : Seen
Moon has been sighted in on Nov 3. It was clear and all across Karachi and well on time. (EID UL FITR) 1426 will on 04 Nov 2005, Friday.

G. A. Vakil (MCW member) from Dubai, UAE: Seen
We saw the moon at the beach at 5:55 to 6:00 pm Dubai time. The horizon was cloudy and darker, the crescent was barely visible above The darker side of the horizone.

Hussain Khushaish (MCW member) from Kuwait: Seen
In Kuwait on Thursday 3 Nov 2005 I could see the crescent only with 20*60 binocular in the following order; sun disappeared from sight at 16:57 (because of black haze at the last 4 degrees above horizon. Local sunset at 17:00. Moon first seen with bino at 17:13. Last seen with bino at 17:24. Our local moonset at 17:47.

Mushtaq Rashid from Hodeidah, Yemen: Seen
Today 3rd Nov 2005, my daughter then myself and my son sighted the Shawaal Crescent at 05:55pm. Sunset today was at 05:39pm. It was very thin and the points were upper at 2 and lower at 8.

Javad Torabinejad (MCW member) from Blacksburg, VA: Seen
This evening Thursday (3rd of November), we sighted the moon at 5:35 p.m.. The sunset was at 5:22 and the western horizon was partly cloudy. The moon's horns were pointing at 1:30 and 6:00/6:30 O'Clock.

AbdurRahmaan Abu Abdullaah (MCW member) from Columbia, SC: Seen
On Thursday, 03 November 2005, Time: 17:45 – 18:00 EST, Location: Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina, at an observation point with a good view of the western horizon (Latitude: 35° 39.373m N, Latitude: 82° 27.377m W, Elevation: 3506 ft.), Weather Conditions: Arid, medium elevation in a mountainous region with some sparse distant stratocumulus clouds illuminated by the sunset.

At 17:45 EST we (5 observers) stopped an observation point along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic route through the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, with numerous observation points for tourists to enjoy the breathtaking views of Allaah’s creation. It was shortly after sunset, so we decided to try to spend a few minutes trying to sight the hilal before praying Salaat-ul-Maghrib, but nothing could be seen initially. At around 17:50 EST (23:50 GMT) it appeared out of nowhere, a beautifully crisp, thin crescent with horns pointing to the left, away from the sunset (7-1 o’clock orientation). We were all astonished at how thin it was since various websites had reported alleged “sightings” the evening before. We all saw it and commented on how it was such a typical “first-day” hilal, as we believed the ISNA report from the previous evening. We beheld its beauty for a good 10 minutes before praying.

During our observation, I received a phone call from my observation partner from Nov. 2, Mounir, in Columbia, SC. He gave me a live report of the same hilal we were watching, yet he was observing it from our Saluda Dam observation location on Lake Murray in South Carolina. Mounir also commented on how thin it appeared, and stated that it couldn’t possibly be a “second-day” hilal.

Ruth Jeffery (MCW member) from Houston TX: Seen
On November 3 at approximately 5:36 p.m. the new moon sliver was sighted in both Houston and Tomball, Texas, quite small and low on the horizon.

Hadi Jaafar (MCW member), Ph.D. from Fort Collins, Colorado: Seen
Pease find attached a photo of Shawwal moon I just took here in Fort Collins at around 5:15 P.M this evening of November 3rd, 2005. The moon was somewhere between south west and west south west (didn't need my binoculars that have an in-built compass). I first sighted the moon at 5:09 P.M. easily with the naked eye. It disappeared below the mountains shortly after that.

Paul Burnham (MCW member) from Chino Valley, Arizona: Seen
I am pleased to report that the crescent moon was sighted this evening (Nov. 3) from Chino Valley, Arizona. Initial sighting was by naked eye at 1737 MST, followed immediately by binocular observation and confirmation. The crescent extended from approximately the 1 o'clock position to the six o'clock position referenced to the horizon. The crescent was then followed visually and with binoculars, until the northern cusp vanished behind the ridge line at 18:26:49 Per WWV time signal. Conditions were very clear and only a slight reddening of the crescent was evident as it neared the horizon. All this good fortune and as a bonus three planets were visible, especially Mercury in the same binocular field as the moon.

Gulamabbas A. Khakoo (MCW member) from Long Beach, CA: Seen
Sighted the crescent for the month of Shawwal here in Long Beach, California. local time 5:15pm on Thursday, November 3, 2005. It was an easy sighting with naked eye. The top of the horn was just after 12:00 o'clock and bottom of the horn was just after 7:00 o'clock on the left side of the sunset.