As is tradition, Muslims in Malaysia were glued to their TVs yesterday (10 March) to wait for the official announcement by the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad on the first day of Ramadan in our country.
Accordingly, Syed Danial announced that Muslims in Malaysia will start fasting on Tuesday (12 March), as per the moon sighting for the start of Ramadan done at 29 locations nationwide.
Keeper of the rulers’ seal tan sri syed danial syed ahmad
With that in mind, did you know that while Indonesia sets 1 Ramadan on the same day as Malaysia tomorrow, some parts of the country, especially in its Special Region of Yogyakarta, have already started fasting today?
As reported by CNN Indonesia, followers of the Muhammadiyah organisation set the holy month of Ramadan as beginning today, while the Indonesian government set 1 Ramadan as tomorrow. In fact, both have different dates for the start of Ramadan and Syawal almost every year.
Well, did you know that Malaysia also faced the same conundrum previously, whereby before 1982, some states in our country started Ramadan earlier than the rest of Malaysia?
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It was not until a special ruling on 14 October 1982 that our country standardised the starting dates of Ramadan, Syawal and other important Islamic Hijri Calendar dates for the whole of Malaysia.
Here’s everything you need to know:
How the first day of Ramadan is determined
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Before we delve any further, it’s important to establish how the first day of a new month in the Hijri calendar is determined.
While the Gregorian calendar uses the solar cycle, the Hijri calendar is determined by the lunar cycle, with days within a month varying from 29 to 30 days.
Furthermore, the start of a new month must coincide with a new lunar cycle or the ‘birth’ of a new moon. In Islamic Jurisprudence, there are 2 schools of thought on this, either a traditionalist or a modernist approach.
Many Muslim scholars believe that a new month begins when the crescent-shaped new moon can be seen by the naked eye. That’s why on the night when the new moon is expected, Falaq Syarie (Islamic astronomy) committees will observe the hilal (the crescent moon), but even a cloudy night might affect this method.
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Therefore, in Malaysia, we adopt the rukyah (the sighting of the new moon with the eye after sunset) and hisab (astronomical calculations) in determining the beginning of a new month in the Islamic calendar, known as imkannur rukyah (possibility of sighting).
Both methods, which combine the sunnah (exemplary customs and conducts of the Prophet Muhammad) and scientific calculations have been implemented in our country since 1992.
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However, prior to 1992, especially during the 1970s, the best method to determine the first day of Ramadan was a matter of debate among Muslim Scholars in Malaysia after there was a suggestion to move from the rukyah to the rukyah together with the hisab.
In lieu of the above, a special report by Utusan Malaysia (a web archive which can be viewed here) detailed how confusion as to when the actual dates for 1 Ramadan caused the lack of uniformity between Southeast Asian countries and even states in Malaysia.
Why the date for 1 Ramadan can be different for different Malaysian states before 1982
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One of the reasons why it was possible for the start of Ramadan to vary for different states in Malaysia previously was because Islamic affairs are under the purview of each State.
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Luqman Mazlan, partner at Kuala Lumpur-based law firm ADIL Legal, elaborated that Article 3 of the Federal Constitution prescribed Islam as the religion of the Federation and that every state except Melaka, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak would have their respective Ruler as the Head of the religion of Islam.
Article 3(2) of the Federal Constitution is as follows:
Moreover, Article 3(3) of the Federal Constitution prescribed for the Constitutions of the states of Melaka, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak to confer the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Head of the religion of Islam in the state. Article 3(5) then established the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Head of the religion of Islam in the Federal Territories.
Luqman added that the Federal Constitution further established Islamic Laws as being under the purview of the State as per “List II — State List” of the Ninth Schedule. Hence, given that determining the dates for the Hijri calendar is also part of Islamic religious affairs, the authority to do so is vested with the state Ruler.
The consensus of the Conference of Rulers which standardised the starting date of Ramadan
The conference of rulers in 1982
With all of that established, Malaysia finally standardised the starting date of Ramadan for the whole country thanks to the consensus of the Conference of Rulers.
During the 92nd meeting of the Conference on 15 and 16 March 1972 chaired by Sultan Pahang Sultan Abu Bakar Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mu’adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Al-mutasim Billah Abdullah at the Istana Negara, the Malay rulers reached a consensus that the dates for the start of Ramadan, Hari Raya Aidilfitri (1 Syawal) and Hari Raya Aidiladha (10 Dzul Hijjah) to encompass the whole of Malaysia.
According to the official website of the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal, the first-ever national observation of the crescent-shaped new moon in determining the start of Ramadan was held on 7 October 1972 in Teluk Kemang, Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan.
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However, the implementation of this consensus faced a hiccup in 1983 when both Perak and Johor determined the start of Ramadan and Syawal to be one day earlier than other states in Malaysia. Nevertheless, as such never happened again after 1983, with all of the important Hijri dates being uniform across Malaysia.
This was thanks to another decision made by the Conference of Rulers at its 125th meeting on the 13 and 14 October 1982 at the Istana Negara that was chaired by Sultan Kedah Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah ibni Al-marhum Sultan Badlishah.
Tan sri syed danial syed ahmad
According to a BERNAMA interview with the current Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal Tan Sri Syed Danial Syed Ahmad in 2014, the Malay rulers reached a consensus for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to decide on the respective dates so that they could be standardised for the whole of Malaysia.
Commenting on the legal aspect of this consensus, Luqman asserted that this was in line with Article 38(2)(b) of the Federal Constitution below:
In the BERNAMA interview, Syed Danial said that since 1983, the dates for the start of Ramadan have been standardised and announced by the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal on RTM, including the one done by Syed Danial himself yesterday.
So, what do you guys think of the history behind Malaysia standardising the start of Ramadan for the whole country? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Also read: 11 Muslim M’sians Share Methods That Help Them Get Through Fasting During the Month of Ramadan
