An-Nadzir congregation of Gowa to commemorate eid al-fitr earlier

Gowa, S Sulawesi (Antaranews Sulsel) - Hundreds of members of the An-Nadzir congregation, living in Mawang Village, Bontomarannu Sub-district, Gowa District, South Sulawesi Province, performed the Eid al-Fitr prayer on Thursday.

"We have set one Shawwal (the tenth month of the lunar Islamic calendar) today based on the peak tide observation. Actually, the end of Ramadan was on Wednesday, but due to the peak observation and reports of posts from Kolaka, Palopo, to Batam, all the An-Nadzir pilgrims decided that it was Lebaran today," An-Nadzir spokesperson Ustad Lukman A. Bakti noted here on Thursday.

According to Bakti, the results of observations are derived through the method of reckoning and "rukyat," which is determining the date by sighting the moon. Moonrise was recorded at around 1 p.m. local time, so we observe the moon to determine the shift of the month from Ramadan to Shawwal.

Since three days before the end of Ramadan, the sea tide and movement of the moon continued to be observed, and the outcome showed that Thursday is the end of Ramadan after the deliberation on the isbat, or determination, session.

"Initially, it was forecast to be on Wednesday, but based on the observations of the moon and tide when viewing the line using a thin cloth, it was very clear that we had entered the Shawwal month," he explained.

During a religious lecture, Bakti firmly denied the way Islamic radicalism is viewed as the doctrine of terrorism. However, his side agreed that Islam has never promoted terrorism, and the great Prophet Muhammad Saw never preached it.

"The Islamic state is a safe country, but it receives other religions since we have Pancasila as a unifying force of the nation," he stated.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Religion Affairs plans to hold a trial isbat determination of Eid al-Fitr 2018 on Thursday afternoon.

This trial isbat is the final stage of the determination of 1 Shawwal 1439 Hijriah after the monitoring of "hilal," or crescent, and "rukyatul hilal," or the criterion for determining the beginning of the month or calendar of Hijriyah by observing the crescent.

Based on the results of rukyatul hilal and data calculation of the initial hilal position, Shawwal will be discussed at the trial isbat for the determination of the start of the Shawwal month.

Earlier, the Naqsabandiyah congregation had also performed the Eid al-Fitr prayer on Wednesday (June 13) in various regions of Indonesia. This is based on the method of Hisab Munjid, which is a 30-day count since the start of fasting and has been used for generations.