NEW MOON BIRTH = NEW MONTH ?

NEW MOON BIRTH = NEW MONTH ?

Since old history people, all over earth, knew seasons by sun movements and months by moon movements.  It was up there for all to observe and see.  Reflect on what God says, "He is who made the sun lightning and the moon a light, and determined it by phases, so that you know the number of years and accounting" (هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاء وَالْقَمَرَ نُوراً وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ مَا خَلَقَ اللّهُ ذَلِكَ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ يُفَصِّلُ الآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ).  Indeed, Astronomy science since old civilizations, was progressing with calculation of the sun and moon movements, however such specialized learning was scattered in few cities, not commonly available.  In early times of Islam, given that most Arabs were illiterate -- the commonly used method of determining month cycles, was simply by sighting the moon.  You find this is the common religious practice (sunnah) since the earliest Muslim generation, and also in genuine hadith reports (in Muwatta Malik and other later books). 

Throughout the 15 centuries of Muslim generations, you find the issue of utilizing Astronomy calculations vs. eye sighting pops up every now and then, but always traditional scholars dismissed calculations as unlegit.  Partly because they viewed sighting as if specified not only as a method but as the only method, besides the generally had attitude conflict with science people. 

In our modern times, given it's common knowledge now that science can calculations exactly the movements of the sun and the moon at any time -- religious scholars could no longer dismiss it.  They incorporated it, but in twisted ways.  They used calculations not to define new month, but to determine when moon can be sighted.  Therefore you typically find Muslim countries go by a fuzzy mix of sighting with calculation.  So practically you don't know till the last night.  That is not calculations.

Ironically the Quran in many places mentions the sun and the moon with calculations.  Point is: sighting or calculations are just methods to know the new month, they are means not ends.  Science can determine exactly when a new moon is born (relative to any locality on earth).  But when people link that to whatever it can be sighted or not, it becomes fuzzy opinions (there is time since birth, angle, glare ...).

Bottomline: new moon birth is exact, while sightability is a fuzzy process.  If both sighting and calculations are methods, why not use the exact method available?  You actually use calculations for prayer times, you don't go out to sight the sun phases.  I think it can be as simple and exact as new moon means new month, period.

You can check exact new moon times, for your city, here https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/

هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاء وَالْقَمَرَ نُوراً وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُواْ عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ مَا خَلَقَ اللّهُ ذَلِكَ إِلاَّ بِالْحَقِّ يُفَصِّلُ الآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ

I recall almost 20 years ago I read a treatise by Shaykh Ahmed Shakir (if you are into studying islamic stuff, you know this man was a giant of scholarship), in the 1st half of 20th century, making the case for going by calculations of new moon birth by local of Makkah. Simple, sound fiqh, exact science. Well, no chance in our backward mentality.

Read it, it is short 30 pages, you can see it here https://ar.islamway.net/book/18012/أوائل-الشهور-العربية-هل-يجوز-شرعا-إثباتها-بالحساب-الفل