Historiography of Imkan ar-Ru'yah Thought Sayid Uthman bin Yahya

Abstract

The difference in determining the beginning of the lunar month is still a matter in society whether to use hisab or ru'yah, therefore the government has proposed the concept of imkan ar-ru'yah in order to unite the rukyat and hisab schools of thought. The criteria for imkan ar-ru'yah in question are when the Hilal is at an altitude of 3 degrees and an elongation of 6.4 degrees. This criterion is very different from the criteria for Imkan ar-ru'yah of Sayid Utsman, a classical Indonesian falak scholar. Utsman said that the Hilal can only be seen when it has a minimum altitude of 7 degrees. From here there is a gap between the imkan ar-ru'yah that applies now and the criteria for imkan ar-ru'yah proposed by Sayid Utsman. This article discusses how the criteria for Imkan ar-ru'yah of Sayid Utsman were valid at that time and the relevance of Sayid Utsman's thoughts on imkan ar-ru'yah in the present day. This paper refers to qualitative data collected using documentation methods to determine the criteria for imkan ar-ru'yah of Sayid Utsman at his time and the relevance of the criteria for imkan ar-ru'yah of Sayid Utsman at the present time. It was found that according to Sayid Utsman Imkan ar-ru'yah is at a height of 7 degrees under certain conditions and sometimes even reaches 8 degrees, using the hakiki takribi calculation system to determine the position of the Hilal. This calculation system has high accuracy and is applied by the wider community at that time, but if brought to the present day, this calculation system has been replaced by a more accurate hisab system, namely the contemporary hakiki.