Assalaamo Alaikum Brothers and Sisters,
Please take a moment to go through important announcement regards Zakat ul Fitr & Eid ul fitr / moon sighting.
 

Zakat al-Fitr
In consultation with our Imam, the price of Zakat al-Fitr has been set at a minimum of $7 per person. Although the amount must be paid no later than the Eid al-Fitr prayer, the purpose of this donation is to give money to the Muslim poor so that they are able to purchase clothing or food for the day of Eid.  For this reason, it is recommended to make the donation sufficiently in advance of when it is needed.  Due to the Mosque closure, the SMA encourages you make your own arrangements this year. The money does not have to be distributed within our community, it can be given to where it is mostly urgently needed, anywhere in the world.  For those of you that have already sent us their Fitr  Sadaqah and Zakat, we will disburse it on your behalf within the next two days .

Date of Eid al-Fitr
The existing policy of the SMA is to follow the Hilal Committee of Metropolitan Toronto & Vicinity,  for the purpose of moon sighting in our area.  The beginning of Ramadan 1441 for Sarnia was established on this basis. For the sake of consistency, SMA will stay with the current policy for Eid al-Fitr.  The next Meeting of the Hilal Committee of Metropolitan Toronto will be held on 29th Ramadan (Saturday May 23^rd, 2020), to determine the sighting of Hilal for Eid.  SMA will make an announcement once it becomes available later that evening (typically after 9:30 pm).

Moon Sighting
We understand that some in Sarnia may have started Ramadan 2020/1441 a day earlier based on the announcement of a different Hilal committee that was able to make a later sighting on the night of April 23^rd, on the west coast of the United States.  Some of you expressed frustration with us for this inconsistency. This is a recurring difficulty experienced by many Musjid Associations in North America. It is definitely a challenge to balance the differing criteria used by different hilal organizations.  To address this, we will undertake to raise the matter at the next AGM to get the community’s feedback on whether a change in policy is required.  We have also invited Shaykh Ibrahim Memon to join our Imam’s YouTube Tafseer session this Friday at 7pm, to educate us further on this subject. We encourage all to attend online. 
 


JazakAllahu Khairun,

Sarnia Muslim Association