Penanggalan Umm al-Qura> adalah penanggalan resmi Kerajaan Saudi Arabia. Sepanjang sejarahnya, sudah ada empat kriteria yang digunakan, yaitu rukyat hilal (1346 H/1927 M-1369 H/1950 M), tanpa kriteria yang jelas (1370 H/1950 M-1392 H/1973 M), konjungsi sebelum jam 00:00 UT (1393 H/1973 M-1419 H/1999 M), Moonset after Sunset di Mekah (1420 H/1999 M1422 H/2002 M) dan Moonset after Sunset ditambah Konjungsi sebelum Magrib di Mekah (1423 H/2002 M-1436 H/2015 M). Sejak otoritas supervisi penanggalan dipindahkan dari ulama fikih kepada astronom pada tahun 1393 H/1973 M, muncul dikotomi penanggalan sipil dan ibadah. Penanggalan sipil yang ada di bawah otoritas astronom KACST berbasiskan hisab, dan penanggalan ibadah yang ada di bawah otoritas ulama fikih di Majlis al-Qad}a>´ al-A’la> berbasiskan rukyat. Karena ada perbedaan kriteria antara dua otoritas tersebut, maka sering memunculkan problem. Fakta menunjukkan sering terjadi keidaksesuaian antara penanggalan sipil dan penanggalan ibadah, meskipun kriteria penanggalan sipil dianggap oleh Komisi Supervisi Umm al-Qura> sesuai dengan syariat (baca:rukyat). Pada saat bersamaan praktik rukyat di Saudi Arabia sering dianggap kontroversial oleh masyarakat akademis. Sementara itu, Pemerintah Saudi Arabia berkepentingan agar penanggalan Umm al-Qura> menjadi penanggalan Hijriah internasional. Berdasarkan uraian di atas, kajian disertasi ini difokuskan pada masalah (a) dinamika kriteria penanggalan Umm al-Qura> tahun 1346 H/1927 M–1436 H/2015 M, (b) problematika kriteria penanggalan Umm al-Qura>, (c) respons masyarakat akademis terhadap kriteria penanggalan Umm al-Qura>, dan (d) kelebihan dan kekurangan kriteria penanggalan Umm al-Qura> dibandingkan dengan Universal Hejric Calendar (UHC) dan Unified Islamic Calendar (UIC) serta penyebab Saudi Arabia berbeda. Disertasi ini adalah archival research ideografis dengan metode content analysis. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah historis-kualitatif. Semua data dikumpulkan dari anggota Komisi Supervisi Penanggalan Umm al-Qura> dan berbagai sumber yang relevan. Korespondensi dengan informan utama juga dilakukan untuk verifikasi dan pendalaman data. Data-data astronomis Bulan dan Matahari digunakan untuk mempertajam analisis. Temuan disertasi ini ada empat. Pertama, perumusan kriteria penanggalan Umm al-Qura> mengalami dinamika yang cukup intens. Dinamika ini merupakan produk dialog antara (a) kepentingan normatif ulama fikih di Hai’ah Kiba>r al-‘Ulama>´ dan Majlis al-Qad}a>´ al-A’la>, (b) kepentingan ilmiah para astronom di KACST, dan (c) kepentingan modernisasi birokrasi pemerintah. Kedua, kriteria penanggalan Umm al-Qura> menghadapi problematika dalam (a) penentuan bulan Ramadan, Syawal dan Zulhijah yang sering tidak sinkron dengan keputusan Majlis al-Qad}a>´ al-A’la>, (b) inkonsistensi dalam implementasi konsep pergantian tanggal dan hari dan dikotomi penanggalan sipil-ibadah, (c) sruktur logis konsep dasar hilal dan kesahihan rukyat, dan (d) konsep matlak terpusat Mekah dan implementasinya secara global. Ketiga, masyarakat akademis memfokuskan respons mereka pada persoalan (a) landasan normatif, (b) landasan ilmiah, dan (c) kriteria Umm al-Qura> sebagai standar kesahihan kesaksian rukyat. Keempat, kelebihan penanggalan Umm al-Qura> dibanding UHC dan UIC adalah dari aspek sosial-politik. Dari aspek konseptualisasi, ia tidak lebih baik daripada UHC dan UIC. Konsep matlak terpusat di Mekah lebih baik daripada UHC, namun tidak lebih baik daripada UIC. Konsep pergantian tanggal dan hari pada saat Magrib lebih baik daripada UHC dan UIC. Pemerintah Saudi berbeda karena (a) dominasi paradigma ulama fikih yang normatif, (b) cara berpengetahuan masyarakat yang dogmatis-demonstratif sehingga menolak teori visibilitas hilal yang epistemologis-inventif, (c) praktik rukyat tradisional yang normatif menjadi basis sosiokultural pengetahuan tentang visibilitas hilal, dan (d) kriteria wila>dah al-hila>l syar’iyyan dianggap paling sesuai dengan syariat dan kaidah ilmiah.

ABSTRACT:
The Umm al-Qura> calendar is the official calendar of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. There were four criteria have been used in its history, i.e. the actual crescent sighting (1346 H/1927 M-1369 H/1950 M), the uncertain criterion (1370 H/1950 M-1392 H/1973 M), the conjunction before 00:00 UT (1393 H/1973 M-1419 H/1999 M), Moonset after Sunset in Mecca (1420 H/1999 M-1422 H/2002 M), and Moonset after Sunset and conjunction has been occured before Sunset in Mecca (1423 H/2002 M-1436 H/2015 M). Since the supervision of the calendar was moved from the clerical authority to the astronomers in 1393 H/1973 M, it appeared the dichotomy of civil and religious calendar. The civil calendar that was under authority of the astrononomers was based on the astronomical calculation, while the religious calendar that was under the authority of the High Judiciary Council was based on the actual sighting. It often raised a problem for the difference of the criterion used between the two authorities. The facts showed the disharmony often occurred between the civil calendar and the religious one, although the criterion of the civil calendar was considered in accordance with the Syari>’ah (read: actual sighting) by the Supervision Commission of the calendar. At the same time the practices of the crescent sighting in Saudi Arabia were often considered controversial by the academic community. Meanwhile, the Government of Saudi Arabia had a big interest to the calendar to become the international Islamic calendar. Based on the facts above, this research focuses its study on four issues: (a) the dynamics of the Umm al-Qura> criteria formulation since 1346 H/1927 M-1436 H/2015 M, (b) the problematic of the Umm al-Qura> criterion, (c) the response of the academic community to the Umm al-Qura> criterion, and (d) the advantages and disadvantages of the Umm al-Qura> criterion compared with the Universal Hejric Calendar UHC) and Unified Islamic Calendar (UIC), and why the Saudi Arabia was different from others. This research is an ideographic archival research with content analysis. The approach used in this study is the historical-qualitative approach. All data at this research were collected from the members of the Calendar Supervision Commission and other relevant sources. The correspondence with key informants were also conducted to verify and to deepen the data. Astronomical data of the Moon and Sun were also used to get a depth analysis. There are four findings of this dissertation. First, there is a quite intense of dynamics of the formulation of the criteria that caused by the dialogue between (a) the normative interests of the jurists at the Council of Senior Scholars and the High Judiciary Council, (b) the scientific interests of astronomers at KACST, and (c) the modernization interests of the government bureaucracy. Second, the problematic of the criterion occurred in (a) the determination of the first of Ramad}a>n, Syawwa>l and Z|ulh}ijjah that were often in disharmony with the decision of the High Judiciary Council, (b) inconsistencies of the implementation of the concept for starting the day and date and the absurd distinction of the civil calendar-religious dichotomy, (c) the logical structures of the basic concept of the crescent and the sighting validity, and (d) the concept of centralized horizon at Mecca and its implementation globally. Third, the academic community focused their response on the issue of (a) the normative basis, (b) the scientific basis, and (c) the use of the criterion as the standard of sighting testimony validity. Fourth, from the sociopolitical aspects and the concept of starting the date and day at sunset, the Umm al-Qura> calendar stepped ahead and was better than UHC and the UIC. The conceptualization of the criterion was not better than the UHC’s and the UIC’s. The concept of centralized horizon at Mecca was better than the UHC’s but it was worse than the UIC’s. The Saudi Arabia was different from others because (a) the domination of normative paradigm of the jurists and the religious scholars, (b) the way of thinking of the society was dogmatic-demonstrative, thus they rejected all theories of crescent visibility that is epistemological-inventive, (c) the traditional normative sighting became the socio-cultural basis of their knowledge of the crescent visibility, and (d) the wila>dah al-hila>l syar'iyyan criterion was considered as the most appropriate to the Syari>’ah and the scientific principles.