Re-Fretting Gibson Les Paul Custom

I hope you enjoyed reading Part-I of this article: The Purchase Of Gibson Les Paul Custom.

Before we delve into the re-fret job details, let me introduce to you the creator of the legendary Les Paul guitar: Mr Lester William Polfus.

Meet the genius

Known the world over as Les Paul, he was also called “Rhubarb Red” and “the Wizard of Waukesha”. Born on 09 June 1915, he died aged 94 on 12 August 2009.

Les Paul was an exceptionally innovative guitarist with his own TV show in the 1950s (‘Les Paul and Mary Ford at home’) that featured his wife. The couple had over thirty hit songs if not as many children.

He invented equipment and recording techniques that revolutionised music and recording. The prototype electric guitar known as ‘the log’ was made in 1941. Although Gibson’s President, Ted McCarty, rejected the idea of producing a solid-body electric guitar, he succumbed to commercial pressure when Leo Fender’s Broadcaster (later Fender Telecaster) came out in 1948. Gibson released the ‘Gold Top’ Les Paul guitar in 1952. The rest, as they say, is history.

When singer Bing Crosby gave Les Paul a tape-recorder, he got the idea of modifying it by installing another recording head; this scheme became the basis of latter day multi-track recorders. Such a recorder would enable him and his wife to play and sing multiple parts all by themselves—something unimaginable in those days.

Les & Mary with recording gear

His breakthrough recording, Lover, from 1948 proves his genius. And do listen to what Les Paul and Mary Ford did with How High The Moon and The World Is Waiting For Sunrise.

The innovative sound of flanging can be heard on the song Mammy’s Boogie. This kind of sound would later give birth to ‘flanger’ stomp-boxes for guitarists.

In 2005 Les Paul's final recorded album, American Made, World Played, debuted and featured Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Sting and Eric Clapton. It won this veteran two Grammy Awards.

1952 Les Paul 'gold-top' 

Les Paul is the only person to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Mentioning all of Les Paul’s achievements is beyond the scope of this article. My own recording studio’s name, ‘Sound on Sound’, paid homage to Les Paul’s amazing recording techniques and the guitar he created.

Nicknames explained

The Les Paul Custom guitar was named ‘Black Beauty’ because of a solid black body accentuated by white edge-binding. The bound ebony fingerboard and block mother-of-pearl inlays were designed to highlight a player’s hands. It does look like a guitar formally dressed for a ball.

Gibson 400 CES

Compare women with guitars in real life and no matter how hard you try, you will never find a neck, a head and beauty to outdo a Les Paul guitar. While great are the temptations of flesh, the ones produced by exotic woods and gold-plated hardware rate higher.

Steve removing the frets

The reason this guitar was nicknamed the ‘Fretless Wonder’, was because of the ultra-low profile of the frets which enabled fast and furious jazzy playing.

The ‘Custom’ designation of the Gibson Les Paul model meant it borrowed an ornately inlaid headstock from the company’s most expensive model: Super 400 CES.

Almost every guitarist has either owned or played a Les Paul guitar. The list of guitar Romeos who ended up loving the Les Paulian Juliet is quite mind-numbing. Many professionals who ended up endorsing Fender later in life actually played a Les Paul in younger years. Owning this guitar is like owning a piece of history, pedigree and innovation. Cheap copies will never replace the ‘real thing’ no matter how much Coke ones consumes.

The nut removed

To see how a Gibson Les Paul is made, click HERE.

What does Mr Les Paul sound and look like?

Here are recordings worth listening to:

Les Paul LIVE - and magnificent
Les Paul - Greatest Hits

How does one define ‘Black Beauty’?

Look ma, no frets!

Forget makeup and hot dresses; focus instead on the Les Paul’s following features:

• Three-piece maple top, mahogany back with ½” slotted weight relief to deliver classic Les Paul tone and resonance.
• Ebony nitro lacquer finish, multi-ply bindings, pearl block inlays on an ebony board, pearl headstock adornments including the Gibson logo and the famed custom Split Diamond inlay.
• Historic long tendon neck joint and a traditional hide glue neck construction.
• A mahogany neck with Les Paul Custom profile provides players with classic Gibson feel and playability.
• Alnico Super '74 humbuckers, legendary tones (that helped shape the sound of rock 'n' roll in the '70s), a warms and smooth sounding neck pickup, a bridge pickup with plenty of bite and edge for aggressive, screaming leads and solos.



Sanded and ready

• Plastic pick-guard, solid brass gold-plated hardware (including Schaller tuners, an ABR Thumbwheel bridge and a lightweight aluminium stop-bar tailpiece).

Fretting away the moments that make up a dull day

Installing frets

Great as it was, my Les Paul Custom had one serious problem that would not go away: its super-low profile frets produced annoying buzz high up on the fret-board. When sought, expert opinion was firm: ‘individual frets cannot be fixed; all the frets need to be replaced’.

Now, re-fretting is a labour-intensive job best left to an experienced luthier. Considering the high cost of re-fretting, nobody that I know in Pakistan has ever bothered having this operation done; guitarists keep playing over unevenly worn frets.

Frets seated

Since nothing in my life ever gets done without conducting deep research, it was decided that Steve Curtis of Guitar Workshop at Manchester would re-fret my Les Paul; earlier he had satisfactorily fixed a few of my guitars.

After consulting with Steve about the fret-wire’s gauge (the fret’s top width and the height from the fret-board) I looked at various brands of wire such as Jim Dunlop, HOSCO, JESCAR, StewMac. My Les Paul’s original frets were 2.35mm wide at the top.

• Gibson guitars from the late 1950’s used 2.48mm or 2.413mm wide jumbo frets with 0.508mm tangs (which is ‘medium’ by today’s standards).
• 1960’s guitars had 2.54mm width with bigger tangs.



Gold-plated machines

• New Gibson frets are 2.69mm wide and 0.91mm high, whereas the new Les Paul frets are 2.45mm wide.

Traditional nickel-silver frets would cost GBP 160; I chose the extremely long-wearing stainless steel to avoid later repairs due to fret-wear. The job would set me back by GBP 200. Steve initially recommended JESCAR 55090 whose specifications were: 2.28mm wide and 1.40mm high. I finally chose the wider JESCAR FW51108-S (stainless steel).

Steve also gave two more choices: AllParts LT-0482 (width 2.80mm) and HOSCO HF-J1 (2.90mm wide and 1.30mm high); these I found a bit too jumbo for my playing style.

S/N: 190647 - Made in USA

Keeping other options open

Incidentally, HOSCO (catalogue, p.32) suggests that HF-M1 is a good replacement for Gibson guitars (2.40mm).

Note that HF-M3 at 2.62mm is good for Fenders. The latest American Fenders are 2.61mm wide and 1.168mm high ‘medium jumbo’. My Fender Telecaster Modern Player Plus is 2.70mm wide and 1.10mm high ‘medium jumbo’.

Rear of pickup selector

The following brands and their gauges help one get some idea about fret choices:

• StewMac gauge: medium-higher = 2.34mm
• All Parts gauges: Small 2.0-2.2mm, Medium 2.30-2.50mm, jumbo 2.65-2.90mm
• Ibanez guitars use 2.99mm wide/1.47mm high frets

Modern Vs vintage ‘jumbo’ wire

Frequent or hard playing creates indentations over the frets and which require careful filing and polishing to produce perfectly pitched sound. An average player may not even bother but any guitarist with a distinctive ‘style and sound’ will depend on carefully setup guitars.

Pickups cavity

Every few years, professionals will have their guitars dressed or re-fretted. Their guitar technicians or roadies take care of this business. Currently ‘dressing’ of the frets costs GBP 65. The frets may be dressed a few times after which they require replacement. This seldom happens in an average player’s life.

Another important thing worth noting is, yesterday’s jumbo fret-wire is rather narrow by today’s standards. Players today prefer wider crowns and higher tangs in order to play the kinds of styles that were unknown in the past.

Before the operation at Steve's

I selected American JESCAR FW51108-S stainless steel fret-wire (2.75mm wide, 1.30mm high). This was ‘medium jumbo’ gauge, the same used on today’s Fender guitars.

Plain nuts

I had to sacrifice the original bone nut of the guitar. Since an entirely different fret-wire gauge was being installed, the old nut would not allow precise adjustments of intonation and string height.

Red marks on frets indicate BUZZ points

I feared a bleached nut would look as strange as a ‘white’ man walking hand-in-hand with a ‘black’ woman. Earlier, a man-made TUSQ material nut had already been installed by Steve on my Höfner 173ii. With a near-vintage guitar such as my Les Paul Custom, it was best to go nuts with a real unbleached ‘boner’.

Lie down, I think I love you

Electrifying trivia

• The Gibson Les Paul Custom had 500K tone and volume pots until 1973.
• From mid-1973 onward, Gibson switched to 300K tone and volume pots.
• From 1977 to the late 1980s, they had 300K or 100K tone pots and 300K volume pots.
• Les Paul Standard models had from 1990s onward, 300K linear taper and 500K audio taper pots.
• Historic and Custom-Shop models had custom tapers: 0-3 audio taper, 3-7 linear taper, 7-10 audio taper.

Excuse me, while I kiss the sky

As for the capacitor values on my own Les Paul Custom, they are rated 0.22µF.

When was my guitar manufactured?

Although I bought a few serial number books prior to the internet revolution, dating a guitar still is an expert-level job.

• My Les Paul Custom’s serial number is 190647.
• It has ‘Made in USA” stamped behind the headstock.
• The headstock has a volute on its back.
• The mother-of-pearl Gibson logo on has an ‘i’ without a dot which is an important thing for a literary person to note. The ‘o’ and ‘b’ alphabets in the logo are of closed styling.
• The ‘Gibson’ name is not embossed on both the pickups.



Mr Les Paul, please be seated

• Careful research has revealed that my baby was born in June 1972 and which makes her middle-aged and as vintage as great wine.

My Baby's Comin' Home

Taking the guitar out of Pakistan and from England meant carrying a baby that weighed 9 lbs and 9.3 Ounces (4.11 Kg without the hard case). This pain needed to be taken. Email messages went back and forth between Steve and I to remove ambiguities. The man gets full marks for showing patient.

1974 Les Paul Custom Reissue

Steve had my Les Paul all re-fretted and ready at his workshop on a cloudy afternoon on 24th of March 2016. After being re-united with the guitar I breathed heavily down its neck (inspection really) and plugged into an all-valve Mesa-Boogie amplifier at PMT. It sounded absolutely wonderful and felt amazingly easy for bending notes. The GBP220 (Rs 30,000) I spent helped breathe a new soul into an old body.

Steve Curtis giving my Les Paul a final check

Beyond the third fret

Considering the rising cost of production abroad and the constantly devaluing Pakistani currency, any high-end item—be it a Rolex wristwatch or a high-end guitar—goes up in price by an average of 10% per annum. Gibson’s website indicates that the company now has a 1974 Les Paul Custom Re-Issue model retailing for a phenomenal price of $6,699 (Rupees 837,500, with July 2018 conversion rate).

In short, a 6,000 Rupee guitar that nobody within the twin cities of Rawalpindi-Islamabad could afford in 1981 is now worth a small fortune (140-fold increase in price in 37 years). Each year the guitar’s price kept increasing by 38%. Bankers take note.

Playing with a broken arm

If you are a rich Pakistani guitarist, I highly recommend that you get rid of those extra plots in the DHA and buy quality guitars instead.

Related articles and credits

The Purchase Of Gibson Les Paul Custom

Read more about music-related articles HERE

Photographs 7-12 courtesy of Steve Curtis at Guitar Workshop, Manchester, England

Photographs 13-21 and 23 by the writer

©Tahir Gul Hasan, 2017

The Purchase Of Gibson Les Paul Custom

In December of 1980, a friend from Rawalpindi excitedly relayed to me extremely important news: “A foreigner is selling a Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar!"

In those days no worth mentioning music equipment store existed in this ‘Land of the Pure’. One could not walk into the kinds of stores they had in New York or London that sold shiny guitars and powerful amplifiers of all shapes and sizes. All we had here were dilapidated family workshops that manufactured eastern instruments. Hence, young musicians took very seriously all fair-skinned diplomats and sun-tanned hippies who even hinted they were selling their instruments to deprived brown buyers.

Guild D-40

“How much is he asking for the Les Paul?” I enquired.

“Six thousand Rupees, but nobody is willing to pay that much!” he stressed.

Master of the universe

By then I was young and permanently employed, and whatever energy I was left with after work went straight into music. I had by then my first electric guitar, a German Höfner 173ii purchased from John and David Lewis of a band called ‘Just Purple’ who played at the Inter-continental Hotel Lahore in the middle 1970s.

A tall Yamaha TA-90 guitar amplifier graced the corner of my one-room residence in the twin cities of Rawalpindi-Islamabad. I purchased this great piece-of-history from Subuk Majeed of a Karachi-based band named ‘21^st Century’. I then bought an American acoustic guitar, Guild D-40, in 1980 from Manny’s Music on W48th Street.

21st Century (keyboardist Subak Majeed & Yamaha TA-90)

On almost daily basis I penned English lyrics and produced even more English-sounding melodies on the guitar. Writing was like combing my hair; it came naturally and totally lice-free. Only the closest friends got to hear my pop-rock ‘stuff’. I imagined my songs would one day reach the coveted number one spot on the pop charts.

Martial days, civil nights

Those were the unhappy Martial Law years of MIL-DIC (military dictator) General Zeeah Owl-Hawk. He applied no eye makeup, was unfamiliar with how to trim moustaches and had dropped onto the political scene to make an elected Prime Minister drop dead.

Reagan with the 'Mujahideen' (Oval Office 1983)

War was in the air, peace had taken a backseat, Art was being looked down upon, and the Reagan-sponsored militant mullahs were flying high. Citizens who ‘did not listen’ were being publically flogged by the government. Artists contemplated committing mass suicide at the pearly gates of the PTV (Pakistan Television) and Radio Pakistan. I preferred being wild in private than ending up being officially sanitised for being un-Islamic or something close to my true nature. Discotheques had already closed down and the dancers were mere scattered moths. After Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged in 1979, I felt it was silly to dance to martial music played during Pakistan Day and Defence Day parades.

We'll give you democracy. Here!

After work when I returned home, two guitars and an amplifier waited to be played and loved, much like two dotting children and a good wife. They did not beg, “Daddy take me to the playground” or “Honey, take me out for shopping”. They just wished to be played, and play I did for hours.

Being pure man-kind, I was only beginning to discover woman-kind without understanding what the fairy-tale benefits of having a regular wife really were. Looking at men and their wives scared me; they neither seemed to be on speaking terms nor held each other’s hands in public. Because life was good to me, the thought of marrying had not yet gnawed at my brain despite mother’s persistent efforts. Looking at my father, I knew I could be a stronger freedom-fighter than him after marrying. Owning a house was still a few years away but thanks to a disciplinarian and supportive father, I became a proud owner of Pakistan’s favourite car: Toyota Corolla.

The neck designed to turn heads

Spell of the Black Beauty

Back to the story now: the news of ‘a foreigner selling a Gibson guitar’ took me to the bank the very next morning where I asked beautiful Miss Yasmin, “What’s my balance like?” She could not help but smile at the double entendre. I could not be distracted by fair damsels who were not in distress. It was decided that one more guitar, especially a Gibson Les Paul Custom, would not bring financial ruin but rather great joy to this account-holder.

Using a real pen and paper I sought details about the guitar from the seller, Charles David Welch, a Political Officer at the U.S Embassy.

“It’s a Gibson Les Paul from the mid-1970s, black in colour, comes with a hard case and will cost Rupees 6,000”, he replied.

Comin' to getcha

A bit windy in Pindi

The job entitlement entitled me to a free return air-ticket within Pakistan. I called David from the airport. The house-keeper revealed, “Sahib has just left for the airport for a flight to Karachi”. Unbelievable bad luck, I thought.

Since time was of the essence, the airlines counter-staff very kindly obliged me by making an announcement, “Mr. David, please contact the staff”.

Within a few minutes a lean and puzzled American emerged, “Yes? Who's looking for me?”

When I introduced myself, he would not believe I had flown all the way from Karachi just for the guitar. This actually went against me for he knew I wanted the guitar at any cost.

“Tell you what; I’m going off for a day. We could meet tomorrow”, said David.

Charles David Welch

Most men are serious about cars, those like myself are even more serious about guitars. I ended up staying with a friend. Without that guitar, it was like spending a wedding-night without a bride, or so I thought back then.

The next afternoon I called David sahib again. “Sure thing, come on over to my place”, he said giving directions to School Road.

Waiting at the main door, I could hear the man-servant inform sahib about my arrival. Stevie Wonder's song, He’s Misstra Know-It-All, spun over a turntable connected to a powerful amplifier feeding a pair of tall hi-fi speakers. Sipping a drink, I found David in the living room. He placed the guitar case before me. With trembling hands I opened the lid to find over plush-lining, a 1974 model Les Paul asleep like a true ‘Black Beauty’. I touched her, she winked; I smiled and said in my heart, “Baby, you’re mine!”

Les Paul

In 1980, one American dollar was equivalent to ten Pakistani Rupees, the F-ghan Jee-had was in full swing and the Taliban were being fully funded by President Ronald Reagan’s administration. I suspected David played Stevie’s song just to clarify that there would not be any Pakistani-style discount and that ‘$600’ did not mean $599.95. He surely seemed like a ‘man with a plan’ who respected my teetotaller status when I politely refused a ‘drink’.

With six years of guitar playing experience under the belt, I inspected the ‘axe’ like an expert; there appeared to be no visible defect except the price. At precisely 6:45 p.m. on 2nd of March 1981, after parting with money equivalent to two months’ salary, I shot out of the diplomat’s house with Lady Gibson by my side.

Envious little boys

By mid-1981 I was federally entrenched as a capitalist in Islamabad. Good guitarist friends thought my Les Paul Custom was a ‘big deal’ but then there were intensely jealous souls to contend with. When I jammed (played guitar) with the latter, they showed envy by playing louder and faster than I did.

God, give ME a Les Paul

Guitarist Gerard Vanderlowen at the Inter-Continental Hotel Rawalpindi owned a Tiesco (Japanese copy of the Fender Telecaster) and turning over my expensive guitar he asked, “Man, are you sure this is an original Gibson?” Insinuating that the guitar was an illegitimate child was enough to make me fume for weeks.

Then there was this skinny young man called Rohail Hyatt who came over just to look at my 'Black Beauty'; his band, Vital Signs would take five more years to form. The band, for reasons best known to them, have never admitted that I gave a two-bar intro bass lick to bassist Shahzad Hassan while Dil Dil Pakistan (at 00:29) was being created at Rohail’s Lal Kurti residence in Rawalpindi.

1981 to Orwellian 1984

Living in Islamabad I initially formed a band. The drummer, Naveed, for whom I brought a Tama Royal Star drum-kit all the way from Manny’s of New York, had the dangerous habit of holding his breath while drumming until he turned red. A quick pat on his back usually released the tension. We played a few shows at Taxila.

1974 Les Paul Custom Reissue

Then I down-sized to an oddly named duo: ‘Terry Billy Hurt’. We performed at fine restaurants such as Heer Ranjha (Super Market), Black Beard’s (F-7 Market) and Mr Chips. Initially I had Ali, a Bengali guitarist, playing with me but later keyboardist Nusrat Hussein (later with Vital Signs) joined me. I played mostly rhythm guitar in order to sing easily as a frontman but occasionally switched to lead guitar.

By 31^st December 1982, I was using Nady Pro-49 wireless guitar system that allowed me to wow the audience. The lack of a long cable attached to an amplifier reminded them of eastern movies whose non-guitarist heroes never physically plugged into amplifiers.

1974 Les Paul Custom Reissue (black & red)

In those days I had two guitar students who learned more than a thing or two from me. One was Rauf, the son of PPP’s former Minister for Religious Affairs: Maulana Kausar Niazi, popularly known as 'Maulana Whiskey'. The other one was Rizwan-ul-Haq, son of a strict Navy officer, who later joined the pop band Vital Signs. I still have in my record Rizwan’s hand-written and signed application form. Because he gladly paid for the lessons, I have reason to believe he atoned for his boyhood sins by laying eyes on my Les Paul guitar. A quarter of a century later he would show me twenty-five Les Paul guitars at his Islamabad apartment. One can shake off a woman but never a Les Paul.

Money for something and kicks for free

As my job made me move to other cities, the Les Paul moved with me and starred on several studio recordings at my home-studio: Sound on Sound. I actually had the best of both worlds: generous job promotions fattened my bank account and bits of fame gladdened me.

Thanks to the internet, I rediscovered Charles David Welch recently. He finally struck gold. From being Misstra Know-It-All, David became Misstra Do-It-All. After reaching a high office in the U.S State Department under Condoleezza Rice and enjoying postings at key capitals within the Middle East, he resigned his post to work as President of Bechtel's three divisions. In 2000, this company partially owned the water utility in Bolivia. To watch the story of the combined greed of Bechtel and the World Bank, click HERE.

Les Paul playing with all fours

Getting my baby fixed

In the next article I will tell you about the emotional problems my Les Paul Custom guitar later had, how I got her treated by a psychiatrist under a couch, and reveal other confidential details. Until then, keep playing.

Related articles
Read part-II of this article: Re-Fretting Gibson Les Paul Custom
Read more music-related articles HERE

©Tahir Gul Hasan, 2017

Crescent Observation Predictions For Shawwal 1437 AH (2016 AD)

I hope all of you are enjoying the holy month of fasting (Ramadan). While you cleanse your body of toxins, do not ignore getting rid of things that harm your soul.

Special Moon Events in 2016

Super New Moon: 7 Apr
Micro Full Moon: 22 Apr
Super New Moon: 7 May
Blue Moon: 22 May (third Full Moon in a season with four Full Moons)
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse visible in Lahore on 16 Sep – 17 Sep
Black Moon: 30 Oct (second New Moon in single calendar month)
Super Full Moon: 14 Nov

Do it yourself

The accurate data and visibility curves given below will help you cross-check official claims and appreciate the wonders of scientific reality. However, no amount of science can cover the flaws of human observation or compensate for cloud cover. As usual, those who live at extreme geographical locations might find it difficult to look for the crescent.

Through those who had the knowledge of such calculations, the last messenger of Allah and his companions could have simply announced the starts and beginnings of Islamic months but instead they preferred VISUAL sighting of the crescent (hilal) so that there remained no doubt in any believer's mind.

A few years ago when I spoke with religious scholar Javed Ahmad Ghamidi over the phone, he opined: "There was absolutely no need to form committees since a sighting report from any part of the world should suffice as evidence. The Muslims should not celebrate Eid on different dates".

There are two problems Muslims face today:

1. For determining various prayer timings, countries have varying descriptions of sunrise and sunset (with reference to the number of degrees the sun is below the horizon).
2. Countries do not have consensus on the idea that if the crescent is sighted anywhere over Earth, will its sighting be acceptable to the entire Muslim ummah? For example, will crescent sighting in the southern latitudes (Australia) be acceptable to Muslims in Europe and America considering the vast time zone differences? It is clear, the difference in dates could be one or perhaps two days but never three days (as it sometimes happens in Indonesia).

It is an astronomical impossibility to report the moon's conjunction (birth) as 'sighted' in Arabia when nobody else on Earth has seen it.

Data and visibility curves

Let us first focus on Jeddah (Arabia) and Peshawar (Pakistan). Each year, Peshawar reports seeing the crescent by ignoring its own horizon and follows the distant Arabian one. Traditionally, Afghanistan follows Arabia when it comes to lunar affairs.

Then we have the data and visibility curves for Karachi, Lahore and London. From the coloured legend (bottom right hand side of the graphics) you will be able to easily see if your location falls within one of the visibility curves on a given date. Click on any image to see its enlarged version for 4th and 5th July 2016.

Lunar calendar

The lunar calendar will always remain a necessity for determining occasions such as Ramadan, Hajj (pilgrimage at Makkah) and the two Eid festivals.

The onus of responsibility clearly falls on those who falsely report crescent sightings or believe aged observers and outright liars. This institutional wrong means that Muslims get wrong dates for performing the Hajj, starting the holy month of Ramadan (fasting) and celebrating Eid festivals.

The idea behind writing about lunar astronomy is to help one look with precision at the sky and to appreciate the inner workings of God's System (Nature). Astronomy must be studied by each Muslim, as was done during the zenith of Muslim rule.

Observation matters need not be left to the experts with telescopes; even novices can enjoy watching the sky in order to fulfil God’s Will and the sunnah (practices of Prophet Muhammad, peace on him).

Muslim unity and the moon

A simultaneous global sighting of the crescent is an astronomical impossibility due to the moon’s eccentric rotation and orbital behaviour. Hence, celebrating Eid on a single day across a huge land mass (USA, China, India) is not a religious requirement but rather an idea propounded by the religious globalists.

It has now become a fitna (trial, tribulation), frequently leading to disagreements and discord that serves to divide Muslims further on non-issues. We need to first agree on how many degrees below the horizon must the sun be for Fajr, Maghrib and Isha' prayers. Why must so many different criteria exist?

A few important points need to be borne in mind for 04 July 2016 at Lahore:

1. The birth of the new moon (conjunction) will take place at 11:01 UTC (16:01 Pakistan Standard Time) during the day.
2. Sunset at Lahore will take place at 19:11 LT, and the moon will set at 18:58 LT (or 00:13 minutes BEFORE sunset).
3. During the bright sunlight, it will be impossible to sight the crescent as its location will be below the horizon (at -2°18').
4. The Shawwal crescent will be only 03 hours and 10 minutes old at sunset. Hence, it will be invisible even if viewed with a telescope.
5. The crescent will be seen on 05 July, therefore in Pakistan, Eid al-Fitr should fall on 06 July 2016—unless someone in the Rooyat-e-Hilal Committee of Pakistani errs or the Riyals blind us completely.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

04 July 2016 visibility curves (notice Arabia in RED )

Jeddah, ARABIA (Monday, 04 July, 2016)

Sunset:  19:11 LT
Moonset: 19:08 LT
Moon Age:  05 hours, 10 minutes
Moon Lag Time: - 03 minutes (moonset BEFORE set)
Moon Altitude (height above horizon): -00°:38':54" (negative angle)
Moon Azimuth (compass direction): +289°:52':46"
Distance: 372,680 Km
Crescent Visibility: The crescent will NOT BE VISIBLE even with binoculars.

On Tuesday 05 July 2016, the moon (at sunset) will be 00:45 minutes old and the time lag between sunset and moon-set will be a comfortable 00:50 minutes. The crescent will easily be visible with naked eyes, hence Eid will be on Wednesday 06 July. And the best time to observe the crescent on 05 July is: 19:33 LT.

04 July 2016 visibility curves (notice Arabia in RED )

Picture of the sky (notice moon under the sun on top right)

The Saudi Supreme Court confirmed there will be 30 days of Ramadan this year meaning Tuesday will be the last day of Ramadan. as the moon was not sighted on July 4 (Monday). Eid al-Fitr will be on July 6, 2016 (Wednesday). Currently, out of 116 countries, 41 appear to be following Arabia's crescent so-called sighting reports which are based on a published calendar called the Ummul Qura System. Just because the calendar shows (without actual sighing of the crescent) Eid al-Fitr falling on 6 July, must not mean that the entire world must blindly follow it.

Peshawar, PAKISTAN (Monday, 04 July, 2016)

Sunset: 19:29 LT
Moonset: 19:14 LT
Moon Age: 3 hours, 28 minutes
Moon Lag Time: -14 minutes (moonset BEFORE sunset) 
Moon Altitude (height above horizon): -02°:24':09" (below the horizon)
Moon Azimuth (compass direction): +293°:58':45"
Distance: 372,408 Km
Crescent Visibility: The crescent will NOT BE VISIBLE even with binoculars (but then who knows!).
However, the best time to observe the crescent on 05 July is 19:45 LT, when a 27 hours 44 minutes old crescent will be 4° above the horizon in a direction of 287°:30':09". It should be visible either with naked eyes or with binoculars.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Karachi, Pakistan (Tuesday, 05 July, 2016)
Sunset: 19:25 LT
Moonset: 20:09 LT
Moon Age: 27 hours, 43 minutes
Moon Lag Time: 00:44 minutes
Moon Altitude (height above horizon): +05°:20':05"
Moon Azimuth (compass direction): +286°:04':24"
Distance: 376,687 Km
Crescent Visibility: The crescent will be VISIBLE with or without binoculars. Best time to observe the crescent is 19:44 LT.

05 July 2016 visibility curves (notice overall GREEN)

Lahore, PAKISTAN (Tuesday, 05 July, 2016)

Sunset: 19:11 LT
Moonset: 19:50 LT
Moon Age: 27 hours, 27 minutes
Moon Lag Time: 00:39 minutes
Moon Altitude (height above horizon): +04°:25':37"
Moon Azimuth (compass direction): +287°:03':09"
Distance: 376,635 Km
Crescent Visibility: The crescent will be VISIBLE with or without binoculars. Best time to observe the crescent is 19:28 LT.

LATEST NEWS at 9:30 pm (05 July, 2016)

Despite my best efforts with binoculars in hand over the roof, I could NOT sight the crescent this evening. The Rooyat-e-Hilal committee, after cross-checking of sighting reports and the credentials of witnesses, finally declared that the 'crescent was sighted'.
Elsewhere on the internet, members of crescent sighting committees did not sight the crescent themselves yet filed others' reports. How can this be admissible evidence of sighting?

Why cannot the members of the Rooyat-e-Hilal committee have reliable witnesses spread all over Pakistan? Why must observers take so long to report their findings when the moon has already set? Why is there so much delay in announcing the official results? Are people too busy with iftaar and prayers and which prevent them making timely reports? These are questions that need to be answered during talk-shows on national television.

05 July 2016 visibility curves (notice overall GREEN)

London, United Kingdom (Tuesday, 05 July, 2016)

Sunset: 20:21 LT
Moonset: 20:46 LT
Moon Age:  33 hours, 31 minutes
Moon Lag Time: 00:25 minutes
Moon Altitude (height above horizon): +01°:48':23" (very low)
Moon Azimuth (compass direction): +294°:19':29"
Distance: 377,820 Km
Crescent Visibility: Visible only with binoculors. Best time to observe the crescent is 20:32 LT.

And finally

I thank Allah and remain indebted to my astronomer friends whose accurate predictive software programmes and research have lit up my path of lunar astronomy.

I welcome your questions and comments on this important subject, and hope that you will attempt to not only understand what I have provided here but also help others understand matters for their own good. If you would like prediction data for your location, please email me at: writersblocktgh.gmail.com

Once you wish to be guided by taking a few essential steps in the direction, Allah's Promise will come true: you will be protected and guided.

They will ask thee about the new moons. Say: "They indicate the periods for [various doings of] mankind, including the pilgrimage." (Qur’an 2:189)

Have a lovely Eid al-Fitr.

Acknowledgement
The two brightly coloured curve-graphs were copied from http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/
The picture of the sky comes from http://www.moongiant.com/
©Tahir Gul Hasan, 2016