Every year, astronomers publish their calculations declaring when the first day of Ramadan will fall, and every year, those calculations are contested by religious officials who insist that the helal (crescent moon) must be sighted by a human being before the arrival of the Holy Month can officially be declared.

Soon, though, Muslims around the world may see science and tradition teaming up to end the age-old dispute, even while still following the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)’s hadith as told by Abu Hurayra: “Fast when you see it [the new moon] and break your fast when you see it. If it is cloudy, then make Sha’ban complete with thirty days. [Agreed upon]”

How? Last month, Ibrahim El-Enany, a member of the Arab Historians’ Union, announced he was spearheading a project to launch a satellite to monitor the Ramadan crescent, enabling viewers in the four corners of the globe to witness its appearance.

But in the days of old, there was absolutely no debate on the sighting and reporting of the crescent: That task fell squarely (and unquestionably) on the shoulders of Cairo’s Beit El-Qadi (literally: House of the Judge).

According to Mokhtar El-Kassabany, a professor of Islamic antiquities at Cairo University, Beit El-Qadi “played an important role in legitimate issues of concern to the country. During the Mamluk age, Beit El-Qadi in Al-Hussein district was the headquarters for Qadi El-Qodah [Judge of Judges, on par with today’s chief justice of the Higher Constitutional Court]. Similar to the task of Dar El-Ifta now, fiqh (jurisprudence) issues such as the emergence of the Ramadan helal were settled at Beit El-Qadi. Conflicts over matters such as inheritance, marriage, divorce, etc, which are now settled by the Constitutional Court, were also the task of Beit El-Qadi.”

The sighting of the Ramadan helal was an even more memorable day then than now — at least in terms of public spectacle. The Qadi El-Qodah, an army of high-ranking officials in tow, would parade all the way to the Sultan’s quarters to inform him of the sighting. The appearance of the new moon would then be officially declared from Beit El-Qadi, after which a full night of celebrations would follow.

Mohsen Allam The Al-Hussein Mosque is a good starting point to reach Beit El-Qadi.

The Ministry of Culture’s, working through the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA)’s Cairo beautification project, has been working to restore Beit El-Qadi since 2001. Dilapidated, its walls and floors decaying, the building had been annexed by neighboring residents who used it as a mosque and rented out its hawasel (granaries) as storerooms to local shopkeepers. Work on the complex included restoring faded engravings on the walls and ceilings, righting the crooked façade and replacing rotting doors and windows.

The ministry is set to wrap up by the end of Ramadan, at which time it will once again open Beit El-Qadi’s doors to the public.

Swallowed up by nearby attractions including the magnificent Islamic architectural collection of Sultan Qalawun’s edifices, Beit El-Qadi, which lies in the maze between Mash’had Al-Hussein, Khan Ga’far and El-Muizz Li Din Allah streets, is often overlooked by tourists scouring the district’s avenues and alleys for belly dancing outfits, souvenir tarbouches, sibah (prayer beads), galabeyyas and blue knickknacks to ward off the evil eye.

Still, it’s hard to miss the huge stone gate of Beit El-Qadi, with its spectacular semi-circle arch motif. Built during the time of Khedive Ismail Pasha as a house of justice, Beit El-Qadi lies on the same thirteenth-century street that was once home to the Zaher Beibars School, Moheb El-Din’s Hall and Prince Mamay Al-Seifi’s miq’ad (courtyard). Fifteen meters wide and around 100 meters long, the street was first named Sheraa El-Mahkama El-Gedid (New Court Street) and today houses the massive Gamaliyya police station, which was moved from Sheraa Al-Tombakshiyya, as well as the Gamaliyya fire station.

Beit El-Qadi’s miq’ad sports Islamic architectural designs that date back to 1496.

Kate Durham Look for the assay stamp when buying jewelry.

“The miq’ad was an important part of any Muslim’s home during the Middle Ages,” notes Ashraf Ibrahim, an SCA antiquities inspector for the North Cairo area. “Essentially, it is a large, open place usually used as a sitting room for the visitors — men only of course. The miq’ad usually occupies the first floor and faces north, so that visitors can enjoy the cool, fresh air,” adds Ibrahim, who explains that in the middle of Beit El-Qadi’s miq’ad was a miska (a drinking trough for animals), which was removed in 1950.

Off the courtyard are the hawasel, three on the left and only one remaining on the right, each with a rectangular window and iron grates.

Even more breathtaking than the interior is the façade of the miq’ad, which is formed of five pointed okoud (arches) in the shape of a horseshoe and placed on four marble pillars crowned with the lotus flower design. Engraved with a botanic motif, the arches are marked with the emblem of Prince Mamay Al-Seifi.

Through a hallway and up 13 stone steps, visitors reach a staggering 32-meter long, 20-meter high, rectangular terrace complete with stone mastaba (built-in seats). The gorgeous wooden roof comprises a series of hand-painted bars lined with gold, under which lie mokarnasat cornices inscribed with Al-Korsy (The Throne) Qur’anic verse.

Legend has it that there are subterranean vaults running from Beit El-Qadi all the way to the Citadel, where prisoners sentenced to death were jailed and tortured during the Mamluk age. It’s even been rumored that human bones were found during the restoration project, though SCA officials deny the gossip.

In Cairo City Studies, Fathi Hafez El-Hadidi recounts how, after it fell into disrepair in the early nineteenth century, a part of Beit El-Qadi was reconstructed in 1847 and used to house the Administration of Assay and Weights (AAW).

Unlike the Islamic architecture that marks Beit El-Qadi on the same property, the three-floor building is a modern affair with only two small windows overlooking the miq’ad. It is filled with tall, institutional-looking rooms lined up as if they were themselves awaiting inspection. Workshops stuffed with equipment and balances for examining and weighing precious metals are on the ground floor.

“Legally, the AAW is the only authority entitled to stamp precious metals with their carat and details,” explains Major General Ahmed El-Singari, head of the AAW, which inspects and stamps all gold, silver and other precious metals on the market, as well as the nation’s weights and measurement equipment.

Nearly 62 tons of precious metal products are presented yearly to the authority for stamping, but El-Singari says that some 10 percent of that quantity is refused because it does not contain the legally assigned minimum percentage of gold.

Despite the fact that it is just 2.5 by 1 millimeter in size, an AAW stamp contains three parts: the carat, the sign (which designates the type of metal: the crown of Tutankhamun for gold, the lotus flower for silver and the seagull for platinum) and the date and location of approval.

Stamps are manufactured secretly by a small number of companies licensed to produce them internationally. The stamps are changed every year to guard against forgery.

To guarantee complete control over the markets for precious metals, 120 highly qualified experts at the AAW — which has offices in Alexandria, Tanta, Beni Sueif, Qena and soon Hurghada and Sharqiyya — regularly make surprise inspection tours at the nation’s jewelry stores. Testing and analysis operations are not exclusive to precious metals at home, but are also carried out on exported and imported products.

According to El-Singari, his organization is a nonprofit financed by the government to serve the public.

“We are proud of our work, which we inherited from the Ancient Egyptians,” El-Singari says. “The first people to define carats were the Ancient Egyptians, which, up till now, are used by worldwide markets. We follow the rules of Pharaonic law, and out of respect to the Ancient Egyptians, we have chosen the Pharaonic signs to differentiate our precious metals.” et