Haml & Fasad: how the Hijri moon shapes your fishing day
"Haml & Fasad" is an old folk calendar used by Gulf and North African fishermen that ties fishing strength to the day of the Hijri lunar month — not the Gregorian date. The science behind it is simple: the moon drives the tide, so tide strength changes with where the moon sits relative to the earth and sun across the lunar month.
Haml: the strong-tide days
"Haml" covers the days around the new moon (start of the month, moon invisible) and the full moon (mid-month, moon fully lit). On these days the sun, moon and earth roughly line up, so their pulls combine — giving a higher high tide and a lower low tide than usual. That means a stronger current and more noticeable water movement, exactly the condition fish feed best in.
Fasad: the weak days
"Fasad" covers the days around the first and last quarter moon (half-moon). Here the moon sits at a 90° angle from the sun relative to earth, so their pulls work against each other instead of combining — the result is a weak, flat tide: a small gap between high and low, meaning weak current and less water movement to trigger feeding.
Why does the moon matter more than the sun?
The moon is far closer to earth than the sun, so even though the sun is millions of times more massive, the moon's pull on the water is about 2.2 times stronger. That's why the moon shapes a fishing day more than almost anything else — and Haml/Fasad are really just names for the exact moments the moon and sun cooperate (Haml) or cancel out (Fasad).
How to use it today
You don't need to calculate it yourself — the "Haml & Fasad" tab in the tool shows the full 30-day Hijri table with the actual tide strength computed for your exact spot (not a rough estimate), and you can nudge the "Hijri offset" if your own sightings run a day off from the calendar. Days marked "big Haml" are the strongest of the month; days marked "Fasad" are best postponed if you can.
The moon is just one factor among others (wind, season, sunrise/sunset) — the tool combines them all into one score so you get the full picture.