Saudis Urged to Try to Sight Ramadan’s Crescent Moon Sunday
The Saudi International Astronomy Center has said the sighting of the moon either with naked eye or with telescopes would not be possible in Arab and Muslim countries on Sunday, March 10.
Nonetheless, the high court called on people to begin Istihlal on Sunday, Sabaq news website reported.
It said the lunar Hijri month of Shaaban began on February 11, and so it is possible that March 10 would be the last day of Shaaban and this could be confirmed if the crescent moon of Ramadan is observed on the evening of Sunday.
It called on people to inform regional courts or the nearest Istihlal center if they manage to sight the crescent on Sunday.
Defying the Saudi International Astronomy Center’s calculations, a number of Saudi experts have predicted that the crescent moon of Ramadan could be sighted on Sunday, albeit with difficulty, and therefore, Monday will be the first day of Ramadan.
They have also predicted that April 10 will be the first day of Shawwal, which marks Eid al-Fitr.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community.
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At the end of Ramadan, when the month of Shawwal beings, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr.
Some religious scholars rely on astronomical calculations to determine the beginning of lunar months while most of them believe visual sighting of the moon should be used in this case.
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