The moon sighting committee of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia (KSA) announced on Wednesday that the first fast of the month of Ramzan will be on Thursday, March 23, while Taraweeh will begin on March 22, after Isha prayers.
The crescent moon, which marks the beginning of the holy month of Ramzan 1444 AH (Anno Hegirae in Latin or “in the year of the Hijra”), has been sighted in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening.
Therefore, Wednesday was the last and 30th day of Shaban 1444 Hijri.
The Ramzan crescent was observed using a CCD camera at Taif observatory. It was observed across the Kingdom in all observatories including Sudair and Tumair.
On Tuesday, Saudi Al-Ekhbariya channel reported, “It was not possible to see the crescent of the month of Ramzan today in the observatories of Tabuk, Tamir and Sudair.”
It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court on Sunday, March 19, has called on all Muslims in all parts of the Kingdom to investigate the sighting of the crescent of the month of Ramadan 1443 this Friday evening.
List of countries that follow Saudi Arabia’s moon sighting announcement
| 1 | United Arab Emirates (UAE) |
| 2 | Bahrain |
| 3 | Kuwait |
| 4 | Qatar |
| 5 | Syria |
| 6 | Palestine |
| 7 | Egypt |
| 8 | Yemen |
| 9 | Lebanon |
| 10 | Sudan |
| 11 | Somalia |
| 12 | Iraq |
| 13 | Turkey |
| 14 | Tunisia |
| 15 | Djibouti |
| 16 | Libya |
| 17 | United Kingdom (UK) |
| 18 | Philippines |
On the other hand, Eid-ul-Fitr, marks the end of the month-long fast. Eid ul Fitr is expected to begin on Friday, April 21, 2022. Eid holidays will be from Ramzan 29 until Shawwal 3 – based on the Islamic calendar.
The exact date of the start of Eid-ul-fitr will be confirmed closer to the date, based on the moon-sighting tradition.
In Islam, Ramzan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and the holy month of fasting. It begins and ends with the appearance of the crescent moon.
Ramzan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar and is believed to be the month during which the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad.
Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, and abstain from food and drink during this period.
