The Holy month of Ramadan is all set to commence as soon as the crescent moon makes an appearance tonight.
This year Ramadan will begin from April 13 if the crescent moon appears in the evening of April 12 that is the 30th day of Sha’ban 1442 Hijri. Since Islam follows the lunar or Hijri calendar based on the phases of the moon cycle, unlike the solar or Georgian calendar, it has 354 days. Hence, Ramadan comes early by 10 or 11 days each year.
The moon-sighting committee in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced that the first day of Ramadan will be on April 13, Tuesday after the moon was not sighted on April 11 after Salat-al-Maghrib.
If the moon is sighted today, Ramadan in countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh will fall on the same day as Saudi Arabia. The Wifaq-ul-Ulama in UK has also urged Muslims in Britain to attempt to sight the moon on the evening of Monday.
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims observing Ramadan are supposed to avoid eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. They traditionally gather to break their fast with a date or khajur at iftar.
A time for fasting, worship and charity, Ramadan is also when people typically congregate for prayers, visit mosques, gather around festive meals to break their daylong fast, throng cafes and exchange visits. However, owing to the pandemic, it might be difficult similar to 2020. With restrictions being imposed in India amidst the second wave of coronavirus, it will again be difficult to visit mosques to offer namaz.
Muslims believe that God revealed the first verses of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad during Ramadan. It is also spelled as Ramazan or Ramzan or Ramzaan.
With inputs from PTI.
