Ramadan 2021 moon sighting highlights: Saudi Arabia committee announces date
- Ramadan 2021 moon sighting updates: Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court had called on all Muslims in UAE, Qatar and other Arab states to sight the crescent moon for the onset of the Holy month of Ramadan on Sunday evening, Sha’ban 29, 1442 AH, that is April 11, 2021
Islam follows the lunar calendar which has 354 days and like all the other months, the month of Ramadan too is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon which marks the onset of fasting among Muslims across the world. This year Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has called on all Muslims in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and other Arab states to sight the crescent moon for the onset of the Holy month of Ramadan on Sunday evening, Sha’ban 29, 1442 AH, that is April 11, 2021....Read More
The moon sighting committee of Saudi Royal Court met after the evening prayers on Sunday April 11, 2021, that is soon after Salat al Maghrib, to ascertain and confirm the reports of moon sighting. Similar meetings were to be held in Indonesia, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Qatar (Doha), Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Turkey and other countries.
The annual observance of keeping fasts throughout Ramadan is regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam with fasting being the fourth pillar. A fast is called a ‘roza’ which is governed by the idea of practising self-restraint.
The holy month of Ramadan occurs approximately 10-11 days earlier every year depending on when the moon is sighted since lunar months are shorter than solar months and so it varies from country to country by about a day. The whole month is spent by Muslims in spiritual reflection, increased devotion and worship but there are certain obligatory rules and traditions guiding the roza or fasts during these 29 or 30 days on Ramadan.
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- 11 Apr 2021, 10:31:57 PM IST
Saudi's King Salman orders to shorten Taraweeh prayers
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz has ordered to shorten special night prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina to 10 Rakat instead of 20 during Ramadan, reported state news agency.
- 11 Apr 2021, 09:57:10 PM IST
Moon sighting in North America
Wifaq ul Ulama UK said that the new moon conjunction time is at 02:30am UTC on April 12. The body said it could be possible to sight the moon in North America with the naked eye on Monday evening if the atmospheric conditions are perfect.
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- 11 Apr 2021, 09:44:32 PM IST
April 12 will be the last of Sha’ban: Moon sighting committee
The moon sighting committee of Saudi Arabia kingdom said that Monday, April 12, will be the last and 30th day of Sha’ban 1442 Hijri.
- 11 Apr 2021, 09:37:09 PM IST
First day of Ramadan on April 13: Saudi moon sighting committee
The moon sighting committee in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday evening that the first day of Ramadan will be on April 13, Tuesday, reported Gulf News. The committee said that the crescent moon wasn't sighted on Sunday evening and the decision was made accordingly.
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- 11 Apr 2021, 09:29:09 PM IST
West counting the month of Sha’ban a day later than Saudi Arabia
This year, Western countries started counting the month of Sha’ban a day later than Saudi Arabia. The UK has a body of Ulema that takes a call on the start of Ramadan. Wifaq ul Ulama UK has urged Muslims in Britain to attempt to sight the moon on the evening of Monday, April 12.
“Wifaqul Ulama urges Muslims in Britain to attempt to sight the Moon for Ramadhan 1442 on the evening of Monday the 12th of April 2021. This will be the 29th of Shaʿbān 1442”, the body said.
- 11 Apr 2021, 09:01:22 PM IST
What are the chances of Ramadan starting in India and Saudi Arabia on the same day?
If observers in Saudi Arabia couldn't spot the crescent moon on Sunday evening, Ramadan in the Kingdom and other Arab States will start on Tuesday. In such a case, the start date of Ramadan in countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh could overlap with Saudi Arabia if the moon is sighted on April 12 in these Asian nations.
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- 11 Apr 2021, 08:54:33 PM IST
Countries that follow Saudi Arabia’s sighting new moon
The Arab countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE are all expected to follow Saudi Arabia’s sighting of the new moon.
- 11 Apr 2021, 08:27:10 PM IST
Ramadan 2021 start date in India
The Ramadan start date in India depends on the local sighting of the crescent moon, that is usually a day after sighting in Saudi Arabia. Ramadan is likely to start in India from Tuesday, April 13, following moon sighting on Monday, April 12.
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- 11 Apr 2021, 07:24:35 PM IST
Ramadan 2021 start date in Saudi Arabia
If the moon is sighted on April 11, the month of Ramadan and the first day of fasting among Muslims start from the dawn of April 12. The Saudi Supreme Court said, "In the event of not receiving any testimonies about sighting of the Ramadan crescent Sunday, the 30 days of Shaban will be completed on Monday and the fasting month will begin on Tuesday April 13, 2021. This is in line with the tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him)."
- 11 Apr 2021, 07:21:59 PM IST
Saudi Supreme Court requests Muslims to report sighting of the crescent moon
In a request to all Muslims, Saudi Supreme Court said, “Whoever sights the crescent by naked eyes or through binoculars to report to the nearest court and register his testimony, or report to the authority of the region’s center in his area where he sighted the crescent to facilitate his reaching to the nearest court."
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- 11 Apr 2021, 06:36:52 PM IST
Qatar calls on Muslims to sight the crescent for Ramadan on Sunday
In a tweet, Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) in Qatar issued a statement that read, “The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs in Qatar calls on Muslims to sight the crescent for Ramadan on Sunday, the 29th day of Sha’ban 1442 (sic).”