Rabat – Saudi Arabia could not sight the crescent moon today, so the holy month of Ramadan will begin Thursday for the nation that holds Islam’s holiest sites.
The Saudi Arabia Moon-sighting Committee convened on Tuesday night, after the Saudi Minister of Justice, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Badi issued a resolution earlier in the day.
Saudi Arabia was expected to implement specialized infrared digital cameras to document the new lunar year Tuesday. But officials
The moon-sighting tradition follows the words of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), who said: “Do not fast until you see it [the crescent] and do not break the fast until you see it, and if it is covered then complete the month.”
The announcement comes after Australia, Malaysia, and Indonesia have said they will begin Ramadan on Thursday.
The lack of a Saudi moon-sighting may prove disproves Al-Ifrani’s previous prediction that all Muslim countries would begin the Ramadan fast on the same day.
The moon has not yet been officially sighted in Morocco, following the predictions of Moroccan astronomers Abdelaziz Kharbouch Al-Ifrani and Dr. Hicham El Issaoui, who declared that the Ramadan fast will begin on May 17, after the moon-sighting on the night of May 16.
Following the beginning of Ramadan, Eid al-Adha will fall on August 21, and the first day of the Islamic year, Fatih-Muharram, 1440, will be on September 10.
El Issaoui predicted that the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Mawlid al-Nabi al-Sharif, will be celebrated on Monday, November 19.
Last year, Ramadan began in Saudi Arabia on May 26. Each year, Ramadan shifts forward by approximately 11 days.
