The Ramadan crescent moon was last night of yesterday 12th April, 2021 sighted in Saudi Arabia, meaning the holy month will officially begin today Tuesday, April 13, according to an official announcement from the Kingdom’s Supreme Court.
The sighting of the moon was confirmed by a team of astronomy observers in Saudi Arabia’s Hautat Sudair, a small village located at an intersection between Riyadh, Sudair, and Qassim, 140 km north of the capital Riyadh.
Muslims follow a lunar calendar consisting of 12 months in a year of 354 or 355 days. Sighting a crescent moon heralds the start of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
Also known as Ramazan or Ramzan, Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is observed by people belonging to the Muslim community around the world.
Considered to be a holy month, devotees fast and pray, and also engage in humanitarian activities good deeds for the poor.
This year, Ramadan begins on April 13, a Tuesday, and ends on May 11, which is a Tuesday. This annual observance is regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam. It lasts between one sighting of the crescent moon and the next. It is said that Ramadan is the commemoration of Prophet Muhammad’s first revelation.
As mentioned earlier, fasting is a must for all adult Muslims, unless someone is sick, is travelling, is having their menstrual cycle, is pregnant, diabetic, or elderly. During this time, the pre-dawn meal is referred to as ‘suhur‘ or ‘sehri‘, and the feast that happens after a fast is broken at night is called ‘iftar‘.
Prophet Muhammed is believed to have received his first Quranic revelation on ‘Laylat al-Qadr‘ — one of five odd-numbered nights that fall during the last ten days of Ramadan.
Eid al-Fitr takes place as the month of Ramadan draws to a close. The date is dependent on the sighting of the new moon. Once the sighting is confirmed, the festival begins.
The month of Ramadan is an exercise in self-restraint and self-discipline. It is observed as a way of coming closer to Allah, to physically and spiritually detoxify by getting rid of impulses and vices.
