The crescent moon has been sighted in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Ramadhān 1445 will begin tonight with taraweeh prayers after Isha.
Usually, the crescent of Ramadan is first sighted in Saudi Arabia and some parts of India along with some Western countries and then usually a day later in the rest of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries. The crescent moon of Ramadan 2024 is expected to be sighted in some parts of the world tonight i.e. March 10, 2024 with Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, US and Australia gearing up to mark the first fast of Ramadan 2024 tomorrow on Monday, March 11.
Ramadan is the ninth month of Islamic calendar that takes place for 720 hours i.e. four weeks and two days during which the followers of Islam fast between dawn and sunset, pray for peace and guidance, give back to the community in the form of charity or zakaat or engage in humanitarian activities such as feeding the underprivileged and introspect to enlighten their souls. However, the fasting date changes yearly because the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar cycle hence, its starting and end date depends upon the sighting of the crescent moon.
As per the reports, the central and zonal Ruet-e-Hilal committees for sighting Ramadan-moon sighting in Pakistan will be held in Peshawar on Monday, March 11, 2024.
The UAE has declared Monday as the first day of Ramadan 2024 after the country’s moon-sighting committee was able to spot the crescent moon on Sunday, March 10, 2024.
Oman’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs (MERA) stated, “The Main Committee for Moon Sighting has met this evening. The committee has not received any evidence of sighting the crescent. Therefore, it announces that Monday (11 March 2024) will mark the end of Sha’ban 1445 AH, and Tuesday (12 March 2024) will mark the beginning of the Holy Month of Ramadan 1445 AH.” The Oman News Agency reported, “The day after tomorrow (Tuesday) is the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan of the year 1445 AH, due to the lack of confirmation of sighting of the crescent of the holy month this evening.”
