The UAE Moon-sighting committee is to meet on Tuesday, February 17, at 6pm for the sighting of the Ramadan crescent.
The committee will meet at Qasr Al Hosn in Abu Dhabi, under the chairmanship of Sheikh Abdullah bin Sheikh Mahfouz bin Bayyah, chairman of the Emirates Fatwa Council.
The committee invited residents and citizens to take part. If a new crescent moon is seen, Ramadan will be declared to begin on Wednesday. If a new moon is not seen, Ramadan will be declared on Thursday.
The Muslim calendar is determined by Moon phases, making each month last either 29 or 30 days. Islamic years last, on average, between 354 and 355 days. Anyone who sights the Moon is asked to contact 02 777 4647.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic – or Hijri – lunar calendar, because it is believed to be the month in which the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset every day of the month.
As well as abstaining from food and drink, Ramadan is a time when Muslims strengthen their faith through prayer and increased recitation of the Quran. Piety increases further during the last 10 days when Laylat Al Qadr is thought to fall. That night is believed to be when the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.
It is traditionally celebrated on the 27th night of Ramadan, but its exact date is unknown. The rewards for acts of faith carried out on this night are said to be more than those for 1,000 months of worship.
