Muslims around the world are gearing up for the holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin on either March 23 or 24 in Pakistan, according to calculations based on the sighting of the crescent of the eighth Islamic month.
The Ruet-e-Hilal committee, chaired by Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, convened in the Federal capital to sight the crescent and predict the start date of Ramadan, which falls one month after the sighting of the moon of the holy month of Shaban. However, the exact start date may vary by one or two days.
Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, Dr Abdullah Al-Massand, a former professor of astronomy at Al-Qassim University and deputy chairman of the Meteorological Society, has also forecasted that the first day of Ramadan is likely to be observed on March 23.
Dr Massand noted that the crescent of the moon will be visible for just nine minutes after sunset on the 29th of Shaban, indicating that the holy month of Shaban will have 30 days. He explained that the convergence of the sun and the moon will take place on the evening of March 21 at 8:23pm, leading to the first day of Ramadan on March 23.
Similarly, Ibrahim Al-Jarwan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Astronomy Society, has also predicted that the first day of Ramadan is likely to fall on March 23, with Eid ul Fitr on April 21.