Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Ramadan is almost over

Wednesday, 7th August, is the 29th of Ramadan, so the moonsighting committee must go out and look for the new crescent moon.

During the previous Islamic month, I got several calendars saying that, on the 29th of Shaaban, the moonsighting committee would definitely see the hilal, and Ramadan would start on the 9th of July. Then the Sharjah Astronomical Observatory announced that the moon could not be seen on the 8th of July, or on the 7th of August. The moonsighting committee usually announces its findings by 9 pm, but on the 8th of July the committee did not announce its results until almost midnight, when they said the hilal had NOT been seen. The next day, new and improved Ramadan calendars appeared, with Ramadan starting on the 10th of July and ending at sunset on Thursday, the 8th of August, with Eid on Friday the 9th of August.

Farook says we must wait for the Moonsighting committee tomorrow night before we know when Eid will be. I've been told that they will definitely see the hilal, and that they will definitely not see the hilal.

But we'll know tomorrow.

And Muslims must have paid their Zakat before they can make their Eid prayers. So many are rushing to pay their Zakat now.

(Farook has taken me to many Ramadan tents where I've gotten fed iftar and sohour, paid for with Zakat money. Muslims are extremely generous during Ramadan.)