Ramadan 2021 Moon Announcement: The holy month of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia will begin on Tuesday, April 13, according to an official announcement on Monday.
“Tuesday, April 13, is the first of Ramadan for the year 1442H,” the Supreme Court was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Saudi royal court.
Similar announcement by respective religious authorities have also been made in UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey.
09:00 pm (Makkah Time): Following a meeting on Sunday, corresponding to Sha'ban 29 1442H, the Supreme Court said that it had not received any evidence of the crescent sighting in the evening.
The Supreme Court said it would hold another session on Monday evening, and issue a decision on the start of Muslim fasting month.
08:30 pm (Makkah Time): Qatar Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs has removed the Tweet saying Tuesday is the first of day Ramadan and put out a new tweet saying they will re-examine the sighting of the crescent moon of Ramadan tomorrow i.e. Monday April 12, 2021.
The Moon Sighting Committee of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Qatar had earlier announced that crescent moon was not sighted today. The committee later removed the tweet.
This followed soon after Saudi media reported that the new moon is not spotted in the Kingdom Sunday. Hence the first day of Ramadan will be Tuesday April 13, 2021.
Media reports notwithstanding, Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia is yet to confirm the first day of Ramadan. Sources said a meeting is undewray and the official announcement could be made any moment.
07:00 pm (Makkah Time): The new moon to pronounce the start of Ramadan from Monday is not spotted in Saudi Aarabia, local media reports said.
It is therefore can be said that Ramadan this year will start on Tuesday April 13, 2021. Official confirmation by the Saudi Royal Court is still awaited.
05:30 pm (Makkah Time) The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia will meet today i.e. Sunday April 11, 2021 at around 07:00 pm (Makkah Time) to decide the first day of Ramadan.
The Saudi Royal Court will meet today soon after Salat al Maghrib (06:39 pm). The official announcement by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and other Arab states will follow soon after.
Meanwhile, Muslims in India, Pakistan, UK, Singapore and other countries will decide Tuesday April 12, 2021 the first day of Ramadan in these countries.
12:45 pm (Makkah Time): Saudi Royal Court is scheduled to meet today i.e. Sunday April 11, 2021 soon after Salat al Maghrib to ascertain and confirm the reports of moon sighting.
Similar meetings have also been planned in UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Qatar (Doha), Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Turker and other countries in the Middle East.
09:30 am (Makkah Time): Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey and states in the Middle East will decide and confirm today i.e. Sunday April 11, 2021 the start date of Ramadan 2021 - the Holy Month of Fasting.
A new month in the Islamic Calendar begins with sighting of the crescent – the new moon, on the 29th day of an on-going month.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia has issued appeals to all Muslims in the Kingdom and around to sight the crescent, the Ramadan Moon today i.e. Sunday April 11, 2021 corresponding to 29th Sha'ban 1442H.
Besides the Saudi Royal Court, appeals to sight the Ramadan 2021 moon have also been issued by ministeries and moon sighting departments in United Arab Emirate (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, Palestine, Muscat, Egypt, Turkey and other Middle East states.
In a request to all Muslims, Saudi Supreme Court said:
“Whoever sights the crescent by naked eyes or through binoculars to report to the nearest court and register his testimony, or report to the authority of the region’s center in his area where he sighted the crescent to facilitate his reaching to the nearest court."
The Moon Sighting Committee of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Qatar and Ministry of Religious Affairs UAE also appealed to the people in Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and around to sight the Ramadan 2021 moon today i.e. Sunday April 11, 2021.
If the moon is sighted on 29th, the new month starts the next day. Otherwise, the next day is counted as the 30th day of the on-going month and the next day is the first day of the new month.
"In the event of not receiving any testimonies about sighting of the Ramadan crescent Sunday, the 30 days of Shaban will be completed on Monday and the fasting month will begin on Tuesday April 13, 2021. This is in line with the tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him)", the Saudi Supreme Court said.
Announcements about the moon sighting by the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Supreme Court are usually made after Maghrib prayer after receiving and confirming evidences of moon sightings from different parts of the countries.
The Arab states including Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are all expected to follow Saudi Arabia’s sighting of the new moon.
Other countries have independent sightings. But Indonesia, Lebanon, Morocco and Syria are also likely to begin fasting with Saudi Arabia while countries further east and west will commence as the moon is sighted.
On the other hand, Muslims in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and other South Asian countries will sight the moon on Monday April 12. If the new moon is sighted on Monday, Ramadan in these countries will start from Tuesday April 13, 2021. Else, the holy month in the South Asian countries will start from Wednesday April 14, 2021.
Most of the observers in Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries based on their calculations are of the view that Ramadan in the Kingdom and other Arab States will start on Tuesday April 13, 2021.
Hence, if the moon is sighted in India or Pakistan on Monday April 12, Muslims in South Asia will get the rare chance of beginning the holy month of fasting with fellow Muslims in the Middle East and other parts of the world.
Most of the countries in other parts of the world including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and France rely on moon sighting reports of Saudi Arabia. This year however they started counting the month of Sha'ban a day later than Saudi Arabia.
The UK has a body of Ulema that decides the start of Ramadan and also takes a call on Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha. Accordingly, Wifaq ul Ulama UK will meet Monday 29th of Sha'ban 1442H to decide the start of Ramadan in London and other parts of Britain.
"Wifaqul Ulama urges Muslims in Britain to attempt to sight the Moon for Ramadhan 1442 on the evening of Monday the 12th of April 2021. This will be the 29th of Shaʿbān 1442", the body said.
Muslims in Singapore, New Zealand, Auatralia and nearby countries where Sun sets first will also decide on Monday 29th of Sha'ban when Ramadan will begin in these countries.
All these speculations and views notwithstanding, the sighting of the new moon on 29th of month is established tradition of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him).
Hence Muslims would and should rely only on sighting of the new moon to start Ramadan and other months in the Islamic Calendar.
The Holy Month of fasting Ramadan for the second consecutive year is falling amid the Coronavirus outbreak. It means like the previous year, this year too Muslims will observe the holy month amid restrictions and night curfews.
Like previous few years, Ramadan in 2021 too will share the hot summer when temperature reaches a maximum of 44-48 degrees in the Indian subcontinent and a maximum of 48-55 degrees in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. This is also the period when the days are longest.
Muslims around the world observe fast and refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk during the 30 days of Ramadan. Since the days are longest in this season, Muslims fast from 17 hours in some region to as many as 23 hours in some others.
Fasting during the month of Ramadan is one of the five tenants of Islam and is compulsory on every adult men and women. It is not mandatory on children. Yet a huge majority of children observe fast along with their parents and other family members despite scorching heat.
Ramadan is also known as the month of Quran and also as the month of charity. Hence, while observing dawn to dusk fast, Muslims all over the world recite Quran. Special prayers called as Taraweeh are also organized in mosques. Taraweeh is performed in addition to the daily prayers of five times. Millions of rupees are also donated during the month of Ramadan which is later used for different charity works and feeding poor.
Umrah is another hallmark feature of Ramadan. However, due to coronavirus outbreak, Saudi Arabia has imposed travel ban and suspended all international flights. Hence foreign travellers will not be able to perform Umrah during the Ramadan for the second consecutive year. Local Muslims will however be allowed to perform Umrah if they are vaccinated and have obtained the Umrah permit from the concerned authorities.
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