Muharram 1448 Moon Sighting in India, Bangladesh Today
The Hilal Committees across India and Bangladesh have urged fellow Muslims to sight the New Moon or Crescent of Muharram 1448 today i.e. Tuesday 29th of Dhul Hijjah, corresponding to June 16, 2026, to confirm the start of the New Islamic Year
Muharram 1448 Moon Announcement Live Updates: The Hilal Committees across India and Bangladesh have urged fellow Muslims to sight the New Moon or Crescent of Muharram ul Haram 1448 today i.e. Tuesday 29th of Dhul Hijjah, corresponding to June 16, 2026, to confirm the start of the New Islamic Year 1448.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and other Arab countries have already confirmed the beginning of the Holy Month of Muharram ul Haram and the Islamic New Year 1448H from today i.e. Tuesday June 16, 2026. The decision was taken after the Saudi Royal Court and religious authorities in other Arab countries received multiple reports of Moon Sighting Monday.
On the other hand, Pakistan, Indonesia and some other countries have said the Holy Month of Muharram in these countries will commence from Wednesday June 17, 2026. The decision was taken after the religious authorities in these countries failed to receive the report of Moon Sighting Monday.
Muharram Moon Sighting in India, Bangladesh
In India, Bangladesh and other South Asian countries, except Pakistan and Afghanistan, today is 29th of Dhul Hijjah. This is because Pakistan and Afghanistan had started the month of Dhul Hijjah a day in advance.
Accordingly, Muslims in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka will sight the New Moon of Muharram 1448H today. If the New Moon is sighted today then the Holy Month of Muharram ul Haram 1448H and the new Islamic Year will begin in these countries from Wednesday June 17, 2026.
Also, in the event of the New Moon sighting today, Youm e Ashura 2026 will be observed on Friday June 26, 2026.
If the New Moon is not sighted today then Muslims in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal will count Wednesday June 17 as the 30th day of Dhul Hijjah, and start the Holy Month of Muharram and New Islamic Year on Thursday June 18, 2026 and observe Ashura on Saturday June 27, 2026.
Hence, Muslims in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Patna and other cities of India, along with Dhaka in Bangladesh and Kathmandu in Nepal have been urged to sight the New Moon today and report to their zonal hilal committees so that the start of the Hijri New Year is confirmed.
Islamic Calendar History
The Islamic Calendar was established 1447 years ago by Omar ibn Khattab (RA), the second Caliph and a close companion of Prophet Muhammad. Before that Muslims in their respective provinces, following the Arab tradition of the time, were counting the days and months – with sighting of the new moon and counting the days thereafter without following any particular calendar or dating system.
After the Islamic State spread to new areas beyond the Arab land, the limitation in the system began to surface and the need for a better and accurate calendar was felt.
"The Caliph, the Supreme Head of the Islamic State, was used to issue all the Guidelines and Pronouncements to the Governors of various Islamic Provinces from Madinah. Things were actually working fine", Rehnuma, a student of Islamic studies, explains.
"But confusion arose when contradictory orders started reaching far away provinces at the same time. Since these orders were not carrying any date, it became very difficult for the Governors to find out which one of the orders was the latest and supposed to be followed with", she adds.
To overcome the confusion, Caliph Omar finally decided to introduce the Islamic Calendar and asked the people for their opinions and suggestions on the matter.
Ashura, other events associated with Muharram
Consequently, various historical events, including the year when Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was born, the year of the Prophethood, the time of Migration and the time when the Prophet had died, were proposed by the people.
"However unanimity surfaced for the year that coincided with the migration of the Prophet (peace be upon him) from Makkah as the commencing year of the Islamic Calendar. For, it was the migration of Prophet Mohammad (Peace be Upon Him) from Makkah to Madinah that had resulted Islam nurturing into the new heights and spreading to the whole Arab lands, and also to the surrounding States", Rehnuma says quoting from the history.
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"Moreover, Moharram al-Haram was also associated with many historical events and the month has always been considered as one among the four most respected and sacred months since centuries. These features only added strength to the selection of Moharram al-Haram as the first month of the Islamic calendar", she added.
Youm e Ahsura coincides with 10th of Muharram. This is the day when Prophet Moses (Peace be upon him) was liberated from Pharaoh. The day is also remembered for the Sahadah of Hadhrat Hussain (R. A.) - the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
The Islamic Calendar thus introduced and adopted 1447 years ago, soon became popular, and also became part and partial of the calendars in every Muslim household.
Meanwhile, India has announced 10th of Muharram ul Haram as the Public Holiday, Muslims in Bangldaesh will get a two-day holiday on 9th and 10th of Muharram.
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