UAE moon-sighting committee to meet virtually on Thursday

The UAE’s moon-sighting committee will meet virtually on Thursday, April 23, after the Maghreb prayer, official news agency WAM reported.

The committee, under the chairmanship of the minister of Justice Sultan bin Saeed Al Badi Al Dhaheri, will announce the start of Ramadan.

The Sharia courts across the country will follow up and inform the committee of any sightings, the report said.

The Lunar Calendar Committee at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department will also continue collecting evidence and inform the moon-sighting committee with their findings.

On Tuesday, the Saudi Supreme Court also called on all Muslims to sight the crescent of the holy month of Ramadan on Thursday evening.

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The holy month of Ramadan is expected to begin on Friday, April 24, an astronomer in the UAE has predicted.

The crescent moon of Ramadan will be “born on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 6.26am”, Ibrahim Al Jarwan, member of the Arab union for astronomy and Space sciences told local Arabic daily Emarat Al Youm.

That will make the moon visible to the human eye at sunset on April 23, with fasting set to begin the following day.

Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, is a time when Muslims across the world fast from sunrise to sunset.

The end of Ramadan, when the new moon is sighted, marks Eid Al Fitr – the start of the Shawwal month.

The month of Ramadan is anticipated to last for 30 days this year, with the first day of Eid Al Fitr expected to fall on Sunday, May 24, according to Al Jarwan.