Ramadan 2023: Significance of Moon Sighting and Ramzan Celebrations in India

RAMADAN 2023: The most important month of the Islamic calendar, Ramadan is just around the corner, and Muslims across the world have begun the preparations with full enthusiasm and zeal. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Hijri Calendar or Islamic Calendar and is also called Ramzan. The month-long festival is celebrated by Muslims in every corner of the world by keeping fasts, offering prayers, indulging in humanitarian work and wearing new clothes.

Ramadan, which is considered the most sacred month for Muslims, begins and ends with the sighting of the moon, and then leads to the celebrations of Eid-ul-fitr the very next day. People mark the month of Ramadan by fasting (roza) every day from dawn to dusk.

Ramadan 2023: Start And End Date

This year, Ramadan is expected to start on the evening of March 22, following the moon sighting over Mecca. The holy month of Ramadan is expected to end on April 21, Friday, kick-starting the Eid ul-fitr celebrations on Saturday that is April 22. It must be noted that Umrah, pilgrimage to Mecca, is encouraged throughout the month of Ramadan. Therefore several Muslims might decide to prepare for the pilgrimage to Mecca during this auspicious month.

1. Ramadan Begins: March 22, Wednesday
2. Ramadan Ends: April 21, Friday
3. Laylat al-Qadr: April 17, Monday
4. Eid al-Fitr Start: April 22, Saturday

Significance of moon sighting in Ramadan

The sighting of the crescent moon holds crucial religious significance in Islam. As the moon sighting denotes the start and the end of the sacred month, the religious authorities ahead of Ramadan, look at the night sky to capture a glance of the crescent moon. A tradition which is followed for years in Islam, the moon sighting is extremely crucial, as unlike the Gregorian calendar, the Muslim calendar follows the lunar cycle and is a lunar calendar.

It commences with the birth of the new lunar cycle. While the Hijri calendar has 12 months, they are alternately 30 and 29 days long. Therefore, Ramadan month is preceded by the month of Shaaban. It begins after the sunset of day 29 of the Shaaban month and ends with the beginning of the Shawwal month.

Ramadan Celebrations

1. Throughout Ramadan, Muslims offer prayer to the almighty and observe Roza as a symbol of devotion towards Allah.
2. During this month, followers around the world let go of their worldly pleasures and spend their time praying, reciting the Holy Quran and being around family.
3. The day begins with people waking up in the morning to eat Sehri, and then till sunset they do not eat or drink anything.
4. After sunset, they break their fast with Iftar, which often includes a spread of delicious foods.

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