Ramadan Moon Not Expected to Be Sighted on Thursday

TEHRAN (IQNA) – A member of Iran’s Istihlal (moonsighting) committee said the crescent moon is not expected to be sighted on the evening of Thursday.

Hojat-ol-Islam Alireza Movahednejad told IQNA that experts believe that the moon will not be sighted tomorrow and, therefore, Friday will not be the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.

Friday is most probably the 30^th day of the month of Shaaban and the next day will be the start of Ramadan, he said.

The cleric noted that, nonetheless, expert teams will be dispatched to different parts of the country to do the Istihlal on Thursday.

Istihlal refers to efforts for sighting the new moon that determines the beginning of a new month on the lunar Hijri calendar.

While some Muslim scholars rely on astronomical calculations, in many Muslim countries, including Iran, moon-sighting committees are set up to confirm the start and end of lunar Hijri months, including Ramadan.

In Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset.

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