Ramadan is the month of mercy, forgiveness, and liberation from hellfire. It is also the month of joy for the hearts of Muslims and believers who await its advent every year around the world with eagerness and longing, because of the general goodness, blessed nights, numbered days of purity, and the satisfaction and forgiveness of God Almighty, who says: رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۖ وَمَنْ كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۗ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ﴾.
And the Prophet Muhammad, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, says, “By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the smell from the mouth of a fasting person is better with God on the Day of Resurrection than the smell of musk, and the fasting person has two joys: when he breaks his fast, he is happy with his fast, and when he meets his Lord, he is happy with his fasting.”
Therefore, it is not surprising that Muslims in all parts of the world await the advent of the holy month with longing, desire and faith, and ask when it will start, and on what day it will be.
Investigating the crescent of Ramadan and determining its first days astronomically
It is astronomically expected that the blessed month of Ramadan for this year 2023 will begin on Thursday, March 23, provided that the crescent of the month will be sighted after sunset on Tuesday, Shaaban 29 1444 AH, corresponding to March 21, 2023.
According to astronomical research, the moon will set before the sun in all countries of the region, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates, Jordan and Egypt, making it almost impossible to see.
Accordingly, it is expected that the majority of Arab countries will announce on Wednesday, March 22, the completion of Sha`ban, and on Thursday, March 23, the first day of the blessed month of Ramadan, according to the Arab Weather website.
The astronomical calculations of the Egyptian National Institute for Astronomical and Geophysical Research also showed that the date of the month of Ramadan 1444 AH will coincide with Thursday, March 23, 2023. And the institute added that it is possible that the crescent of the month of Ramadan will be born immediately after the conjunction occurred at exactly 7:24 pm Cairo local time on Tuesday 29 Shaaban 1444 AH corresponding to March 21, 2023, which is the day of the vision, according to what several Egyptian newspapers quoted from the institute.
The Egyptian National Institute for Astronomical Research expects that the first Ramadan 1444 AH will fall on Thursday, March 23, 2023 (Shutterstock)
How to locate the crescent of Ramadan
The Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “Fast when you see it, break your fast when you see it, and be silent for it.
This means that seeing the crescent from two just witnesses proves it, and this saying is also transmitted from Ibn Shihab Al-Zuhri, as well as Malik, Al-Layth and Al-Awzai.
There is another opinion adopted by a number of scholars, which is the “al-iftifadah” in the vision, which means the sighting of the crescent by a large group of people who are usually impossible to conspire to lie.
Nowadays, with the advancement of science and monitoring methods, a return is often made to accurate astronomical studies and observations to investigate the crescent, and to determine the first days of the holy month of Ramadan and the day of Eid al-Fitr.
Although astronomical calculations often correspond to the legal vision, the final and official word for the start of the month of fasting 1444 AH, or the Hijri months, is according to what the fatwa houses and official authorities in the Arab and Islamic world announce based on what the legal vision results in.
Many Islamic countries are investigating the sighting of the crescent of Ramadan on the last day of the month of Sha'ban (Getty Images)
Seeing the crescent of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the most important countries in the Arab world due to the presence of the Grand Mosque in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, and the Prophet’s Mosque in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah.
With the approach of the blessed month, Muslims are wondering about the date of Ramadan 2023 in Saudi Arabia, because many Arab and Islamic countries and some Muslims in Western countries rely on the Saudi calendar in determining the beginning and end of the Hijri month.
According to the legal sighting procedures that are being investigated in the Kingdom on the last day of the month of Sha'ban, the Saudi Supreme Court is expected to hold a session to investigate the crescent of the month of Ramadan 2023 in the city of Hotat Sudair in the Al-Majma'ah Governorate.
The court uses the latest mechanisms and astronomical observatories in order to see the crescent of Ramadan, and to know the date of its first day, which may come in accordance with astronomical expectations, on March 23, 2023.
Seeing the crescent of Ramadan in Turkey
Turkey is no different from the rest of the Islamic countries, as the concerned authorities are investigating the crescent of Ramadan in the last days of Sha`ban.
The Turkish government usually relies on accurate astronomical studies and observations in approving the start of the first day of the holy month, as well as in determining the first day of Eid al-Fitr.
Some scholars do not recognize astronomical observations and require seeing the crescent with the naked eye to prove the start of the blessed month of Ramadan (Al-Jazeera).
Seeing the crescent of Ramadan among the Shiites
According to Imam al-Sistani's platform and website, the Shiites do not recognize astronomical observations, and they require legal vision with the naked eye to prove the start of the blessed month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
And quoting from the platform, “The Holy Qur’an has indicated that the crescents of the months have made times that people depend on in their religious and worldly affairs. The local horizon in a way that can be seen with the naked eye, and as for what is not seen except with close tools, it is not fit to be a time for people in general.
And “the meaning of making the crescents times for people is that their appearance in their different stages is like a heavenly counter witnessed by the common people, who can refer to it to know the days of the lunar month to organize their religious and worldly affairs. About the presence of the crescent on the horizon, at a time when it is not possible to verify this for anyone else, because this is not consistent with the fact that the crescents are times for people in general.
It is expected that the number of fasting hours will be about 14 hours on the first day of Ramadan in most Arab countries (Shutterstock)
Declaration of sighting the crescent of Ramadan
After confirming and verifying the sighting of the crescent of Ramadan by the aforementioned legal and astronomical methods, the sighting of the crescent is announced by the official fatwa houses in the Arab and Islamic worlds for the Arab and Islamic peoples, after which the blessed month begins.
The number of days in the month of Ramadan 2023
It is astronomically expected that the number of days for the month of Ramadan for this year will be 29 days, as the first day of the holy month begins on Thursday, March 23, and continues for 29 days, after which Eid al-Fitr comes on Friday, corresponding to April 21, 2023.
The average number of expected fasting hours on the first day of Ramadan
It is expected that the number of fasting hours will be about 14 hours on the first days of the blessed month of Ramadan in most Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, as well as Turkey and Iran, plus or minus a few minutes in this or that country. .
The first day of the blessed month of Ramadan for this year 2023 will be the shortest in terms of the number of fasting hours, and then it will gradually increase after that.