Following the sighting of the crescent by the moon-sighting committee, Saudi Arabia has announced that the first day of fasting will be Monday, March 11.
The dawn-to-dusk fast lasts anywhere from 12 to 17 hours, depending on the part of the world the worshippers resides.
Muslims believe that Ramadan is the month when the first verses of the holy book Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad more than 1,400 years ago.
The fast entails abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations during daylight hours to achieve greater “taqwa”, or consciousness of God.
Why does Ramadan start on different dates every year?
Ramadan begins 10 to 12 days earlier each year. This is because the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar Hijri calendar with months that are 29 or 30 days long.
Because the lunar year is shorter than the solar year by 11 days, Ramadan will be observed twice in the year 2030 – first beginning on January 5 and then starting on December 26.
The next time Ramadan will start after March 12 will be 33 years from now – in the year 2057.
The number of daylight hours varies across the world.
Muslims living in the world’s southernmost countries, such as Chile or New Zealand, will fast for about 12 hours, while those living in northernmost countries, such as Iceland or Greenland, will have 17-plus hours fasts.
For Muslims living in the Northern Hemisphere, the number of fasting hours will be a bit shorter this year and will continue to decrease until 2031, which is the year Ramadan will encompass the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year. After that, fasting hours will increase until the summer solstice – the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
For fasting Muslims living south of the equator, the opposite will happen.
In extreme northernmost cities, such as Longyearbyen in Norway, where the sun does not set from April 20 to August 22, religious rulings have been issued to follow timings in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, or the nearest Muslim country.
The predawn meal to start the daily fast is called suhoor, while the breaking of one’s fast after sunset is called iftar.
Cities situated roughly along the same longitude will have similar iftar times, while those on the opposite side of the globe will be preparing to start their fast with suhoor.
AL JAZEERA
