It has been a month since Muslims around the world started observing fasts from dawn to dusk on the occasion of Ramadan. Marking the end of the holy month, Muslims are in anticipation of Eid al-Fitr or Eid ul-Fitr. The first day of the tenth month of Islamic calendar ie Shawwal is celebrated as Eid and it is marked with the sighting of the new moon, just like any other Islamic month, including Ramadan.
The customary moon sighting was set up in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday evening, but the Shawwal crescent was not sighted at different observatories. With this, it is concluded that Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar alongside other Arab and western countries on Thursday, May 13.
Eid al-Fitr in India
Based on the moon sighting here in India on Wednesday, Eid al-Fitr is expected to be celebrated either on Thursday or Friday. With Saudi Arabia confirming Eid celebration on Thursday, India will observe Eid on Friday, May 14. Similarly, Muslims in Pakistan, Bangladesh and other neighboring countries in the same time zone will celebrate Eid al-Fitr on Friday.
The Indian Hilal committee is yet to confirm the Eid date, which will be done after the ceremonial moon sighting is concluded on Wednesday evening. If the moon is sighted in India on Wednesday, India and other countries will celebrate Eid on the same day as Saudi Arabia, which is a rare occurrence, yet not entirely impossible.
