The people in Pakistan are eagerly anticipating the date of Eid ul Fitr 2023, but there is often uncertainty due to the timing of Shawwal moon sighting. Ruet-i-Hilal Research Council (RHRC) has announced that Eidul Fitr is expected to be celebrated throughout the country on April 22 this year.
Khalid Ijaz Mufti, the Secretary-General of the council, has announced that the committee will convene on Thursday, April 20 for Shawwal moon sighting. If the crescent is sighted that evening, Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Friday, April 21.
However, Mufti believes that it is unlikely that the moon will be visible on Thursday evening, and Eid ul Fitr 2023 will most likely be celebrated on April 22nd 2023 after completing 30 fasting days of the holy month of Ramazan.
According to the council, the Shawwal moon is expected to be born on Thursday, April 20, at 9:13am Pakistan time. For sighting the moon on the evening of the 29th of Ramazan, its age at sunset should be more than 19 hours, but in all areas of Pakistan, it will be less than 10 hours.
The difference between sunset and moonset should be more than 40 minutes. However, it will only be 21 minutes in Peshawar, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Charsadda, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Quetta, and Jiwani, and 20 minutes in Lahore and Karachi.
It is impossible to sight the moon on the evening of April 20, even with a telescope, despite clear weather conditions throughout Pakistan. Mufti, the council’s Secretary-General, confirmed that the 30th of Ramazan will be observed on April 21, and the 1st of Shawwal will be celebrated on April 22. He also warned that any reports of crescent sighting on the evening of April 20 from any area of Pakistan would be false.
Mufti stated that on the evening of April 21, the moon’s age at sunset will be more than 33 hours in all areas of Pakistan, and the difference between sunset and moonset will be 80 minutes, which is significant. Therefore, the crescent will appear thick and late on the night of the 30th fast, which may lead some people to believe it is a two-day-old crescent. However, it will be considered the first crescent from both a Sharia and scientific perspective.
Eidul Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramazan, during which Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. The festival is celebrated with prayers, family gatherings, and feasting, and its exact date is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon, which marks the beginning of the Islamic month of Shawwal.
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