On Tuesday, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee was unable to sight the Muharram moon, which marks the beginning of the new Islamic year, 1445 AH. Consequently, the first day of Muharram will fall on Thursday, July 20. It means Saturday July, 29 will be the day of Ashura.
The meeting, held at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Quetta, was chaired by Moulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad. He is the current Chairman of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee. Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz and other officials also attended the meeting.
Earlier, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had predicted that the moon would be born at the crossing conjunction point at 11:32 pm on Monday, July 17. In a notification issued the day before, the PMD stated, “According to astronomical parameters, there is a slight chance of sighting the new moon of Muharram, 1445 AH on the evening of July 18, 2023, i.e., on the 29th of Zilhaj, 1444 AH.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia announced that the Islamic year in the Kingdom would commence on Wednesday, July 19.
The court stated, “According to the Umm Al-Qura calendar, Tuesday will be the last day of the month of Zilhaj, 1444 Hijri, corresponding to July 18, 2023. Wednesday will be the first day of the month of Muharram, 1445 Hijri, corresponding to July 19, 2023.”
