Daryan Announces that Thursday is First Day of Ramadan

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan announced on Tuesday evening that Thursday, June 18, is the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.

“The crescent moon of the holy month of Ramadan was not spotted this evening. Accordingly, tomorrow, Wednesday … is the 30th day of the month of Shaaban and Thursday, June 18, is the first day of the holy month of Ramadan,” Daryan said in a statement.

The mufti hoped Ramadan will bring “security and serenity to all Muslims and Lebanese.”

Saudi Arabia had confirmed earlier in the day that Wednesday will be the last day of Shaaban on the Islamic calendar, after the kingdom's moon-sighting committees failed to spot Ramadan's crescent moon.

The month begins with the sighting of the new moon, which varies from country to country.

Last week, the religious committee of the institution of late Lebanese Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah declared that Thursday is the first day of Ramadan, citing astronomical calculations.

Ramadan is sacred to Muslims because it is during that month that tradition says the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and strive to be more pious and charitable.

The fast is one of the five main religious obligations under Islam.

Y.R.