Ramadan 2023: Check moon sighting timings in Saudi Arabia, UAE, other Gulf nations

More than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide are enthusiastically anticipating the start of the 30-day fast to mark the occasion of the sacred month. According to reports, Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has urged all Muslims in the Country to see the crescent moon this evening.

The Ramadan crescent moon should be clearly seen with the naked eyes across many areas of the Middle East, North Africa, Western Europe, and the United States of America. This is according to the Crescent Moon Watch, a moon locator run by the United Kingdom's Nautical Almanac Office. The Ramadan 2023 crescent will be observed on March 21 at 17:23 GMT, Aljazeera reported (8:23pm Mecca time).

So, for those nations, the first day of the holy month is likely to be March 23. If the crescent moon is seen in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries with a majority of Muslims on the evening of March 21, Ramadan might start on March 22 in 2023.

If the moon-seeing committee in Saudi Arabia is unable to see the Ramadan crescent on March 21, they will notify on Tuesday evening that the first day of Ramadan could fall on March 23, Thursday. Instead, the Supreme Court has ordered that anyone who sees the Ramadan crescent moon on Tuesday, March 21, with their eyes alone or through binoculars, inform to the closest court and mark their evidence, or contact the closest relevant department.

The Emirates Astronomical Society has reported that Ramadan in 2023 will start on March 23 and that the first day of Eid Al Fitr will fall on Friday, April 21. However, according to the International Astronomical Centre, the Ramadan crescent will be visible on March 22. As a result, according to celestial estimations, some Arab nations will observe Ramadan's first day on March 23.

The first fasting day of Ramadan will fall on March 23 for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa, Indonesia, and Malaysia since they will most likely see the Ramadan crescent on March 22. In India and other South Asian nations, the first day of Ramadan will begin on March 24 if the moon is not sighted.

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