Zilhajj moon not sighted, Eid-ul-Azha to be observed on August 1

KARACHI: The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee has made a formal announcement that the crescent of Zilhajj month was not sighted across the country on Tuesday.

As per details, Chairman Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Mufti Muneebur Rehman announced that the body has not sighted moon and the month of Zilhajj will begin from Thursday (July 23) while Eidul Azha will be celebrated on August 1.

The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee met at Met Complex in Karachi after Asar prayers today to witness the crescent of Zil-haj month. During the meeting, the central committee has also collected evidence of crescent from the zonal committees sat in Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar.

On July 4, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had predicted that there is a fair chance of sighting the moon of Zilhaj, 1441 AH on the evening of July 21.

In a statement, the PMD had said that the new moon of Zilhaj, 1441 AH will be born on crossing conjunction point at 22:33 Pakistan Standard Time (PST) on 20 July (Monday).

According to astronomical parameters, there is ‘fair chance’ of sighting the new moon of Zilhaj, 1441 AH on the evening of Tuesday, July 21st i.e. on 29th of Ziquad, 1441 AH, the met office predicted.

On Monday Saudi Arabia had announced the country would celebrate Eid ul Adha on Friday, July 31. The Kingdom’s Supreme Court said that Tuesday would mark the 30th of Ziqad, and Wednesday, July 22, would be the first day of Zil Hajj, according to Gulf News.

According to these calculations, July 31, will mark the first day of Eid ul Adha. “This means that Wednesday, July 22, will be the first of Zil Hajj that marks the start of this year’s Hajj season, which will be limited to only 10,000 pilgrims from within the Kingdom due to the coronavirus pandemic,” the publication reported.