Ramadan is approaching.. A few days separate us from the beginning of Rajab 1446?

Written By ندى ماهر عبدربه on 2024/12/22

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.

Arab Weather - Although the crescent moon of the Hijri months is surveyed in the same way throughout the year, interest increases starting from the month of Rajab. This is due to the association of Rajab and Shaaban with the holy month of Ramadan , which millions of Muslims around the world await every year.

Ramadan 2025 date

How to determine the beginning of the Hijri months according to Islamic law

Islamic law relies on the principle of "sighting" to determine the beginning of the Hijri months . The new crescent is observed after sunset on the 29th of the previous lunar month. In this context, the sighting day for the month of Rajab this year corresponds to 29 Jumada al-Akhirah 1446.

Lunar Cycle: A Basic Understanding of Crescent Observation

To understand the process of observing the crescent moon, one must understand the lunar cycle. The phases of the moon begin with a crescent moon and continue until it is full and then waning. The moon moves away from the sun in the sky every day, which increases the time it spends after sunset by about 50 minutes each day.

If we theoretically rewind time, the Moon will approach the Sun until it stands next to it at a moment called “conjunction,” which is the beginning of the lunar month. During the moment of conjunction, the Moon cannot be seen with the naked eye, but it is relied upon to determine the possibility of seeing the crescent moon later.

Date of the first of Rajab 1446 AH

Qatar and the Emirates

The moment of conjunction for this month will be on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, at 01:27 AM Doha time. Since the day of sighting in Qatar and the UAE falls on December 30 (Jumada Al-Akhirah 29), specialists will not be able to see the crescent because the conjunction will occur after sunset. Therefore, Tuesday will be declared the completion of Jumada Al-Akhirah, and Wednesday, January 1, 2025 will be the first day of Rajab.

Egypt, Jordan, Morocco

In these countries, the day of sighting (29 Jumada al-Akhirah) will be December 31, 2024. Since the conjunction will occur more than 14 hours before sunset, the possibility of seeing the crescent is high. Therefore, January 1, 2025 is expected to be declared the first day of Rajab.

Arab countries agree on the first of Rajab

This year, it is expected that the majority of Arab countries will agree to announce the first of Rajab on January 1, 2025, based on the timing of the conjunction and the conditions of sighting.