New moon is not sighted today i.e. Sunday May 05. Hence Monday will be 30th Shaban 1440 and the first day of Ramadan this year will be Tuesday May 07, 2019, Imarat-e-Sharia, Jamiat Ulema Hind, New Delhi and Shahi Imam Jama Masjid, Delhi Abdullah Bukhari said.
“A meeting of Moon Sighting Committee Imarate Shariah, Jamiat Ulema was held today after Maghrib prayers. Maulana Yusuf Khan Qasmi presided the meet. He announced that there is no report of moon sighting today in Delhi or other part of India”, Imarat e Sharia said.
Similar announcements were made from various parts of India including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Patna, Muzaffarpur, Kolkata, Mewat and Burhanpur.
The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee in Pakistan will start meeting after a short while today. The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee with Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman in the chair will meet in Karachi today for the sighting of the crescent of Ramzan-ul-Mubarak.
The beginning of Ramadan has traditionally been based on “hilal” sightings, which is the traditional method mentioned in the Quran and followed by the Prophet Muhammad.
A new month in the Islamic Calendar begins with sighting of moon on 29th of the prevailing month. If the new moon, Crescent, is sighted, the next day is counted as first day of the new month. If not, the next day is counted as 30th day of the prevailing month and the new month begins a day later.
Fasting in Ramadan
More than 1.5 billion Muslims around the world will mark the month, during which believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having martial relations from dawn until sunset. They also try to avoid evil thoughts and deeds during the holy month. Ramadan is sacred to Muslims because tradition says the Holy Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) during that month. It is followed by the Eid al-Fitr festival.
