Ramadan: Muslims in SA to begin fasting on Friday

The United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA) or the Council of Muslim Theologians have confirmed that the moon for the Islamic month of Ramadan was not sighted in South Africa.

This means Muslims across South Africa will begin fasting on Friday, 24 March.

UUCSA made the announcement on Wednesday following no sighting in the region of Cape Town.

Earlier, there were no sightings of the moon in Johannesburg and Durban.

Moon sighting

With the moon not sighted, UUCSA spokesperson Moulana Ebrahim Bham said there will be one extra day in the Islamic month of Sha’baan.

“Following no confirmed reports of moon-sighting, UUCSA had determined that Sha’baan will last 30 days in South Africa on Thursday 23 Mar 2023. Consequently, the 1st day of the blessed month of Ramadan 1444 shall be on Friday 24 Mar 2023.”

Islam follows the lunar calendar and the sighting of the moon signals the start of the Islamic month – In Islam, the new day also begins just after sunset.

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Fasting

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk usually having a predawn meal before the fast begins.

Once the fast starts, Muslims are not allowed to eat a morsel of food or even take a sip of water until sunset.

Fasting is also a spiritual discipline to abstain from certain actions including sexual relations, which nullify or break the fast.

Meaning of Ramadan

The word Ramadan, which is the ninth month on the Islamic calendar, means ‘the heat that scorches the earth or the heat that scorches a person when a person is fasting’.

The actions of Ramadan and linguistic meaning of Ramadan is twofold.

Muslims believe it scorches the earth or the person when he feels the thirst, so there is a scorching of the throat in experiencing the thirst.

Respect

There are many non-Muslims who also respect and support their Muslim colleagues who are fasting by having their lunches out of sight of those who are fasting.

Some Muslims also travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and spend the holy month there because there is a spiritual ecstasy of a higher level.

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