The lunar observation of the “Night of Doubt” organized in the Grand Mosque of Paris should allow a religious commission to confirm the end date of Ramadan 2022 this Saturday evening.
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[Mis à jour le 30 avril 2022 à 09h00] The “Night of Doubt” is a tradition that makes it possible to traditionally announce the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan by observing the moon. It is always organized on the 29th day of the month of Ramadan, that month of fasting and austerity considered “holy” by practicing Muslims around the world. This year it corresponds to this Saturday, April 30th at 18:30 at the Great Mosque of Paris. At the end of this lunar observation, a religious commission traditionally communicates the date of the end of Ramadan 2022 (1443), Eid el-Fitr, around 7 p.m. This allows believers in Islam to know the end date of Ramadan: the last day of the month of Ramadan corresponds to the eve of Eid al-Fitr. The theological commission in question includes members of the Grand Mosque, but also of the four Muslim federations that split from the CFCM (main representation of Islam in France) in 2021.
Concretely, the traditional observation of the sky of the “Night of Doubt” proposes, in addition to astronomical calculations, to check whether or not we are entering a new lunar month … and therefore whether or not we are leaving the Muslim fasting month in progress. The mechanism is the same as at the beginning of the month of Ramadan: if you can see the crescent moon with the naked eye, then the next day the new month of the lunar calendar begins. Otherwise it starts two days later.
The CFCM already provided an end date for Ramadan in March
Based on astronomical calculations, the French Council for Muslim Worship (CFCM), the main representative of Islam in France, had put March 13 as the theoretical date for the end of Ramadan. This estimated date corresponds to Sunday, May 1, 2022, the eve of Eid-el Fitr (the festival of breaking the fast). It is this date that is likely to be confirmed during the night of doubt this Saturday April 30th.
During Ramadan, one of the pillars of Islam, believers are asked to refrain from drinking, eating, smoking and sex from sunrise to sunset. Muslims are asked to pay an alms of seven euros per person for the poor, the “Zakât el-Fitr”.
Like its start date, the end date of commemorative Ramadan is defined based on the lunar cycle that governs the Muslim calendar (also known as the Hijri calendar). However, a lunar month there lasts 29 or 30 days. At the end of the various months of the Islamic lunar calendar, a shift of one day is possible: if the crescent moon is observed on the 29th day of the month, the month lasts 29 days; otherwise it is extended by one day.
Eid al-Fitr is the festival of breaking the fast that marks the end of the month of Ramadan. It takes place on the day after the last day of the ninth Hijri month. In order to determine its date early, astronomical calculations can be carried out. On the eve or two days before the date, the day of Eid al-Fitr is officially announced by a theological commission after lunar observation of the “Night of Doubt”.
The “Night of Doubts” organized in the Grand Mosque of Paris takes place on the 29th day of the current lunar month in the Hijri calendar and allows to determine the beginning and the end of a month. The events of the Night of Doubt at the beginning and the Night of Doubt at the end of Ramadan for the faithful of Islam are usually broadcast through the official website of the Grand Mosque of Paris. It is likely that during the “Night of Doubt” at the end of Ramadan on Saturday April 30, the Religion Commission estimates that the end date of Ramadan 2022/1443 Sunday 1 already identified by the CFCM using astronomical calculations.
The tradition of the “Night of Doubt” refers to the “Hadith”, an oral statement by the Prophet in which he states: “Fast only when you see the crescent moon and break the fast when you see it too”. In the Muslim calendar, the “Night of Doubt” marks the end of a lunar month and the beginning of the following lunar month. It therefore plays a role both in formalizing the start date of the Ramadan fast and in confirming the end date of this “holy month”.