This year, 2023, all Arab countries agreed to announce the date of the first month of Ramadan, in addition to other countries such as Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia, which means that Thursday, 29 Ramadan, corresponding to April 20, represents the day when the sighting of the crescent of Shawwal was investigated in all of these countries through special Sharia committees.
Astronomically, the date of the first day of Eid, according to what the Al-Jazeera website reported from the International Astronomy Center, the sighting of the crescent of Shawwal this year will be at exactly 7:12 am Mecca Al-Mukarramah time on Thursday, April 20, and about 11 hours remain until we reach the moment of sunset.
This period is considered medium and not long so that it is expected that all Arab countries will see the crescent, nor short so that the controversy is settled in advance and it is said that it is impossible to see it from an astronomical point of view.
According to the center, it will be possible for some Arab countries to see the crescent with regular telescopes and not with the naked eye, and these countries are Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania.
As for Egypt and Sudan, they can observe the crescent with a telescope in the areas near the western borders of the country.
For the State of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, and for Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Iraq, it will be difficult for them to observe the crescent with any tools, whether with the naked eye or a regular telescope, because the crescent, shortly after sunset on the day of sighting, will be very close to the horizon.
This means that the declaration of the first day of Eid Al-Fitr may differ between Arab and Islamic countries.
Regardless of the astronomical calculations, the sighting of the crescent of the month of Shawwal and the announcement of the day of Eid al-Fitr for this year are subject to what will be announced by the competent authorities in each country through its legal committees and the crescent sighting committees.
