SRINAGAR, July 20: People in Kashmir will be observing their first fast tommorow (Saturday) as the crescent has been sighted as per announcements by Muslim scholars in Pakistan.
Kashmir has always followed Pakistan’s announcements of sighting the crescent which establishes the first day of Ramadhan – the ninth month of the Islamic calendar – when the fasts start and also the end of it when the Eid festival is celebrated.
“The crescent was sighted in Shahpur in Sindh and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkha. So Muslims of Pakistan will be observing their first fast tommorow, the first Ramadhan, Saturday 21 July,” said Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, the Chief Cleric of Pakistan and head of the central crescent-sighting committee.
In New Delhi the Shahi Imam of Fatehpuri Mosque first announced that the crescent was not sighted and the fasting will begin on Sunday. But scholars and Imams in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and many other parts of the country clarified that the fasting will begin Saturday.
There have been many instances in the past when Kashmiris and Muslims in rest of the country began fasting and celebrated Eid as well on separate days.
Muslims across the world abstain from food, water and sexual activity everyday from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadhan as prescribed in Islam.
Kashmir witnessed crowded markets on Friday as people were busy buying essentials including dates in preparation for the month of fasting. Yesterday (Thursday) the crescent was sighted in Arab countries where people observed their first fast today.
