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MANILA (SDN) — In a sign of oneness, Muslim leaders in government and religious sector have agreed to conduct moon-sighting activities in the evening of Sunday, March 30, 2025.
It’s a good sign for the local Muslims in the Philippines, especially that determining the first day of Islam’s Hegira months has always been a contentious one — especially the first day of the 30-day holy fasting season of Ramadan and the first day of Shawwal, the 10th month, when the new crescent moon must be first sighted.
If you have been living under a rock for a long time, you must know that the first day of Shawwal marks the end of Ramadan, which is celebrated and observed globally as Eid’l Fitr, the Festival of Breaking the Fast, by the world Islamic community called Ummah.
Islam only has two major festivals, the second being Eid’l Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice at the climax of the Hajj, the Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Feast of Sacrifice commemorates the Patriarch Abraham’s (Ibrahim in Islam), peace be upon him) unwavering obedience to God as he was willing to sacrifice his son, which Muslim believers say is Ismael. Before it happened, as the Holy Qur’an narrates, Ismael was replaced by God with a sheep.
Coming back to moonsighting, traditionally by the naked eye, but now-a-days technology is being used as well — science, telescopes, astronomical calculations — the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) headed by Secretary/CEO Sabuddin N. Abdurahim, the Darul Iftah (House of Opinion) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), and the Zamboanga Ulama Council of the Philippines (ZUCP) have announced separately their respective moon-sighting activities on the same day, tomorrow, Sunday.
“The Bangsamoro Darul Iftah is pleased to announce that the official Eid’l Fitr Moonsighting will take place on the 29th of Ramadan 1446H, March 30, 2025. This significant event will be led by the Bangsamoor Mufti, Sheikh Abdulrauf A. Guialani, who will make the formal announcement determining the end of Ramadhan,” the Darul Iftah, based in Cotabato City, the BARMM seat of government, says.
Important time for oneness, solidarity among Muslims in the Philippines
As the religious agency of the regional government called on everyone to prepare their hearts for Eid’l Fitr, describing it as “a time of joy, forgiveness, and gratitude,” the religious body of the BARMM said everyone should cherish Ramadan’s blessings and lessons and the sacrifices of those are fasting, praying, and sharing generosity ought to have strengthened the believers’ faith and reaffirmed their commitment to righteousness.
In a related message on its social media page, the Ulama Council of the Zamboanga Peninsula (UCZP), emphasized the Eid’l Fitr, which marks the Ramadan’s end, “is determined by the sigbting of the crescent moon, which signifies the beginning of the Islamic month of Shawwal.”
The ulama grouo added that when the Shawwal crescent is sighted it will mark the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the Eid’l Fitr, which is celebrated for at least three days, even over a week, in Muslim countries.
“Observe fasting on sighting the crescent and terminate it on sighting it (the new moon of Shawwal), but if the sky is cloudy before you, then complete the number (3o days) of the month,” the ZUCP quotes the Messenger of Islam, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through Al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The group’s statement made clear it will participate in the moonsighting on Sunday, the same with the BARMM religious agency.
Over here in Manila, the NCMF also announced today, Saturday, its moonsighting activities in collaboration with the Bangsamoro Darul Iftah, saying the activity “is crucial for determining the official end of Ramadan.”
In connection with this, the Commission will have a Zoom meeting this Sunday.
Ramadan is the month when the first verse of the Qur’an was revealed to the Messenger of Islam at the historic Hira Cave in Mecca.
During this month, adult Muslims — male and female — are obliged to fast, which is abstaining from food, drink, cigarettes, sex and other activities that will break one’s fast. It is a 30-day tortuous regime believed to have health benefits.
Islam has five obligatory pillars, such as the Shahadda (Profession of Faith (There is no god but Allah and Muhammad His Messenger), Salah (Five Daily Prayers), Sawm (Ramadan fasting), Zakat (Obligatory Charity), and Hajj, the Pilgrimage to Mecca.
An important time for oneness and solidarity, SDN – SciTech & Digital News is hoping that Muslims in the Philippines will follow the decision of the three complimentary Islamic bodies on the moonsighting for Eid’l Fitr, the first day of Shawwal. (/)
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The author
EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (@)