Eid al-Fitr 2024: Moon sighted in Kashmir and Kerala but most Indian Muslims to celebrate festival on April 11

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Eid al-Fitr 2024: The Shawwal Moon was sighted in Kerala, Ladakh and Kashmir on Tuesday (Apr 9), indicating that Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated in these regions on Wednesday.

Eid al-Fitr 2024: Most Indian Muslims will be observing another day of fasting on Wednesday (Apr 10) as the crescent Moon was not sighted. Prominent mosques in Delhi, including Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri Masjid, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka earlier confirmed that the Moon was not sighted. It means that Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated in large parts of the country on Thursday (Apr 11).

However, the Shawwal Moon was sighted in Kerala, Kashmir and Ladakh on Tuesday (Apr 9), indicating that Eid al-Fitr will be celebrated in these regions on Wednesday. Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam confirmed that Shawwal Moon was sighted. In Kerala, the Kerala Hilal (KNM) Committee Chairman, M Muhammad Madani, announced the sighting of the Shawwal crescent Moon in Ponnani.

It must be noted that several Islamic nations in West Asia are celebrating the festival on April 10. The Shawwal Moon was sighted in Saudi Arabia, UAE and other nations on April 9. Similarly, Eid will be celebrated on April 10 in Pakistan, Australia, the Philippines and Malaysia as the Moon was sighted there earlier in the day.

Watch: Pakistan: Inflation resurges ahead of Eid

Earlier, while speaking to the media, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali, Chairperson of the Islamic Centre of India, Lucknow, said all Muslims “are requested to do charity” on the special day.

Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, after the sighting of the new moon or crescent moon. 

It is a major Islamic festival where “Eid” means “celebration” and “Fitr” means “breaking of the fast” and is celebrated by Muslims worldwide but the exact date of the festival varies each year.

(With inputs from agencies)

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