JEDDAH: Observers in the Arab world will be able to sight the crescent moon for the month of Muharram for the new Islamic year 1443 about 30 minutes after sunset on Monday.
It can be seen with the naked eye in the western horizon when the sky is clear. Muharram — one of the four sacred months — is the first month of the Hijri calendar and will begin on Tuesday, the moon sighting committee said after holding its meeting.
Authorities in most Islamic countries have announced the day as a public holiday.
Majed Abu Zahira, the head of the Astronomical Society in Jeddah, said the moon will have moved away from the glare of the sunset and become higher in the sky compared to the previous night, and a few degrees away from Venus and Mars.
After a few nights, he said, observers will notice that the unlit side of the moon’s surface is illuminated by a faint light, which is the light of the sun reflected from the earth and falling on the moon.
Abu Zahira said that the moon reached the conjunction phase on Sunday at 4:50 p.m. local time (1:50 p.m. GMT), ending its conjunction cycle around the earth and beginning a new conjunction cycle.
He said day after day, observers will notice that the crescent moon will increase its luminosity, rise higher in the sky at sunset, and it will stay longer after the beginning of the night, because the moon is moving away from the sun.
Abu Zahira added that we see the moon moving toward the west every day because of the earth’s rotation on its axis, but the actual movement of the moon is toward the east in relation to the stars and planets as it revolves around the earth.
“So, by watching the moon over the coming nights, it will be a guide for determining the locations of the bright stars and planets in the night sky,” he said.
Muharram crescent for new Islamic year visible from Monday evening
https://arab.news/r3d33
Muharram crescent for new Islamic year visible from Monday evening
- The first month of the Hijri calendar, Muharram, will begin on Tuesday
- Authorities in most Islamic countries have announced the day as a public holiday
KSrelief aid reaches thousands in crisis zones
- Since 2015, KSrelief has implemented 4,066 projects in 109 countries, spending over $8.28 billion
RIYADH: Saudi aid agency KSrelief continues to provide vital assistance to some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.
In Yemen, the organization distributed 1,850 shopping vouchers in Marib governorate, enabling beneficiaries to purchase winter clothing. The aid reached hundreds of displaced individuals living in camps.
In Lebanon, the KSrelief-funded ambulance service of the Subul Al-Salam Social Association in Miniyeh district, northern Lebanon, carried out 34 emergency missions last week.
In Chad, the Saudi aid agency distributed 1,600 cartons of dates and women’s hygiene kits in Chari-Baguirmi province, benefiting 800 families from the most vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, refugees, and widows.
KSrelief also distributed 803 food baskets in Dandadji village, Maradi, Niger, benefiting 5,621 individuals from 803 families.
In Sudan, the agency distributed 2,513 food baskets to vulnerable and displaced families in Kosti locality, White Nile state, reaching 18,678 individuals.
Since 2015, KSrelief has implemented 4,066 projects in 109 countries, spending over $8.28 billion on food security, health, education, water and sanitation, shelter and early recovery.
