Eid-ul-Fitr 2021 moon sighting highlights: Crescent not sighted in Saudi Arabia

Muslims across the world are gearing up to sight the crescent moon to welcome the month of Shawwal with Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid-al-Fitr. The ninth month in the Islamic Lunar Calendar is Ramadan and the tenth is Shawwal whose first day is marked as Eid-ul-Fitr across the world.

While the West culturally follows the Gregorian calendar, the Islamic calendar is lunar which means it is based on the sighting of the crescent moon. Every year, Eid-ul-Fitr occurs approximately 10-11 days earlier depending on when the crescent moon is sighted since lunar months are shorter than solar months and so it varies from country to country by about a day.

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court calls Muslims in UAE, Qatar and other Arab states to sight the crescent moon for the month of Shawwal on Tuesday evening, that is May 11, 2021, which will mark Eid-ul-Fitr and the end of Ramadan 2021.