Hyderabad: The Holy Month of Ramzan will begin in Hyderabad on Thursday night as the crescent was not sighted in the city or its surroundings on Wednesday night.
The Central Ruiyat-e-Hilal Committee, headed by Majlis-e-Ulema-e-Deccan president Syed Mohammed Qubul Pasha Quadri Shuttari, announced that the Holy Month of Ramzan will begin on Thursday night and the first Roza or fasting will be observed on March 24. The committee said that the moon was not sighted in Hyderabad or any other nearby cities or towns. Therefore, Thursday will be the 30th of Shaban and the first Roza will be observed on Friday.
This year, the timing of fasting or Roza will be of 13 hours and 23 minutes on the first day. While the Saheri timing will end at 5.05 AM, the first Iftar will be at 6.28 PM. However, the Rozas will become longer every day and the last Roza will be of 13 hours and 53 minutes.
There will be five Fridays in this year’s Ramzan. The Shab-e-Qadar, one of the three holy nights, will fall on April 18 (Tuesday night) and the Jumatul Vida, the last Friday of Ramzan, will be celebrated on April 21. If the moon is sighted, then Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on April 22 (Saturday). Else, it will be celebrated on April 23.
Special arrangements have been made at all mosques across the State for the conduct of Taraveeh prayers at night. In Mecca Masjid, nearly 8,000 to 10,000 Muslims are expected to participate in the Taraveeh prayers where Hafiz Moulana Rizwan Qureshi will supervise the reciting of three Paaras (chapters) of the Holy Quran each day for the first 10 days of the Ramzan. Similarly, management committees of different mosques have made arrangements for the conduct of Taraveeh prayers.
Arrangements have also been made at several places for Simaat-e-Quran, the congregations where Holy Quran is recited. Such gatherings are primarily attended by women.It may be mentioned that the Holy month of Ramzan has begun in the Arab countries on Wednesday night and the first Roza will be observed on Thursday across the Middle East. (INN)