THE Darul-Iftah has declared April 1 as the day for the moon sighting ritual, a prelude to the holy month of Ramadan.
The Darul Iftah is the highest religious council of Muslims of Zamboanga Peninsula and Zamboanga City.
Sheikh Wahid Amil, Grand Mufti and Darul Iftah spokesperson, said in a statement that a committee from the Ulama will scan the western horizon to search for the tip of the crescent moon with the "naked eye" during the moon sighting ritual.
Should the moon be sighted, the Grand Mufti of the region will declare the following day as the first day of Ramadan.
But Amil said that if the moon was not sighted due to weather disturbance and other natural phenomenon, the Ramadan period will commence on April 3 without any announcement from religious authorities.
Professor Ali Yacub, an Islamic scholar, said the Muslim communities in the villages of Baliwasan, Campo Islam, San Jose Gusu, Taluksangay, Rio Hondo, the eight island villages of Zamboanga City, are eagerly waiting the advent of the holy month of Ramadan.
Yacub said Ramadan is one of the Pillars of Islam. It lasts the longest and is cherished by Muslim all over the world.
Yacub said that in Ramadan, there is an air calm and serenity where people leave behind the sins of the past and “try to do good that God Almighty expects of us, a turning over a new leaf, it brings a chance to begin again.”
He said the spirit of Ramadan is not just the mechanical act of abstaining from food and other desires, but it is also “a great time to reconnect with God, with ourselves, the community around us.”
"In reaching back to those basics, we find the true purpose of fasting and of this beautiful and holy month (the Muslims) so eagerly await," he said.
Meanwhile, Amil exhorted the Muslim "to feel the pain of those brothers and sisters who live in poverty and cannot afford even the very basic human needs." (SunStar Zamboanga)