Int’l Desk:

The Qatar Calendar House announced that 18 May will be the first day of Dhu Al Hijjah for the year 1447 AH, and that 27 May will be the first day of Eid-ul-Azha for this year, according to precise astronomical calculations conducted by specialists at the House.

Dr Faisal Al Ansari, Executive Director of the Qatar Calendar House, said that the crescent moon of Dhu Al Hijjah for the year 1447 AH will be born on Saturday evening (the day of observation) at 11.02pm Doha time (8.02pm GMT).

He added that it will be impossible to see the crescent moon on Saturday evening (the day of observation) in the skies of Qatar and all Arab and Islamic countries, because the crescent will not have been born at sunset that day.

It is an astronomical fact that the movement of the moon in its orbit around the Earth determines the beginnings and ends of the Islamic months, while the movement of the Earth in its orbit around the sun determines the beginnings and ends of the Gregorian months.

Source: Qatar Tribune