UAE Fatwa Council Announces First Day Of Rabi Al Thani As Crescent Spotted In Abu Dhabi

The UAE announced that Sunday, September 13, will be the first day of Rabi Al Thani 1448 AH, with Saturday marking the completion of Rabi Al Awwal.

The Fatwa Council said the decision was made after reviewing scientific data related to the sighting of the crescent moon, in coordination with specialised scientific authorities and centres in the country.

The announcement comes after a new the Rabi Al Thani crescent was captured in the UAE skies on Friday, offering a glimpse of the new lunar month even though it was too faint to be seen with the naked eye.

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The crescent was photographed at 3.50pm UAE time from the Al Khatim Astronomical Observatory, affiliated with the International Astronomy Centre. At the time, the moon was just 4.8 degrees from the sun and 10.2 hours old.

The observatory said the crescent could be detected using specialised astronomical imaging technology, but could not be seen from anywhere in the Islamic world either with the naked eye or through a telescope.

The image was taken by Muhammad Awda, with Khalafan Al-Naimi, Osama Ghanem and Anas Muhammad part of the observatory team.

In Oman, however, the crescent was not sighted on Friday evening. Authorities said Saturday would therefore complete the month of Rabi' al-Awwal, with Rabi Al-Thani beginning the following day.

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