As the crescent moon is sighted in Kerala today, Muslims in the state will complete the month of Ramadan on Tuesday and will celebrate the Eid on April 10, Wednesday. Detailed preparations were made in several places in Kerala under the supervision of moon sighting committees including several areas of Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram to observe the crescent moon. Yesterday, after the moon was not sighted, Arab countries have announced that the Eid will be celebrated on Wednesday after completing 30 days of Ramadan. In Kerala, where the Ramadan fasting began one day later than several other parts of the world, Muslims will be celebrating Eid after completing 29 days of fasting.
The crescent moon was sighted in Malappuram’s Ponnani, according to initial reports. As per reports, in Malabar region of Kerala, the moon lag to sight the crescent moon was more than 30 minutes and two people in Ponnani had to chance to sight the moon. This was later confirmed by the local religious leaders and then later by religious heads in Kozhikode.
All the Muslim groups in Kerala is expected to follow the moon sighting in Malabar region and will celebrate Eid tomorrow, following earlier tradition.
With this, Kerala will join Gulf countries in celebrating the Eid on Wednesday. Muslims across the globe, normally celebrate Eid over a difference of one or two days as per the visibility of the new moon. However, there have been rare occasions when Kerala and Gulf countries celebrated Eid on the same day.
Kerala’s Eid celebrations include distribution of Zakat Al Fitr (almsgiving), morning prayers, family visits and Eid feasts.