Par
Editorial Paris
Published on
Jan 18, 2025 at 6:14 a.m.
It is a moment awaited by the entire Muslim community. The announcement of the start of the month of Ramadan is traditionally made by the Great Mosque of Paris during the “Night of Doubt”, a religious ceremony which is held on the 29th day of the month of Chaâbane, the month preceding Ramadan in the Loire calendar. On this date, the Grand Mosque of Paris observes whether the lunar crescent marking the start of Ramadan is visible.
The night of doubt 2025 will take place at the end of February
If the observation is conclusive, Ramadan begins the next day; otherwise, it begins two days later, after a full month of Chaâbane of 30 days. In 2024, the Grand Mosque of Paris announced the start of Ramadan for Monday March 11, after observing the lunar crescent on Sunday March 10. This year, the night of doubt is scheduled for the evening of February 27, 2025.
Concretely, a religious commission meets to observe the sky in search of the lunar crescent. An essential step since the Islamic calendar is lunar. Each month begins with the appearance of the new crescent moon. Astronomical data are also analyzed, confirming or not the possibility of seeing the lunar crescent.
-Some Muslim organizations favor astronomical calculation to determine the dates of Ramadan in advance, while others remain attached to the traditional observation of the lunar crescent. Hence sometimes slightly different dates within the Muslim community for the start of Ramadan.
During Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam, believers are invited to abstain from drinking, eating, smoking and having sexual relations, from dawn (as soon as one can “distinguish a white thread from a black thread” says the Koran) until sunset. Ramadan is the period when large donations are made to mosques and prayer rooms (around 2,500 in France). Muslims are invited to pay alms for the poor, zakât el-Fitr.
Ramadan will end with Eid el-Fitr, the celebration of breaking the fast, at the end of March 2025.
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