Dhul-Hijjah is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar. It is the month in which the Hajj pilgrimage takes place.
On Wednesday evening, Saudi Arabia’s moon sighting team has confirmed a sighting of the crescent moon of the month of Dhul Hijjah at the Tamir Observatory near Riyadh. Accordingly, Thursday, June 30th, will be the first day of the month of Dhul Hijjah.
Hence, Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court announced that the day of Arafat will be on Friday, July 8th 2022 and the first day of Eid Al-Adha will be on Saturday, July 9th 2022.
Meanwhile, several Muslim countries announced the beginning of their celebration of the Eid Al-Adha either on July 9 or July 10, depending on the sighting of the Dhul Hijjah crescent on Wednesday evening. The first day of Eid Al-Adha will be on July 9 in most Arab and Muslim countries while many South East Asian countries will start the celebrations on Sunday, July 10.
Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, Malaysia, and Brunei announced that their Eid Al-Adha celebrations will start on Sunday, in view of not sighting the Dhul Hijjah crescent on Wednesday evening (source: Saudi Gazette).
The Fiqh Council Council of North America (FCNA) has reached the conclusion that Eid al-Adha will be following the Day of Hajj (Arafat) as announced in Makkah (i.e. on Saturday, July 9th 2022). This is also the conclusion of the European Council of Fatwa and Research (ECFR) (source: Fiqh Council of North America).
We pray that all the pilgrims will have a blessed and safe Hajj. We also pray that all the Muslims will benefit from these sacred days by reflecting and embracing the lessons of commitment and sacrifice from the life of Prophet Abraham (pbuh).
(O Muhammad) Proclaim the Hajj (Pilgrimage) to all people. They will come to you on foot and on every kind of swift mount, emerging from every deep mountain pass. Quran 22:27
Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to God than these ten days (first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.)”
