Srinagar: The moon for the blessed month of Ramadan has been sighted in several parts of India and Pakistan, reports said on Tuesday.
In Kashmir, Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam said that the confirmation about the Ramadan moon has been received from Jammu areas Tuesday evening.
“I have received reports of the crescent being sighted in Batote area of J&K. So Ramadan-ul-Mubarak will begin from tomorrow (Wednesday),” he told The Kashmir Monitor
Reports of sighting of the moon came from several other states in the country.
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee made an official announcement confirming sighting of the crescent.
As such, the first of Ramadan will begin on Wednesday, April 14, 2021.
A meeting of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee was held Tuesday in Peshawar to sight the crescent moon for the holy month. The meeting was held in the city after 17 years.
Meanwhile, clearing the air, Islamic clergy has ruled that Covid-19 vaccine shots do not invalidate fasting during Ramadan.
Mufti Nasir-Ul-Islam told The Kashmir Monitor that the vaccine is administered intramuscularly without having any nutritional value.
“The Covid-19 vaccine is not considered food or drink. It would not give a person the energy to fight hunger. It just strengthens the immune system,” he said.
Grand Mufti appealed to people to get vaccinated in order to prevent the spread of infection. “It is the only means available to fight against Covid. So people should visit health centers to receive the jab,” he said.
Another religious cleric Mufti Zia-ul-Haq said injections and vaccines are allowed in Islam during illness since it is required to treat a person from the disease.
“Covid-19 vaccines won’t affect one’s fasting as Islamic jurists have already allowed injections for ill patients. In view of the pandemic, vaccination is needed to defeat the virus. Only medicine and supplements, which enter the stomach or gives the energy to deal with hunger, will break the fast. The vaccine is injected without flowing into the stomach,” he added.
Asked whether Covid patients can fast, Mufti Zia said the patients should consult the doctors.
“It depends on the severity of illness. A patient should consult his or her doctor for suggestions. If he or she is severely ill, then Islam allows him or her to skip fasting during Ramadan. It can be compensated by keeping fast after recovery,” Mufti Zia said.
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