The holy month of Ramadan is sadly nearing its end. According to astronomical calculations, Ramadan 1438 will only be 29 days long.

Eid al-Fitr, or the ‘small feast’, is celebrated by Muslims on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Hijri calendar, which follows Ramadan.

The Islamic Hijri calendar is a lunar one, with each month beginning with the sighting of the crescent of the new moon. It is 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar calendar, causing the Hijri months to migrate throughout the seasons.

The astronomical new moon of Shawwal 1438 is expected, God willing, to begin on Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 2:31 UT.

On Saturday, the newborn crescent will be seen with difficulty in South and Central America, while there is a higher possibility of its sighting in Peru, Ecuador, Hawaii and the Polynesian Islands in the Pacific.

On Sunday, June 25, the new moon can be easily seen throughout the whole world.