Somalia declares Saturday first day of Ramadan
By: Ahmed Mohamed
Somali government on Friday night announced that Saturday 27th May 2017 as the first day of Ramadan.
According to the Permanent secretary of the ministry of religious, Sheikh Mohamed Kheyrow, Saturday was marked to be the first of Ramadhan after several people from different areas confirmed seeing the crescent of Ramadhan month.
Al-Shabaab group has also announced that May 27th to be the first day of Ramadan after confirming seeing the moon crescent,
The UAE, Jordan and the Palestinian territories have also confirmed seeing the Ramadan moon crescent and declared today as the first day of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims.
More than 2 billion Muslims around the world will mark the month of Ramadan, during which believers abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having marital relations from dawn until sunset.
Muslims are also enjoined to avoid evil thoughts and deeds.
Ramadan is sacred to Muslims because it was during this month that the Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Fasting the month of Ramadan is also one of the five pillars of Islam.
Some other Muslim majority countries like Indonesia have also announced the commencement of Ramadan.
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