Islamic bloc declares May 24 as Eid'l Fitr holiday

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Darul Iftah set on Sunday the Eid’l Fitr after failing to spot the new moon Friday night to mark the start of Shawal, the month after Ramadan in the lunar-based Hijrah calendar.

The Darul Iftah, or “House of Opinions” in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, is an Islamic policy bloc comprised of Muslim missionaries, among them graduates of religious schools in the Middle East and North Africa.

Abu Huraira Udasan, BARMM’s grand mufti (preacher), said Saturday they failed to see the new moon during a moon-sighting event Friday night, a centuries-old tradition in declaring the end Ramadan.

Ramadan, a yearly Islamic fasting season, is one of the 12 months in the Hijrah calendar.

Muslim southerners would have celebrated the Eid’l Fitr, or culmination of Ramadan, Saturday (May 23), had Darul Iftah members spotted the new moon last Friday night.

The Ramadan, like all other months in the Hijrah calendar, only lasts for 28 to 29 days.

Muslims celebrate the Eid’l Fitr after the new moon is sighted a day prior to the start of Shawal, which comes after Ramadan, a holy month in Islam.

“We shall, thus, observe the Eid’l Fitr on May 24, Sunday,” said Udasan, who is Darul Iftah's figurehead.

Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during the Ramadan as a religious obligation during which they focus on good deeds and reparation for wrongdoings.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, local government minister of BARMM, said Saturday local government units in the region have been informed of the exact date for the Eid’l Fitr based on Darul Iftah’s ruling.

Sinarimbo reminded BARMM residents of the appeals from the Darul Iftah and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos to refrain from going out for the traditional congregational Eid’l Fitr outdoor prayer rites as a COVID-19 precaution.

“We wish all Muslims in BARMM and elsewhere a solemn and peaceful Eid’l Fitr celebration in their homes,” Sinarimbo said.

Udasan said there is nothing wrong with performing the Eid’l Fitr prayers at home.

He said Islam has extensive teachings on quarantine procedures during outbreaks of infectious diseases that were enforced by the religion's progenitor, Mohammad, and many other Middle Eastern Islamic religious leaders that came after him.