Ramzan begins after crescent sighting in Hyderabad; first time in February after 33 years

Hyderabad: Ramzan, the Muslim month of fasting, will begin on Thursday in the city, with the sighting of the crescent on Wednesday night.The official moon-sighting committees of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh confirmed the sighting of the crescent, heralding Ramzan in the Telugu states and other parts of India. This is the first Ramzan falling in winter, though at the fag end of the season, after a gap of 33 years. The last time Ramzan began in Feb was in 1993 (Feb 23). This year, it will begin on Feb 19.
As the Islamic holy month falls half in winter and half in the beginning of the summer this year, the fasting hours are relatively smaller. This Ramzan, the longest duration of fast will fall on March 19 with 13 hours and 21 minutes while the shortest will be on Feb 19 with a duration of 12 hours and 40 minutes in Hyderabad. The duration of the fasting is also one of the shortest in three decades.Since the Hegira (AH) calendar followed by Muslims all over the world is purely a lunar calendar, it falls short of 11 days every year in comparison to the solar calendar. This results in Ramzan and other months of the Muslim calendar falling in different months of the solar or common calendar. The lunar and the solar calendars coincide after a cycle of every 33 years. Thus Ramzan began in February only thrice in the last 100 years.With the sighting of the crescent, special night prayers called Taraweeh, in which the whole of the Holy Quran is recited during the month, began in all mosques and makeshift prayer halls across Hyderabad and other parts of the Telugu states. Haleem, which has over the decades become synonymous with Ramzan delicacies, made its presence felt all over. This year, a few new traditional dishes from the Arab world were added to the Hyderabadi cuisine. Also, date varieties that were hardly available in the city have been stocked up this Ramzan.While several charitable and voluntary organisations have made arrangements for supply of free Sahar (pre-dawn meal signalling start of the day-long fast) to Muslim students, particularly girls, staying in hostels, others have announced supply of Sahar meal at doorsteps on payment. Muslim passengers passing through select railway stations will also be provided free Sahar if they book the meal in advance. A few hotels in the old city have opened their doors for free Sahar to the poor.Meanwhile, the historical Charminar along with its lanes and bylanes was spruced up on Ramzan eve on Wednesday night, with the devout making last-minute shopping for Sahar. The state govt has permitted shops to remain open till 5 am during Ramzan in view of the shopping rush. Many mosques, which otherwise witness thin attendance, were full with devotees turning up in large numbers for the Taraweeh and other special prayers.Many mosque committees have decided to create awareness about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters lists in Telangana and AP scheduled for March-April. Counters have planned with the 2002 SIR list to assist the voters find their names and get ready with the documents listed in the ECI website in case their name is missing from the last SIR list. Muslims have been advised to correct any spelling errors in their documents to avoid any last minute rush for corrections.As many devout offer charity and Zakat (compulsory charity on gold, silver and savings) during Ramzan, officials have warned against fake charity websites and organisations. Clicking on fake or suspicious charity donation links could lead to online fraud.