First Day of Ramadan 1446 and Eid ul-Fitr

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Based on the ICCNC policy for determining the start of Ramadan and other Islamic lunar months (summarized below), Ramadan 1446 is most likely to begin on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

The new moon (conjunction) will occur on Friday, February 28, 2025, and is expected to be visible to the naked eye throughout the U.S.  Visibility charts are shown below.  Please check our website, email, and social media on the evening of Friday, February 28th, for confirmation of the moon sighting and the start of Ramadan.

The new moon for Shawwal (conjunction) will occur on Saturday, March 29, 2025.  While it may be visible under ideal conditions in the western U.S., it is not expected to be visible with naked eye elsewhere until Sunday, March 30, 2025.  Therefore, Eid ul-Fitr and the first day of Shawwal 1446 will likely be either Sunday, March 30th, or Monday, March 31st, 2025.

ICCNC Policy on Declaring the First Day of Ramadan and Other Islamic Lunar Months

The Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California uses the following principles in announcing the beginning and the end of Ramadan and other Islamic lunar months: 

1. ICCNC follows the opinion of the majority of Shia legal scholars who believe that the new crescent moon must be sighted within the relative localities. In our case, in North America, to declare the beginning of a new lunar month.

2. If based on the scientific calculations, the probability of sighting the new crescent moon with unaided eyes does not exist in the San Francisco Bay Area, or it is impossible due to the weather, then ICCNC relies on its network of Shia scholars and institutions in California and North America to confirm the sighting of the new moon. 

3. ICCNC follows the rulings of the majority of Shia scholars who require that the new crescent moon has to be sighted with the naked eye, without using any instruments such as telescopes or binoculars.

4. ICCNC does not use the astronomical calculations used by many Islamic institutions and mosques in North America to determine the first day of a lunar calendar. The new moon usually cannot be sighted when it is just born in the sky (the day of conjunction). According to the majority of Shia scholars, the new crescent moon must be sighted with the naked eye by at least two people.

5. ICCNC does not follow the announcements of Eid or the beginning of the new lunar months made in other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, etc. The new crescent moon has to be sighted in North America.

6. The passage of 30 days in a lunar month confirms the birth of the new crescent marking the beginning of the next month

7. Most importantly, according to the Shia legal scholars, the determination of the first day of Ramadan or Eid ul-Fitra is an individual inquiry. If an individual who inquires, believes that a specific day is Eid, then that individual is obligated to follow his/her conviction.

We pray to God and ask Him to strengthen the unity of the Muslims in America and across the world, Inshallah.