Many people were surprised to see the recent announcement by the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia calling upon residents of the Kingdom to search for the crescent moon on Wednesday 29th June, which is 30 Dhul Qadah 1443 according to the Umm Al Qura calendar.

The appearance of the crescent moon would denote the 1st night of the month of Dhul Hijjah 1443.

But wouldn’t they usually search on 29th Dhul Qadah? That’s the question some people have been asking on social media.

On Monday, Haramain Sharifain, a news publication that brings the latest from the Two Holy Mosques, tweeted: “The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia has called upon residents of the Kingdom to search for the crescent of the month of Dhul Hijjah 1443 on the evening of Wednesday, 30 Dhul Qadah 1443 according to Umm Al Qura corresponding to June 29th 2022 and report any sightings.”

It led to confusion amongst some with one person replying: “This is very worrying and disturbing. How can you search for a crescent on the 30th instead of 29th, Tuesday? Whether you like it or not, there is no 31 days in the Islamic months. It shows the 11th month must be 30 days, that’s what you are telling us.”

So if Hijri months can only have 29 or 30 days, how does this work?

The Umm Al Qura calendar, which is followed by many Muslims, is calculated according to astronomical calculations and not sightings.

According to official Saudi moon-sighting observatories, however, today is in fact 29th Dhul Qadah. For this reason, the search for the crescent moon will take place tonight.

Follow Islam Channel to find out the latest situation and watch for the announcement of Dhul Hijjah and, therefore, confirmation of the dates for the Day of Arafah and Eid al-Adha.