Zil Hijjah 2026 moon sighting meeting scheduled for May 17

ISLAMABAD: Zil-Hijjah 2026: The Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee meeting has been called for Sunday, May 17, corresponding to 29th Zikrada, to sight the moon of Zil-Hijjah 1447 AH.

According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the meeting has been called at the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Karachi. Chairman of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, Maulana Syed Muhammad Abdul Khabir Azad, will preside over the meeting.

Meetings of the Zonal and District Ruet-e-Hilal Committees will also be held at their respective headquarters that evening.

According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the final announcement of the sighting of the moon will be made by Chairman of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad.

It should be noted that yesterday, Suparco predicted the expected sighting of the moon of Zil-Hijjah 1447 AH, according to which the new moon of Zil-Hijjah 1447 AH is expected to appear on May 17, 2026 at 1:10 am.

The age of the new moon at sunset will be approximately 18 hours and 30 minutes. In the coastal areas of Pakistan, a gap of approximately 60 minutes is expected between sunset and moonset. Based on these astronomical data, the chances of seeing the Dhul-Hijjah moon on the evening of May 17, 2026 are considered favorable.

According to SUPARCO, the 1st of Dhul-Hijjah 1447 AH is expected to fall on Monday, May 18, 2026. SUPARCO has indicated that Eid-ul-Adha will likely fall on May 27. However, the final decision regarding the sighting of the moon and the start of the new Islamic month will be taken by the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.