Government | Friday 15 June, 2018 2:02 am |

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman greeted Saudis and Muslims around the world on the eve of Eid Al-Fitr, which is on Friday. In an address, delivered on his behalf by Minister of Information Awwad Al-Awwad, the King hoped that the situation of Muslims would see improvement everywhere.

The King’s message follows the announcement by the Supreme Court that Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, will be on Friday, June 15. In a statement issued after its meeting on Thursday evening, the Supreme Court said that it had received reports from several courts regarding testimonies from people about sighting of the crescent moon on Thursday evening and accordingly Friday will be the first day of Shawwal.

The court congratulated King Salman, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, and the government and people of Saudi Arabia as well as the entire Muslim Ummah on the occasion of the Eid. The court meeting was chaired by Chief Justice Ghaihab Bin Muhammad Al-Ghaihab. The court earlier called on Muslims in the Kingdom to look out for the Shawwal crescent on Thursday evening, the 29th of Ramadan.

In his statement, King Salman said that he is congratulating Muslims from the vicinity of the Holy Kaaba on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. “Allah has made this Eid a declaration of happiness and joy after the completion of worship, that embodies the meanings of communication, cohesion and compassion, as well as sublime values of tolerance and solidarity,” he said, while asking Almighty Allah to make the Eid a festival of joy and pleasure for all Muslims.

“We praise God for honoring us – the people and leadership in the Kingdom – in serving the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims, a unique honor for us at all time and among all places,” he said while emphasizing that the Kingdom holds fast to the tolerant Islamic Shariah, strives to unite the Islamic Nation, and renounces extremism and extremism. The King beseeched Allah to protect the Kingdom and the world from all evil, and show mercy on those who were martyred for their religion and their homeland.

Meanwhile, King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman sent cables of greetings to several kings, heads of state, and leaders of Muslim countries on the eve of Eid Al-Fitr. They wished that this auspicious occasion would bring about more prestige, progress, empowerment, security and stability to the Muslim world. The King and Crown Prince also received several similar cables from the Muslim rulers and leaders.

King Salman also received phone calls from a number of leaders including President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jabir Al-Sabah, King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain and Kuwait Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jabir Al-Sabah, in which they exchanged greetings on the occasion of the Eid.

Muslims in most countries around the world are celebrating Eid Al-Fitr on Friday. These include all the Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar as well as Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Indonesia and Malaysia. Muslims in Russia, Australia, France, Japan and Singapore are also celebrating Eid on Friday.

Those who celebrate Eid on Saturday include Muslims of Pakistan. The crescent moon of Shawwal could not be sighted in the country on Thursday and hence Eid Al Fitr will be celebrated on Saturday, the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee of Pakistan announced. The decision was announced at a press conference after a meeting of the committee held in Karachi under the chairmanship of Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman.

In some parts of India, Eid is on Friday while Muslims in most parts of the country will celebrate the festival on Saturday.