Zilhaj moon sighted, Pakistan to celebrate Eidul Adha on June 17

ISLAMABAD: The Zilhaj moon has been sighted and Eidul Adha will fall on June 17 (Monday), Pakistan’s Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad announced on Friday evening.

The announcement was made after meeting of the committee at the main offices of the Pakistan Meteorological Department in Karachi.

A day earlier, Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court announced the sighting of the Zilhaj moon with the last month of the Islamic calendar beginning today.

The rituals of Hajj will commence on June 14 with the Day of Arafat on June 15. Eidul Adha will be observed in the kingdom on June 16.

Eidul Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice, is one of two Eid festivals celebrated by the Muslim faithful to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son to God. Traditionally marked by the slaughter of animals, whose meat is shared with family members and the poor.

The faithful slaughter their sacrificial animals in remembrance of the tradition of Prophet Ibrahimi, which continues for three days of Eid.