The “night of doubt” at the end of Ramadan aims to formalize the date of the beginning of the young Muslim. This year, it will be organized at the Grand Mosque of Paris, on Friday April 1st.
[Mis à jour le 24 mars 2022 à 16h59] In France, it is the French Council for Muslim Worship (CFCM) which reveals the date of the start of Ramadan, a month of fasting and deprivation considered “sacred” for practicing Muslims around the world, but also the date of Eid-el Fitr (fast breaking party). He communicates them several weeks in advance, based on astronomical calculations.
We now know that the “night of doubt” at the start of Ramadan, which must verify the entry into the new lunar month by observing the sky, has been set for Friday April 1 for this year 2022, but also that it will take place at the Grand Mosque of Paris. As for the first day of the month of Chaabane, which precedes that of Ramadan, it began on Friday March 4, as indicated by the great mosque of Paris in a press release. Consequently, the Night of Doubt announcing the beginning of the month of fasting in the year 1443 in France is set for Friday, April 1, corresponding to the 29th day of the month of Chaabane.
The Grand Mosque of Paris and three federations of mosques united in Coordination call “the Muslims of France to seize the opportunity of this blessed month […] to raise prayers for peace in the world, the protection and prosperity of our country and our fellow citizens”.
The date for the start of Ramadan 2022 has been set for Saturday April 2, and the date for its end, Monday May 2, announced Tuesday March 15 the CFCM, which calls on this occasion for prayers for peace in the world. During Ramadan, one of the pillars of Islam, believers are asked to abstain from drinking, eating, smoking and having sex, from dawn until sunset. Muslims are invited to pay alms for the poor, the zakât el-Fitr. This year, it was valued at seven euros per person, according to the CFCM. Ramadan will end with Eid al-Fitr, the feast of breaking the fast, which will take place on May 2, 2022.
Like its start date, the end date of Ramadan is, as a reminder, defined on the basis of the lunar cycle governing the Muslim calendar (aka Hijri calendar). However, a lunar month lasts 29 or 30 days there. A one-day shift is possible at the end of the different months of the lunar calendar on which Islam is based: if the crescent moon is observed, the month lasts 29 days; otherwise it is extended by one day.
The “Night of Doubt 2022” is therefore organized at the Grand Mosque of Paris on the 28th day of the month of the lunar calendar preceding the month of Ramadan. This day corresponds to Friday, April 1 in 2022. The religious commission has confirmed the start date of Ramadan 2022/1443 as Saturday April 2 (see the specialized calendar site Vercalendario), date already identified by the CFCM on the basis of astronomical calculations.
The tradition of the “night of doubt” refers to the “hadith”, an oral statement of the Prophet in which he notes: “Fast only when you see the lunar crescent and break the fast when you see it too”.