RAMADAN. The official date for the start of the Ramadan 2022 fast (1443) is to be unveiled this Friday evening, during the “Night of Doubt” lunar observation organized at the Grand Mosque of Paris. Check out our special page!
The essential
- This Friday, April 1, takes place the “Night of Doubt” of lunar observation allowing to reveal the definitive date of the beginning of Ramadan 2022 (1443). Organized in the early evening, this event brings together several representative bodies of the Muslim faith in the Great Paris Mosque to observe the sky. This tradition should help determine whether or not the new Moon is visible today. If so, the month of Ramadan, and therefore the Muslim fast, will start well tomorrow, Saturday April 2.
- Based on astronomical calculations, the CFCM has already indicated that the start date of Ramadan 2022 corresponds to Saturday April 2. The Great Mosque of Paris also indicates that it is very likely that this will be confirmed this evening and does not advance any other alternative date.
Questions answers
Why do Muslims fast?
By fasting, Muslims practicing Ramadan seek to draw closer to God. A rapprochement which is effected, in their view, by the sacrifice of fasting, the memory of episodes of Islam and a reinforced spirituality. The month of fasting also aims to focus attention on the suffering of the poorest. Through fasting, Islam asks Muslims to distance themselves from material pleasures to focus more on their thoughts and actions. Ramadan fasting is therefore perceived by those who practice it as both physical and spiritual purification (through donations to charitable organizations or recitations of the Koran, for example).
Can we shower or take a bath during Ramadan?
According to the specialized association “Havre de savoir”, this is permitted because “the Prophet poured water on his head to refresh himself and quench his thirst”. Nevertheless, the same source specifies that the faster must be very careful not to swallow water.
Ramadan fasting: what happens to those who forget to eat or drink?
According to the association Havre de savoir, the fast of one who eats or drinks by forgetfulness remains valid, and he has “nothing to make up for” because “the Prophet says” on this subject “‘anyone who eats or drinks while ‘He is in a state of fasting, let him continue his fast because it is God who fed and watered him'”.
How do Ramadan worshipers know when to eat and pray?
As sunrise and sunset times are not the same throughout France, online calendars detailing times by geographical area allow Muslims practicing the Ramadan fast to find their bearings.
Learn more
Ramadan 2022 (1443) begins, according to its date estimated by astronomical calculations, Saturday, April 2, 2022 in France. According to a March 13 press release relayed by the group franceinfo, the CFCM (French Council of Muslim Worship), representative body of Islam in France, announced the astronomical date of the beginning of the month of Ramadan in these terms: “In accordance with scientific data, the conjunction of the new moon of Ramadan 1443H will take place on April 1, 2022 at 06:24 hours (UTC). The visibility of the moon will be possible on the same day on the American continent and part of the African continent”, affirmed the office of the instance. As a result, “Saturday April 2, 2022 is the first day of Ramadan in the year 1443H”.
The Night of Doubt organized on Friday April 1 in the early evening at the Grand Mosque of Paris should make it possible to confirm this date officially.
If the Paris Mosque approves the astronomical date of Ramadan 2022 (1443) in France, it will however be necessary to wait for the lunar observation taking place during the Night of Doubt for the formalization of the start date of Ramadan.
Two methods coexist in France to determine the start of the month of Ramadan: traditional lunar observation and astronomical calculations. In its press release of March 15 entitled “Announcement of the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan”, the Coordination of National Muslim Federations (FFAICA, GMP, MF and RMF) for which these two methods are “complementary”, specifies on this point that during the “Night of Doubt”, the “Theological Commission of Coordination (…) will take into consideration the results of the work on the adoption of scientific calculation and universal astronomical data for the determination of the beginning and end of the blessed month of Ramadhan”.
The date of Friday April 1 in the evening, during which the coordination made up of the four Muslim federations (FFAIACA, GMP, MF and RMF) meets at the Great Mosque of Paris for the “Night of Doubt”, corresponds to the 29th day of the month of Chaâbane. The month in question precedes the month of Ramadan in the Muslim calendar. In this lunar calendar, the year 2022 corresponds to the Hijri year 1443. Depending on whether or not the crescent moon is visible in the sky, the month can last 29 or 30 days. It is a question of which, via “The Night of Doubt”, to determine the date of the beginning of the new month thanks to the appearance of the New moon. The “Night of Doubt” at the end of Ramadan at the Grand Mosque of Paris will take place on Sunday May 1, 2022.
During the month of fasting, Muslims honor five prayers a day: Fejr, Dhuhr, Asser, Maghreb and Icha. The Ramadan calendar allows you to know the times of the prayers in question.
Regarding the representation of Muslims in France, an important change took place in March 2021, with the split between the French Council for Muslim Worship, the institution representing the Muslim faith in France and four of its former Muslim federations (the famous FFAIACA, GMP, MF and RMF). Since that thunderclap in the sky of Islam in France, the CFCM is once again relying on scientific data to formalize the dates of Ramadan, several weeks in advance. It is also the modus operandi followed by the Muslim Theological Council of France (CTMF, a body of imams particularly close to the Muslim Brotherhood, but who do not replace the representative bodies).
Another recent twist, the four dissident federations of the CFCM established their “National Council of Imams” at the end of November 2021. The Elysée had made this request to the CFCM in the fall of 2020, as part of the fight against Islam radical and “separatism”. The four federations which have taken their independence therefore wish to “label” the imams practicing in France by themselves, a role which the CFCM is already contesting as related 20 minutes.