The start date of the Muslim fast was, as every year, confirmed after the lunar observation of the “night of doubt” at the Great Mosque of Paris.
[Mis à jour le 1er avril 2022 à 19h32] At the end of the “night of doubt” organized on the evening of Friday April 1 at the Great Mosque of Paris, the final official date for the start of Ramadan 2022 (1443) was communicated by the Religious Commission mobilized on this occasion, around from 7 p.m.: this is the Saturday, April 2, 2022. Concretely, this traditional observation of the sky verifies, in addition to astronomical calculations, the entry or not into the new lunar month… and therefore into the month of Muslim fasting.
Based on astronomical calculations, the French Council of Muslim Worship (CFCM), the main representative body of Islam in France, had given as of March 13 the theoretical start date of Ramadan, this month of fasting and deprivation considered “sacred” by practicing Muslims around the world. The body also issued the estimated date of Eid-el Fitr (feast of breaking the fast), estimated at Monday May 2.
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 an alms of seven euros per person for the poor, the “zakât el-Fitr”.
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” was organized at the Grande Paris Mosque on the 29th day of the month of the lunar calendar preceding the month of Ramadan. This day corresponded to Friday, April 1 in 2022. The Night of Doubt event was to follow on this page of the official website of the Great Mosque of Paris. The religious commission has estimated the start date of Ramadan 2022/1443 at Saturday April 2 (see the specialized calendar site Vercalendario), date already identified by the CFCM on the basis of astronomical calculations.
Where does the tradition of the “Night of Doubt” come from?
The “Night of Doubt” tradition 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 also see it”. In the Muslim calendar, the “night of doubt” marks the end of a lunar month, and the beginning of the following lunar month. It therefore plays a role both in formalizing the start date of the Ramadan fast, but also in confirming the end date of this “holy month”.