File photo: People shop from a stall selling Ramadan lanterns along a main street in the Shubra district of Egypt s capital Cairo at the start of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. AFP
Following Maghreb prayers after sunset, Dar Al-Ifta confirmed that Friday, 28 February, marks the 29th and last day in Sha’ban, based on the sighting of the crescent moon.
Earlier, Egypt's National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) announced that Ramadan will begin on 1 March in Egypt and most Arab countries, according to astronomical calculations.
Similarly, Saudi Arabia, home to the Islamic holy sites of Mecca and Medina, has also announced that Ramadan will start on Saturday.
The UAE, Qatar, Oman, Jordan and Syria also said Ramadan would start on Saturday.
Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, meanwhile announced that the holy month would begin on Sunday.
In recent years, several Muslim-majority countries, including Egypt, have adopted astronomical calculations to determine the start of Islamic lunar months.
Ramadan, the ninth month in the Hijri (Islamic) calendar, follows a lunar cycle, with each month starting upon the sighting of a new moon.
Muslims worldwide revere Ramadan as the month when the Holy Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
It is observed through fasting from dawn to sunset and increased prayers, Quran recitation, and acts of charity.
In Egypt, Muslims celebrate Ramadan with special meals, family gatherings, and Iftar invitations for loved ones.
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