Pilgrims Mount `Arafat on December 29

By Ahmed Al-Amodi, IslamOnline.net Correspondent

Standing on Mount `Arafat before sunset is the high point of hajj.

RIYADH — Nearly two million Muslim pilgrims from across the world will ascend Mount `Arafat, the climax of the annual hajj, on Friday, December 29, Saudi Arabia has announced.
"The moon of the lunar month of Dhul-Hijjah (the 12th month of the Islamic calendar) was sighted on Wednesday, December 20," said a statement by the Saudi Supreme Judicial Council.

The start of Dhul-Hijjah is Thursday, December 21, and `Arafat will fall on Friday, December 29.

Standing on Mount `Arafat, where Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered his last sermon 14 centuries ago, before sunset is the high point of hajj, and pilgrims who fail to make it here on time must repeat their pilgrimage in future.

The four-day Eid Al-Adha, one of the two main religious festivals in the Islamic calendar, will be celebrated as of Saturday, December 30.

It starts with pilgrims' sacrificial of sheep, goats and cows as a reminder of the great act of sacrifice Prophet Ibrahim and his son Isma`eel were willing to make for the sake of God.

One of the five pillars of Islam, hajj consists of several ceremonies, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim -- who can financially afford the trip -- must perform hajj once in their lifetime.

Calculations

According to astronomical calculations, the start of Dhul-Hijjah was expected on Friday, December 22 and `Eid Al-Adha on Sunday, December 31.

"The new crescent of Dhul-Hijjah could not have been sighted Wednesday because the moon went down before sunset," Professor Zaki el-Mustafa, head of the Astronomy Department at King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology, told IslamOnline.net.

"The start of the new month should be on Friday," he averred.

"Whoever claims to have seen the new moon must have been mistaken," said professor Mustafa.

"According to the actual sighting of the crescent, the start of Dhul-Hijjah should be on Friday 22 December 2006 in almost all the world and hence `Eid Al-Adha should start on Sunday 31 December 2006," the Islamic Crescent Observation Project (ICOP) said on its website.

The ICOP, established in 1998 as a global project, primary aims to gather information about the crescent observations at the start of each lunar month in different countries and regions across the world.

Its membership has expanded over the years to include now up to 300 astronomers and scientists.

Malaysia will celebrate Eid Al-Adha on Sunday, December 31, the keeper off the rulers seal announced Wednesday over Malaysian radio and television stations.