The “Darul Iftah” or the “House of Opinions,” in Central Mindanao declared July 10 (Wednesday) as the start of the Ramadan fasting season after scholars failed to see the new moon the past two nights in the centuries-old moon-sighting tradition determining the advent of the “holy month” where Muslims fast at daytime for one lunar cycle.
According to Ustadz Jaafar Ali, a senior member of the Darul Iftah, said that local Muslim communities have to start fasting from dawn to dusk on July 10, 2013. All physically fit Muslims are obliged to abstain from food and drinks from dawn to dusk during the Ramadan season, which lasts for 28 to 29 days.
The Ramadan comes after the Islamic month of Shaban in the Hijrah calendar. Fasting is one of the “five pillars” of the Islamic faith, which include absolute belief in Allah, praying five times a day facing the west, going at least once in a lifetime to Mecca, Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj, and giving zakat (alms) to the poor.
The newly-appointed local government secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Atty. Anwar Malang together with his office enjoined all local government units in the autonomous region to adhere to the rulings of the Darul Iftah and help the police maintain law and order to ensure a peaceful observance of Ramadan.
The ARMM is home to more than 2 million Filipino Muslims, covering Maguindanao, and Lanao del Sur, both in Central Mindanao and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.
For the past few years, the first-day of fasting is usually declared as a Muslim holiday in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
