Philippine Muslims Begin Ramadan After Crescent Moon Eludes Nationwide Sighting
MANILA — As dusk settled over Manila Bay earlier this week, casting a muted violet haze across the western horizon, thousands of Filipino Muslims turned their gaze skyward. They were searching for the hilal — the fragile crescent moon whose first appearance marks the beginning of Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month. When the clouds refused to yield a sighting, a quiet and deliberate process unfolded across the archipelago, setting the rhythm for a period of devotion observed by millions.
On Thursday, February 19, Muslim communities throughout the Philippines formally commenced the fasting month of Ramadan for the Hijrah year 1447. The declaration followed the completion of a full thirty-day cycle of Sha’ban, the month preceding Ramadan, after synchronized moon-sighting efforts from Mindanao to the Sulu archipelago confirmed the crescent had not been seen on Tuesday evening.
The official pronouncement was issued jointly by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) and the Bangsamoro Darul-Ifta’, the highest Islamic advisory body in the country. At the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulrauf Guialani delivered the announcement with solemn authority, signaling the start of a sacred season defined by fasting, prayer and charity.
“The non-visibility of the crescent necessitated the completion of thirty days of Sha’ban,” the Darul-Ifta’ said in its advisory, affirming that the fast would begin Thursday rather than Wednesday.
The determination of Ramadan’s start in the Philippines remains a distinctive blend of ancient religious tradition and modern scientific coordination. Teams of trained observers were deployed to strategic vantage points including Timaku Hill in South Cotabato, coastal sites in Sulu, and elevated areas across General Santos City, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani. These moon-sighting missions worked in tandem with astronomical calculations provided by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), ensuring that centuries-old practice was informed by contemporary celestial data.
Yet, as in many parts of the Muslim world, uniformity is not absolute. In portions of Lanao del Sur and Marawi City, some local religious leaders chose to align their observance with Saudi Arabia, where Ramadan had been declared a day earlier based on its own moon sightings. This divergence reflects a long-standing theological discussion within Islam: whether communities should rely on local physical sighting or follow a globalized calendar anchored in the Arabian Peninsula, home to Islam’s holiest sites.
For Filipino Muslims, the arrival of Ramadan signals a profound reordering of daily life. From the first light of dawn until sunset, the faithful observe sawm, the obligatory fast that requires abstinence from food, drink and other physical needs. But practitioners consistently describe the fast not as deprivation, but as discipline — a means to cultivate taqwa, or heightened consciousness of God.
Across Mindanao and urban centers in Luzon and the Visayas, mosques and prayer halls have begun hosting Tarawih, the extended nightly congregational prayers unique to Ramadan. In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the cadence of the month is particularly visible: markets remain lively deep into the night, communal meals of iftar mark the sunset breaking of the fast, and charitable giving intensifies as families prepare zakat contributions for the poor.
The regional government has also adjusted working hours for Muslim employees, recognizing the physical demands of fasting and the need to accommodate prayer schedules. Officials said the measure is both practical and symbolic, underscoring the central place of Islamic observance in the region’s civic identity.
Outside BARMM, the observance extends into the country’s diverse Muslim diaspora communities — from Quiapo’s historic Golden Mosque district in Manila to smaller congregations in Cebu, Iloilo and Davao. In these settings, Ramadan often becomes a bridge between faith traditions, as non-Muslim neighbors participate in interfaith iftar gatherings and local governments extend greetings recognizing the start of the holy month.
Religious leaders have emphasized that beyond ritual, Ramadan carries ethical imperatives meant to shape social conduct. Sermons delivered this week across the country highlighted patience, compassion and restraint — virtues seen as particularly urgent in a society marked by economic inequality and political polarization. “Ramadan teaches empathy,” one imam in Cotabato said. “When you feel hunger, you remember those who live with it daily.”
National leaders have likewise issued messages of solidarity. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. extended greetings to Muslim Filipinos, acknowledging Ramadan as a period of “reflection, unity and service,” while BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim called on the faithful to use the month to strengthen peace and community harmony.
For the next thirty days, the rhythms of the archipelago will subtly shift. Pre-dawn meals known as suhoor will begin before sunrise, workplaces and schools in Muslim-majority areas will operate on adjusted schedules, and evenings will fill with prayer, family gatherings and acts of charity. As the moon waxes over the Philippine Sea and the Sulu waters, the fast will unfold as it has for more than fourteen centuries — an annual return to simplicity and spiritual focus.
In a nation defined by diversity of belief and geography, Ramadan remains a rare moment of synchronized devotion across islands and cultures. The shared abstinence of daylight hours and the communal breaking of the fast at dusk create a rhythm of unity that transcends region and language. It is a quiet convergence — not of politics or policy, but of faith.
And so, under a sky that briefly withheld its crescent sign, millions of Filipino Muslims have begun once more the ancient journey of Ramadan: a month in which the material recedes, the spiritual takes precedence, and the search for the divine becomes, for a time, the central task of everyday life. ©KuryenteNews