11:05 PM:
Ramadan 1, 1435 will be Sunday, June 29, 2014. There were no authentic moon sighting reports from anywhere in North America on Friday, June 27, 2014 (Shaban 29, 1435). Shaban will complete its cycle of 30 days and Ramadan will begin at sunset on Saturday, June 28, 2014. The 1st day of Ramadan will be Sunday, June 29, 2014.
The committee wishes everyone a blessed and happy Ramadan.
Tarawih will begin on Saturday, June 28th.
Itikaf will begin at sunset on Friday, July 18th.
The Chicago Hilal Committee will meet on Sunday, July 27th (Ramadan 29, 1435) to determine Eid-ul-Fitr (Shawwal 1, 1435). Eid-ul-Fitr will be on either Monday, July 28th or Tuesday, July 29th.
10:20 PM:
We are aware of the sighting reports in Alabama and Texas; however, we still have not received any authentic moon sighting reports in North America. We are waiting for the sunset in West Coast, which is around 10:30 PM CDT. We will wait a short while after that to see if there are any moon sighting reports, after which we will make a final determination. We are hoping to make the final decision around 11:00 PM CDT, Insha-Allah.
10:00 PM:
There have not been any moon sighting reports from anywhere in North America. We are currently waiting for the sun to set in the West Coast. We will wait for sighting reports from the West before making a final decision on the start of Ramadan.
9:30 PM:
We still have not heard of any authentic moon sighting report from anywhere in North America. We will continue to monitor reports in the Midwest and West Coast. The sunset in parts of California are around 8:30 PM PDT (10:30 PM CDT). Per our criteria, we will wait till the sunset in those parts of the country before we make a final decision.
8:30 PM:
We have contacted several more representatives in the East Coast including Roanoke, VA, Miami and Orlando, FL. There have been no moon sighting reports from any of those places. The committee is breaking for Maghrib prayer and will resume their meeting shortly thereafter.
8:10 PM:
We have contacted several of our representatives in the East Coast including cities in Florida and Maryland. There have been no sighting reports. We will continue to contact representatives in the East as well as in the Midwest as the sun sets in those localities.
7:00 PM:
The Chicago Hilal Committee meeting is in progress. We have contacted our representatives in the Carribean. There were no sightings reported there. We will continue to contact representatives across North America as the sun sets. As per our policy, if there are no reported sightings, we will wait until the sun sets in California (around 10:30 PM CDT) before making a final determination.
6/25:
The Chicago Hilal Committee will meet on Friday, June 27, 2014 (Shaban 29, 1435) to determine the start of Ramadan. If the moon is seen on Friday, June 27th, Ramadan will begin on Saturday, June 28th. If the moon is not seen on Friday, June 27th, Ramadan will begin on Sunday, June 29th.
According to visibility forecasts, it is unlikely that the moon will be seen on Friday, June 27th anywhere in North America. Hence, Ramadan will most likely begin on Sunday, June 29th. The Chicago Hilal Committee will meet after Asr (6:30 PM CDT) on Friday, June 27th. Updates will continue through out the night until a final decision is made.
Please note that sunset in parts of California will be close to 10:30 PM CDT, so it is possible that a final decision will not be made till 11:30 PM CDT. Please bear with us as we contact our representatives throughout North America.
