There are two possibilities for the timing of Eid al-Adha in 2024, based on the number of days in the month of Dhu al-Qi'dah.
In a few days, the month of Dhu al-Hijjah will begin, and Muslims are already asking about the first days of the month, which are tied to the Day of Arafah and the blessed Eid al-Adha, to prepare for sacrifices and festivities. The query "First Days of Eid al-Adha" has topped search engines in most Arab and Islamic countries recently. According to the "International Astronomy Center," many Islamic countries began the month of Dhu al-Qi'dah on Friday, May 10, 2024. These countries will look for the crescent moon for the month of Dhu al-Hijjah on Friday, June 7, which will mean the first day of Dhu al-Hijjah will be Saturday, June 8, or Sunday, June 9, and the first day of Eid al-Adha will be Monday, June 17, or Tuesday, June 18.
According to a statement from the "International Astronomy" on its official account on "X," since the crescent sighting on Friday, June 7, is likely to be visible to the naked eye from most countries worldwide, it is expected that all these countries will start the month of Dhu al-Hijjah on Saturday, June 8, making Monday, June 17, the first day of Eid al-Adha.
Meanwhile, the majority of Islamic countries began the month of Dhu al-Qi'dah on Thursday, May 9. These countries will look for the crescent moon on Thursday, June 6, making the first day of Dhu al-Hijjah Friday, June 7, or Saturday, June 8, and the first day of Eid al-Adha will be Sunday, June 16, or Monday, June 17. Since the moon will set shortly after sunset on Thursday, June 6, in the central and western parts of the Islamic world, it is possible that many of these countries will begin the month of Dhu al-Hijjah on Friday, June 7, making Sunday, June 16, the first day of Eid al-Adha.
It is worth noting that the shortest visibility period for a crescent moon seen with the naked eye was 29 minutes, while the shortest age of a crescent moon visible to the naked eye was 15 hours and 33 minutes. However, it is not sufficient for the visibility period and age of the crescent to exceed these values, as visibility is dependent on other factors such as its angular distance from the sun and its position above the horizon at the time of observation.
To simplify, there are two possibilities for the timing of Eid al-Adha in 2024, based on the number of days in Dhu al-Qi'dah:
**First Case:**
If Dhu al-Qi'dah has 30 days, then the first day of Dhu al-Hijjah will be Saturday, June 8, the Day of Arafah will be Sunday, June 16, and the first day of Eid al-Adha will be Monday, June 17, 2024.
**Second Case:**
If Dhu al-Qi'dah has 29 days, then the first day of Dhu al-Hijjah will be Friday, June 7, the Day of Arafah will be Saturday, June 15, and the first day of Eid al-Adha will be Sunday, June 16, 2024.
The "International Astronomy" statement noted that many Islamic countries rely on their local sightings to determine the beginnings of lunar months generally, including countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Oman, Morocco, Mauritania, Turkey, and some non-Arab Islamic countries in Africa.
