The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee on Wednesday announced that the Rabiul Awwal moon was not sighted, therefore, the Islamic month will commence on September 6 (Friday), and Eid-i-Miladun Nabi is set to fall on September 17.

The announcement was made after a meeting of the committee presided over by Chairman Abdul Khabeer Azad in Islamabad. Religious scholars from all schools of thought and weather experts attended the meeting.

Addressing a press conference, Chairman Abdul Khabeer Azad said: “[Reports of the moon sighting] were not received and thus, it was unanimously decided that the 1st of Rabiul Awwal will fall on Sept 6, Friday, and the 12th of Rabiul Awwal will fall on Sept 17, Tuesday”.

He said the committee strove to ensure that decisions were taken after achieving consensus on the basis of visual testimonies and Islamic law. However, he said the task of sighting the moon proved difficult when it was cloudy.

Muslims around the world celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), known in Arabic as the Mawlid al-Nabawi holiday, on the 12th of Rabiul Awwal — the third month of the Islamic lunar calendar.