The Month of Ramadan falls on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is seen by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, contemplation, and family reunions. The annual fasting of Ramadan is the fourth of the Five Pillars of Islam, and lasts for either twenty-nine or thirty days, starting from the sighting of the Ramadan crescent moon. The end of Ramadan is declared either at the sighting of Shawwal crescent or after completing thirty days of fasting if the moon's phases were not sighted. Determining the beginning of Ramadan in the Kingdom Regarding the sighting of the Ramadan crescent, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia religiously relies on direct visual observation of the moon's phases and the crescents in the sky. An observer and his assistants are commissioned to observe the crescents. Confirming the beginning of Ramadan in the Kingdom depends on the observer's ...