Nasir ul Islam, Kashmir’s grand Mufti has on Tuesday said that Shab e Qadr will be observed on 17th April 2023 in the Kashmir valley (the intervening night of the 26th and 27th day of Ramadan).
In a meeting attended by several religious clerics from across Kashmir affiliated with all schools of thought, the committee unanimously decided that the Shab e Qadr will be observed on 17th April, 2023.
Scholars from Jamiat e Ahli Hadees, Hanafi, Deoband, Shia schools of thought participated in the meeting called to discuss the controversy over the crescent sighting in Kashmir. The religious organizations that attended the event were Darul Uloom Deoband Raheemiya, Jamiat Ahl e Hadith, Minhaj ul Quran, Karwan e Islami, Anjuman e Sharain Shia, Sout ul Awliya among others, however, various outfits from Kashmir did not participate in the meeting.
Mufti Nasir ul Islam stoked a major controversy in the Kashmir valley after he announced that the Ramadhan crescent was not sighted in Kashmir on 22 March, however, Kashmir historically has never looked for the crescent. In fact, since several decades, the Ruet e Hilal committee of Pakistan has been followed in Kashmir.
Despite his announcement, people offered Tarawih prayers on that day.