Ramadan is the month God decreed for fasting. It is the 9th month of the lunar calendar. The full details of fasting are given in Quran 2:183-187.
O you who believe, fasting is decreed
for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you
may attain salvation. (2:183)
Ramadan is the month during which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein.... (2:185)
The new moon timings to determine the month of Ramadan are as follows:
05 May 2019 - 03 June 2019: God willing the first day of Ramadan is 05 May, and the last day of Ramadan is 03 June for USA and Canada (e.g., we checked for Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Phoenix, Tucson, Chicago, Dallas, Miami New York, Washington DC, Ottawa, Toronto). Please verify / check with the information available for your location using the Ramadan Calculation Assistant and the US Naval Observatory solar & lunar data.
06 May 2019 - 03 June 2019: God willing the first day of Ramadan is 06 May, and the last day of Ramadan is 03 June for Europe (e.g., we checked for London, Berlin, Rome, Moscow, Istanbul), much of Asia (e.g., we checked for Mecca, Tehran, Dubai, Karachi, Mumbai, Chennai, Dhaka, Hong Kong) and Africa (e.g., we checked for Lagos, Tripoli, Cairo, Johannesburg, Nairobi). Please check with the information available for your location using the Ramadan Calculation Assistant and the US Naval Observatory solar & lunar data.
06 May 2019 - 04 June 2019: God willing the first day of Ramadan is 06 May, and the last day of Ramadan is 04 June for parts of Asia (e.g., we checked for Tokyo), Australia, New Zealand. Please check with the information available for your location using the Ramadan Calculation Assistant and the US Naval Observatory solar & lunar data (moon phase calculator).
The Night of Destiny (Night of Power) will start, God willing, at sunset on May 30, 2019 for those places that start fasting May 5. For those locations that start Ramadan on May 06 (a day later), the Night of Destiny falls on May 31, 2019 God willing.
(*1 Note): While we try to check the dates, to be safe for the sake of our own souls, we request if you could please verify the calculations. If you have questions about calculating the start and end days of Ramadan, please refer to September 2009 issue of the Submitters Perspective. Dates and times of Moon phases and sunrise/sunset can be found from: US Naval Observatory (an alternative site is NOAA). All times are in UTC (Universal Time / GMT). To convert to your time zone you can use a Time Zone Converter. You will also need to convert the new moon times from UTC (GMT) to your local time zone (taking into account daylight savings if applicable). You will also need to check the times of your local sunset.
We also have for your convenience (please verify computed results for accuracy) a Ramadan Dates Calculator.
More details on Ramadan including information about why the calculation is done as above (i.e., the beginning of the day is at sunset) is available in an article on Ramadan. Other Ramadan articles are linked at the top of this page.
* For your specific location you can visit the USNO
Sun/Moon daily data page. Calculate the information for
the date you are interested. Compare the time of sunset with the time for the new moon (in local time).