They fast in India two days after the people in other countries have fasted, so should I fast with India or with Saudi Arabia?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. After this, a message was sent by one of the listening brothers. He says: I am a student studying in India, and my name is Abu Sultan. He asks and says: In India, the people fast Ramadan two days after the people in other lands have fasted. So, may Allah reward you with good, do we fast Ramadan with India or with Saudi Arabia? Knowing that there is a difference between India and Saudi Arabia. And knowing that if we fast with Saudi Arabia or any other country, the festival prayer will be missed, and we will not pray it. I ask Allah, then you, to answer this question. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
It is obligatory for the Muslim to fast with the Muslims who live with him in whatever country he is in. And it is obligatory for the Muslims to strive to see the new moon. So they should search for the sighting of the new moon. If they see it on the night of the thirtieth of Sha'ban, they fast. If they do not see it on the night of the thirtieth of Sha'ban, they complete the count of Sha'ban to thirty days, then they fast. This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent the instruction.
So it is obligatory for the Muslims in India or elsewhere to strive themselves in India, to strive to search for the new moon. If they see it on the night of the thirtieth of Sha'ban, they fast, so Sha'ban becomes twenty-nine days. If they do not see it, they complete the count of Sha'ban to thirty, then they fast after that. They fast together and break their fast together. This is what is prescribed for the Muslim: to be with the Muslims who fasted upon its sighting and broke their fast upon its sighting. If it is cloudy for you, then complete the count of Sha'ban to thirty. In a narration, it says: "If it is cloudy for you, then accept it for him and her, completing the count of Sha'ban." As in the narration we mentioned. May Allah reward you with good.
So every Muslim must follow the people of the country in which he naturally lives. And the Muslims must take care of the matter of the new moon. They must take care of the matter of the new moon and watch for its sighting. If they do so, they will be successful, if Allah wills.
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. After this, a message was sent by one of the listening brothers. He says: I am a student studying in India, and my name is Abu Sultan. He asks and says: In India, the people fast Ramadan two days after the people in other lands have fasted. So, may Allah reward you with good, do we fast Ramadan with India or with Saudi Arabia? Knowing that there is a difference between India and Saudi Arabia. And knowing that if we fast with Saudi Arabia or any other country, the festival prayer will be missed, and we will not pray it. I ask Allah, then you, to answer this question. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
It is obligatory for the Muslim to fast with the Muslims who live with him in whatever country he is in. And it is obligatory for the Muslims to strive to see the new moon. So they should search for the sighting of the new moon. If they see it on the night of the thirtieth of Sha'ban, they fast. If they do not see it on the night of the thirtieth of Sha'ban, they complete the count of Sha'ban to thirty days, then they fast. This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent the instruction.
So it is obligatory for the Muslims in India or elsewhere to strive themselves in India, to strive to search for the new moon. If they see it on the night of the thirtieth of Sha'ban, they fast, so Sha'ban becomes twenty-nine days. If they do not see it, they complete the count of Sha'ban to thirty, then they fast after that. They fast together and break their fast together. This is what is prescribed for the Muslim: to be with the Muslims who fasted upon its sighting and broke their fast upon its sighting. If it is cloudy for you, then complete the count of Sha'ban to thirty. In a narration, it says: "If it is cloudy for you, then accept it for him and her, completing the count of Sha'ban." As in the narration we mentioned. May Allah reward you with good.
So every Muslim must follow the people of the country in which he naturally lives. And the Muslims must take care of the matter of the new moon. They must take care of the matter of the new moon and watch for its sighting. If they do so, they will be successful, if Allah wills.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، يصومون في الهند بعد يومين من صيام الناس في البلاد الأخرى، فهل أصوم مع الهند أو مع السعودية؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.