Fasting by the People of Africa Based on the Sighting of the People of Makkah
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The second question of the fatwa ( 3686 )
Q2: Is it possible for the people of Africa to fast based on the sighting of the people of Makkah ?
Part 2: A decision has been issued by the Council of Senior Scholars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding this issue. Its content is as follows: First: The difference in the sighting of the new moons is a matter known necessarily by sense and reason, and no scholar has differed on this. The disagreement among Muslim scholars lies only in: whether to consider the difference in sightings, or not to consider it. Second: The issue of considering the difference in sightings or not is a theoretical matter in which there is room for independent legal reasoning (ijtihad). Disagreement on this is a reality among those with expertise in knowledge and religion. It is a permissible disagreement in which the correct one is rewarded with two rewards: the reward for ijtihad and the reward for being correct, and the one who errs is rewarded with the reward for ijtihad. The scholars have differed on this issue into two positions: some held that the difference in sightings should be considered, while others held that it should not. Each side presented evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, and perhaps both sides cited the same text, such as their shared reliance on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
[Al-Baqarah 2:189] and the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih Muslim 1081b the hadith. This is due to the difference in understanding the text and each side taking a different path in deriving evidence from it. Given the considerations the Council has seen and assessed, and given that the disagreement on this issue does not have consequences whose outcomes are feared, it has been fourteen centuries since the emergence of this religion, and we do not know of any period in which the Muslim community was unified on a single sighting. Therefore, the members of the Council of Senior Scholars see that the matter should remain as it has been, and that this topic should not be stirred up. Each Islamic state should have the right to choose, through its scholars, whichever of the two opinions mentioned in the issue it sees fit, as each has its evidence and foundations.
Third: The Council examined the issue of establishing the new moons by calculation, and what has come in the Book and the Sunnah, and reviewed the statements of the scholars on this. They decided unanimously not to consider astronomical calculations in establishing the new moons in legal matters; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 1081b the hadith. And his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Sunan an-Nasa'i 2122Sahih (Darussalam) the hadith, and the evidence in the meaning of that. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q2: Is it possible for the people of Africa to fast based on the sighting of the people of Makkah ?
Part 2: A decision has been issued by the Council of Senior Scholars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding this issue. Its content is as follows: First: The difference in the sighting of the new moons is a matter known necessarily by sense and reason, and no scholar has differed on this. The disagreement among Muslim scholars lies only in: whether to consider the difference in sightings, or not to consider it. Second: The issue of considering the difference in sightings or not is a theoretical matter in which there is room for independent legal reasoning (ijtihad). Disagreement on this is a reality among those with expertise in knowledge and religion. It is a permissible disagreement in which the correct one is rewarded with two rewards: the reward for ijtihad and the reward for being correct, and the one who errs is rewarded with the reward for ijtihad. The scholars have differed on this issue into two positions: some held that the difference in sightings should be considered, while others held that it should not. Each side presented evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, and perhaps both sides cited the same text, such as their shared reliance on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the new moons. Say, "They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj."
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّObserve fast on sighting it (the new moon) and break (fast) on sighting it (the new moon)
صوموا لرؤيته وأفطروا لرؤيتهThird: The Council examined the issue of establishing the new moons by calculation, and what has come in the Book and the Sunnah, and reviewed the statements of the scholars on this. They decided unanimously not to consider astronomical calculations in establishing the new moons in legal matters; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Observe fast on sighting it (the new moon) and break (fast) on sighting it (the new moon)
صوموا لرؤيته وأفطروا لرؤيتهD not fast until you see it , and do not stop fasting until you see it
لا تصوموا حتى تروه، ولا تفطروا حتى تروه
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.