The Ruling on Muslims Disagreeing on the Sighting of the Ramadan Moon
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The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. Questions and ideas always come up regarding the sighting of the moon for the blessed month of Ramadan, Shaykh Salih. Especially since there are also people who mention and say that the Muslim community unites in the sighting of the moon for the month of Hajj, so why do they not also unite in the sighting of the moon for the month of Ramadan? What does Shaykh Salih say? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified this, so it was clarified. He said: "Fast when you see it, and break your fast when you see it. If it is obscured from you, then complete the count for it." So he tied fasting to an apparent matter, in which there is no burden or hardship, and that is the sighting of the moon, or completing the count of Sha'ban to thirty days if the moon is not seen.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He,[Al-Hajj 22:78]. Praise be to Allah.
He made the signs for acts of worship clear, known by the layperson and the scholar, and known by the city dweller and the Bedouin, and that is by the sighting of the moon, or completing the count of Sha'ban to thirty days. As He made the times for the prayers apparent, known by everyone: Fajr by the rising of the dawn, Zuhr by the sun passing from the middle of the sky toward the west, 'Asr by the shadow of a thing becoming equal to it, when the upright object and its shadow are equal, like a wall and a person, or a stick or any upright object, when the elevated upright object becomes equal to its shadow, this stick is a clear sign.
The presenter:
Yes, yes.
The Shaykh:
And He made the time for Maghrib by the setting of the sun, which is a clear thing, the setting of the sun on the horizon, and the approach of night from the east. And He made the sign for the entry of the time for 'Isha' by the disappearance of the red twilight. And likewise, fasting, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says[Al-Baqarah 2:187]. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said These are clear signs in which there is no burden, and praise be to Allah.
And it is not necessary for people to unite in fasting, because this would be a hardship for them.
So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, made it easy and tied the matter to the sighting of the moon for each region that is distant from another such that the points of observation differ, as we indicated. But if they are in a region or area where the points of observation do not differ, then the sighting of one Muslim is sufficient, and fasting becomes obligatory for all people. Everyone who is informed of the sighting of the moon is required to fast by that, by the sighting of others, and praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah.
And it does not harm that Muslims differ in the beginning and end of fasting, because every group is commanded to fast according to their sighting, and to break their fast according to their sighting. And this is a facilitation for the community. And no disorder occurred in the community in the early period, in the era of the Companions and the Tabi'un and the blessed centuries. No disorder occurred in their community due to their not uniting in fasting.
The presenter:
Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh:
As they do not pray at the same time, people in different parts of the earth do not pray at the same time, not Zuhr, not 'Asr, not Maghrib, not 'Isha', not Fajr. Their timings differ, and this did not harm the community as some ignorant people think, because Allah made it obligatory for every group of Muslims in any part of the earth to fast according to the signs, and to break their fast according to the signs, and to pray the five prayers according to the signs that Allah established when they appear to them in any place on earth. And what truly divided the Muslims
The presenter:
Yes, yes.
The Shaykh:
is only the difference in creed and the entry of superstitions and false beliefs into the Muslims. This is what divided them. When the Muslims were on one creed and on one religion and following the Book and the Sunnah, they were one community, not differing. And when false beliefs, deviant ideas, and misguided sects entered the community, they divided, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that this community will split into seventy-three sects, all in the Fire except one. They said: Who is it? He said: The one who is on what I am on and my Companions. This is the community that does not split. It was on what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions were on. This does not split, it does not split in its religion, even if it is separated in its homelands and bodies in the regions of the earth, but its religion is one, its creed is one, and their brotherhood is one. And likewise, what divided the Muslims was not judging by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger,
The presenter:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
When they ruled by man-made laws and the judgments of the taghut, division and disorder arose in the Muslim community. It is mentioned in the hadith:Sunan Ibn Majah 4019Sahih (Darussalam) These are the causes. It is obligatory to address these causes.
The presenter:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
so that the community agrees. As for the issue of the moon,
The presenter:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
the issue of the beginning of fasting or its end, these are legal rulings that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, explained for His servants, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) explained for his community. And no difference or division occurred in that.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. Shaykh Salih, how do you estimate the area for whose people it is possible to fast by the sighting of the moon at the same time?
The Shaykh:
As we mentioned, the area in which the point of observation does not differ. And some say if people share, if people share a part of the night, if they share a part of the night, then they will be fasting with one fast, and breaking their fast with one breaking of the fast. But if they do not share a part of the night, then for every group is their own sighting.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh:
Some define this by a distance according to the degrees of the sky, as the astronomers know that.
The presenter:
But what Shaykh Salih leans toward is.
The Shaykh:
is the difference in the points of observation, whether we say that this is according to the distance and the degrees of the sky, or that it is according to the agreement in a part of the night.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you, may Allah bless you, may Allah reward you with good, and do you good, may Allah reward you.
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. Questions and ideas always come up regarding the sighting of the moon for the blessed month of Ramadan, Shaykh Salih. Especially since there are also people who mention and say that the Muslim community unites in the sighting of the moon for the month of Hajj, so why do they not also unite in the sighting of the moon for the month of Ramadan? What does Shaykh Salih say? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified this, so it was clarified. He said: "Fast when you see it, and break your fast when you see it. If it is obscured from you, then complete the count for it." So he tied fasting to an apparent matter, in which there is no burden or hardship, and that is the sighting of the moon, or completing the count of Sha'ban to thirty days if the moon is not seen.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He,
and has not placed upon you in the religion any difficulty
وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍHe made the signs for acts of worship clear, known by the layperson and the scholar, and known by the city dweller and the Bedouin, and that is by the sighting of the moon, or completing the count of Sha'ban to thirty days. As He made the times for the prayers apparent, known by everyone: Fajr by the rising of the dawn, Zuhr by the sun passing from the middle of the sky toward the west, 'Asr by the shadow of a thing becoming equal to it, when the upright object and its shadow are equal, like a wall and a person, or a stick or any upright object, when the elevated upright object becomes equal to its shadow, this stick is a clear sign.
The presenter:
Yes, yes.
The Shaykh:
And He made the time for Maghrib by the setting of the sun, which is a clear thing, the setting of the sun on the horizon, and the approach of night from the east. And He made the sign for the entry of the time for 'Isha' by the disappearance of the red twilight. And likewise, fasting, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says
And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset.
وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ الْخَيْطُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الْخَيْطِ الْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ الْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِWhen the night approaches from here
إذا أقبلand the night approaches from here and the day departs from here and the night approaches from here and the sun sets, then the one who is fasting has broken his fast.
الليل من ها هنا وادبر اذا ادبر النهار من ها هنا واقبل الليل من ها هنا وغربت الشمس فقد افطر الصائم.And it is not necessary for people to unite in fasting, because this would be a hardship for them.
So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, made it easy and tied the matter to the sighting of the moon for each region that is distant from another such that the points of observation differ, as we indicated. But if they are in a region or area where the points of observation do not differ, then the sighting of one Muslim is sufficient, and fasting becomes obligatory for all people. Everyone who is informed of the sighting of the moon is required to fast by that, by the sighting of others, and praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah.
And it does not harm that Muslims differ in the beginning and end of fasting, because every group is commanded to fast according to their sighting, and to break their fast according to their sighting. And this is a facilitation for the community. And no disorder occurred in the community in the early period, in the era of the Companions and the Tabi'un and the blessed centuries. No disorder occurred in their community due to their not uniting in fasting.
The presenter:
Praise be to Allah. Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh:
As they do not pray at the same time, people in different parts of the earth do not pray at the same time, not Zuhr, not 'Asr, not Maghrib, not 'Isha', not Fajr. Their timings differ, and this did not harm the community as some ignorant people think, because Allah made it obligatory for every group of Muslims in any part of the earth to fast according to the signs, and to break their fast according to the signs, and to pray the five prayers according to the signs that Allah established when they appear to them in any place on earth. And what truly divided the Muslims
The presenter:
Yes, yes.
The Shaykh:
is only the difference in creed and the entry of superstitions and false beliefs into the Muslims. This is what divided them. When the Muslims were on one creed and on one religion and following the Book and the Sunnah, they were one community, not differing. And when false beliefs, deviant ideas, and misguided sects entered the community, they divided, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that this community will split into seventy-three sects, all in the Fire except one. They said: Who is it? He said: The one who is on what I am on and my Companions. This is the community that does not split. It was on what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions were on. This does not split, it does not split in its religion, even if it is separated in its homelands and bodies in the regions of the earth, but its religion is one, its creed is one, and their brotherhood is one. And likewise, what divided the Muslims was not judging by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger,
The presenter:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
When they ruled by man-made laws and the judgments of the taghut, division and disorder arose in the Muslim community. It is mentioned in the hadith:
Unless their leaders rule according to the Book of Allah and seek all good from that which Allah has revealed, Allah will cause them to fight one another.
أو في الأثر وما لم تحكم أئمتهم بكتاب الله إلا جعل الله بأسهم بينهمThe presenter:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
so that the community agrees. As for the issue of the moon,
The presenter:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
the issue of the beginning of fasting or its end, these are legal rulings that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, explained for His servants, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) explained for his community. And no difference or division occurred in that.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. Shaykh Salih, how do you estimate the area for whose people it is possible to fast by the sighting of the moon at the same time?
The Shaykh:
As we mentioned, the area in which the point of observation does not differ. And some say if people share, if people share a part of the night, if they share a part of the night, then they will be fasting with one fast, and breaking their fast with one breaking of the fast. But if they do not share a part of the night, then for every group is their own sighting.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh:
Some define this by a distance according to the degrees of the sky, as the astronomers know that.
The presenter:
But what Shaykh Salih leans toward is.
The Shaykh:
is the difference in the points of observation, whether we say that this is according to the distance and the degrees of the sky, or that it is according to the agreement in a part of the night.
The presenter:
May Allah bless you, may Allah bless you, may Allah reward you with good, and do you good, may Allah reward you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، لماذا لا يتفق المسلمون برؤية هلال رمضان مثل ما يتفقون برؤية هلال شهر ذي الحجة؟ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.