The Shaykh’s explanation of the sixth hadith, which is the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas (that an Arab came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “I have seen the crescent moon.” He said, “Do you testify…

The Shaykh : The author then cited another hadith that may carry the same meaning as the first hadith, but if we look closely at it, we find a difference between it and the first in terms of its implication. That is his statement: “And from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) that an Arab came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and said “I have seen the crescent moon”. This is the first difference and variation between the previous narration and this one. In the previous one, the one who testified was Ibn 'Umar, a Companion, testifying on behalf of a Companion. The witness here is an Arab who came from the desert and was not known to the Messenger (peace be upon him). Therefore, in the hadith, he said—meaning the Messenger to the Arab— He said “Yes”. He said He said “Yes”. He said It was narrated by the five and authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibban, and al-Nasa'i preferred its being mursal. After you have known that there is a difference in implication between this and the previous hadith, meaning that this one expands the acceptance of the witness’s testimony more than the first hadith, because the Messenger (peace be upon him), if the hadith is authentic—and I will speak about its authenticity soon, if Allah wills—was satisfied with this Arab whom he had not known before. He said to him, “Are you a Muslim?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “What is your proof of your Islam?” “I testify that there is no god but Allah.” He said, “And do you also testify that I am the Messenger of Allah?” He said, “I testify.” Then he ordered Bilal to call the adhan, meaning to announce to the people that they should fast tomorrow. So the Messenger (peace be upon him) was satisfied with this man whom he did not know by his testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, meaning that he knew he was a Muslim. But he had not tested him, nor known his intelligence, acumen, or cunning, as was the case with the first hadith, where the witness was 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and yet he accepted his testimony. So this contains a wide facilitation. And the meaning of this is that the judge is satisfied with the apparent testimony of the witness without bringing in two corroborators who know him, as was the custom of judges in the past. They were satisfied with knowing his Islam. This Arab was not known to him (peace be upon him) previously, so he was satisfied with his testifying before him with the two testimonies. He is a Muslim, having what we have and owing what we owe. And based on his testimony and his Islam, he said