Some people in the same country fast with Makkah, while others fast with their own countries; what is the ruling?
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The questioner : ... here... a group... we have... and this group... fasts with Makkah, and some others fast with the country? So according to your opinion, the Sufis and their group are wrong?
The Shaykh : ... In any case, this is an ijtihad.
The questioner : It is ijtihad.
The Shaykh : ... We do not see this; because it leads to division among the Muslims.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : ... in the same country, and their division in different countries is less dangerous than their division in the same town, yes, and then there is nothing in the Shari'ah that obliges the Muslims to fast according to the sighting of a named country like Makkah - for example - or al-Madinah, so what do you think if another country preceded Makkah and established the crescent, and Makkah did not establish it except later; so with whom do we fast? If he insists on Makkah, there is no evidence for that, and if he fasts with the other country even if it is not Makkah, the previously mentioned problem arises; there is disagreement in the same town; some fast, and some do not fast, but when the Muslim ruler is present, he is the one who imposes as an obligation on all Muslims to fast on one day without waiting for each region and each area to see its crescent; so the matter remains with the ruler.
The Shaykh : ... In any case, this is an ijtihad.
The questioner : It is ijtihad.
The Shaykh : ... We do not see this; because it leads to division among the Muslims.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : ... in the same country, and their division in different countries is less dangerous than their division in the same town, yes, and then there is nothing in the Shari'ah that obliges the Muslims to fast according to the sighting of a named country like Makkah - for example - or al-Madinah, so what do you think if another country preceded Makkah and established the crescent, and Makkah did not establish it except later; so with whom do we fast? If he insists on Makkah, there is no evidence for that, and if he fasts with the other country even if it is not Makkah, the previously mentioned problem arises; there is disagreement in the same town; some fast, and some do not fast, but when the Muslim ruler is present, he is the one who imposes as an obligation on all Muslims to fast on one day without waiting for each region and each area to see its crescent; so the matter remains with the ruler.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.