The Non-Requirement of Muslim Agreement on the Start of Fasting

Shaykh Abdul Aziz, with the approach of this noble month, people naturally talk about the sighting of the moon. You hear phrases repeated by some, saying for example: "If Muslims agreed to start fasting on one day and break the fast on one day, and they see this as part of the unity of the ranks and the unity of Muslims." Is it possible for this to be realized, Your Eminence? I ask you to please clarify the truth in this matter.
Answer: Acts of worship are not up to humans to choose based on their own opinions. Acts of worship are based on divine revelation, received by Muslims from their Lord in His Great Book and from His noble Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in his authentic Sunnah. No one has the right to invent something from their own pocket and gather people on something that Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not gather them on. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) commanded His Messenger to inform us when to fast and when to break the fast. So the servants must obey the command of Allah and His Messenger. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and he said: , and he (peace and blessings be upon him) also said: , then fast for thirty days. Thus, the believers are instructed by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to look for the entry and exit of the month. If they confirm that Sha'ban is thirty days, they fast. If the crescent is seen on the night of the thirtieth of Sha'ban, they fast. Then, regarding Ramadan, if they see the crescent of Shawwal on the thirtieth, they break the fast and their month becomes twenty-nine days. If they do not see the crescent on the night of Shawwal, they fast for thirty days. This is how their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded them. The Ummah is likewise in all parts of the world; they have this command upon them. They must do what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said. If the crescent is seen in one of the Muslim countries and they fast based on that sighting, scholars have differed on whether it is obligatory for all people on earth to fast with them.
There are two opinions among the scholars: Some said: It is obligatory. Some mentioned that the majority opinion is that it is obligatory for the rest of the Muslims to fast if it is established in Saudi Arabia, for example, or in Egypt, or in the Levant, or elsewhere, by a legitimate sighting. It becomes obligatory for the others to fast with them if that is established through a recognized Sharia court that is trusted.
Others among the scholars said: It is not obligatory, but rather each people of a country have their own sighting. This is because the horizons differ and are sometimes far apart, as between America and the Arabian Peninsula, and between America and Egypt and the Levant, and the like.
They argued for this with what is established in the authentic collections; in Sahih Muslim from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) . Ibn Abbas saw that the hadith does not encompass all countries and all lands, and that every land separated from another and far from it, with different horizons, has the right to be independent in its sighting. A group of scholars followed him in this and said the same as Ibn Abbas.
The majority said: The opinion is that of those who said it is general, because the evidence is general. Because he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Fast" and the address is to the Ummah, not just the people of Madinah. The address is to the entire Ummah. , the intention is not Madinah, the intention is: the Ummah. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: then he said: . These are clear, authentic reports whose apparent meaning is generality. However, people may not trust some countries in their sighting, and they may suspect some countries of relying on calculation, and calculation is not relied upon by all scholars.
The scholars, from the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who followed them with excellence, agreed that calculation is not relied upon for the sighting. Abu al-Abbas Ibn Taymiyyah and a group narrated this, and some narrated a rare disagreement on this matter.
So the conclusion is that calculation is not relied upon by the text of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). The claim of people that calculation should be relied upon, and that whenever the crescent is born it is relied upon, and whenever it is not born it is not relied upon, this contradicts the Sunnah and contradicts his saying: . This must be discarded, and one must act according to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): the hadith... . The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most sincere, the most eloquent, the most knowledgeable, and the most trustworthy of people. If it had been permissible for people to rely on calculation, he would have said: "If you know the calculation and it becomes clear to you, rely on it." He would have known to say this, and he is the most capable of speaking on it (peace and blessings be upon him). And he was commanded to convey, so he conveyed the clear message (peace and blessings be upon him). He did not say to people: "Calculate and rely on calculation if there is someone among you who calculates." And the Ummah, for the most part, does not know calculation from its east to its west. And even if half of them, or most of them, or all of them knew it, it would not be permissible for them to rely on it, because they are obligated to follow, not to innovate. They must follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) as Allah said : [Al-Hashr: 7], and He said: [An-Nur: 63], meaning: they turn away from His command [An-Nur: 63]. And He says : [An-Nur: 56], and He says: [An-Nisa: 59]. The scholars said: Referring to Allah is referring to the Great Qur'an, and referring to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is referring to him in his life (peace and blessings be upon him), and after his death, referring to his authentic Sunnah. In his life, he acted based on the sighting, and if he did not see it, he completed the month. After his death, he guided us on what to do, saying: "Do such and such, and do such and such." So it is obligatory for the Ummah to obey the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and to stand at the limit he set, and to beware of contradicting that. If a specific state is not satisfied with the sighting of another state, it relies on its own sighting and its scholars there. So it looks at what the scholars there, the scholars of Sharia, say and relies on that, even if it contradicts another state, because it may not be satisfied with its sighting. It may think that it made a mistake in its sighting, or that the witnesses made a mistake. It is not possible for people to gather the hearts and minds of people on one mind and one opinion. This is up to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So whoever is reassured by the sighting of a country or state fasts with them, whether near or far. And whoever is not reassured because the state does not rule by Sharia or does not rule with Sharia, or for other reasons that prevent following that state, then he is independent and acts based on what is established for him from the sighting, even if another state precedes him or lags behind him in fasting and breaking the fast. The matter in this is broad, and praise be to Allah, and there is no blame on people in that. Their difference in fasting and their festival does not harm them, as long as they hold fast to the Sharia and seek what Allah and His Messenger said, and hold fast to the ruling of Allah and His Messenger. That does not harm them, and Allah is the guarantor of success.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. Does this mean that Your Eminence, Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz, leans toward the opinion that says each country has its own sighting?
The Shaykh: Yes, when gathering is not facilitated. But if gathering is facilitated and people are reassured by a state they trust and are at ease with, then they gather on it. And I think the Saudi state is the most deserving of states in this regard, because the courts, praise be to Allah, care about this and strive to verify the witnesses and do not act except by the sighting. So if people act based on what is established in Saudi Arabia, they have secured their religion and they have been cautious with their religion, praise be to Allah.
The presenter: May Allah bless you, taking into consideration the time difference that the people of the East or the West may hear about, Your Eminence?
The Shaykh: Yes, this is necessary, it is necessary. But if they agree with them on the night, even in the last part, the command encompasses them. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.