The ruling on all Muslims relying on the sighting of the crescent of Ramadan by the people of Makkah
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Question:
Geographers agree, Your Eminence the Shaykh, that the Holy Makkah is located in the center of the Earth. What is your opinion if the people in the east and west of the Earth followed the sighting of the people of Makkah?
Answer:
It is not sufficient; there is no basis for this. The important thing is the sighting. If the people of Makkah see it... for example, in Saudi Arabia, and it is confirmed with them and the people fast based on their sighting, there is no harm. Even if the people of the entire Earth fast, acting on the apparent meaning of the texts, and likewise if it is seen in Egypt, or the Levant, or Jordan, or Iraq, or any place, by a sighting that provides assurance through the Sharia court, through righteous witnesses, not through calculation, then it is fasted based on that, provided there is assurance that those who saw it are righteous, and that it is through sighting, not through calculation.
So we rely on what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, not on the difference of moonrise times or on calculation. We rely on what he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, where he said:Sunan ad-Daraqutni 11:19, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
And he said:Sunan ad-Daraqutni 11:17, and he said: Sunan an-Nasa'i 2140Sahih (Darussalam). Thus, it is known that fasting is by sighting or by completing the count, and it is not permissible for us to fast by calculation, nor for us to act merely on the difference of moonrise times without consideration, or to abandon the sighting because of the difference of moonrise times. No, for the moonrise times differ even between Makkah and Riyadh, and even between Makkah and places less than that.
So if the people of Makkah fast based on the sighting in Riyadh, and the people of Riyadh fast based on the sighting in Makkah, or Jeddah, or Madinah, or the Levant, or Egypt, or the like, there is no harm in this. The important thing is the confirmation of the sighting, the confirmation of the sighting by the eye, not by calculation. If the sighting is confirmed and the people of the country, who are neighbors to the country of the sighting, are assured that it is a Sharia-compliant sighting, and they know that this country cares about the sighting, and that it cares about the witnesses, and that it does not act by calculation, then it is followed. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah bless you.
Geographers agree, Your Eminence the Shaykh, that the Holy Makkah is located in the center of the Earth. What is your opinion if the people in the east and west of the Earth followed the sighting of the people of Makkah?
Answer:
It is not sufficient; there is no basis for this. The important thing is the sighting. If the people of Makkah see it... for example, in Saudi Arabia, and it is confirmed with them and the people fast based on their sighting, there is no harm. Even if the people of the entire Earth fast, acting on the apparent meaning of the texts, and likewise if it is seen in Egypt, or the Levant, or Jordan, or Iraq, or any place, by a sighting that provides assurance through the Sharia court, through righteous witnesses, not through calculation, then it is fasted based on that, provided there is assurance that those who saw it are righteous, and that it is through sighting, not through calculation.
So we rely on what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, not on the difference of moonrise times or on calculation. We rely on what he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, where he said:
Do not fast until you see the crescent, and do not break your fast until you see the crescent, or complete the count.
لا تصوموا حتى تروا الهلال، أو تكملوا العدة، ولا تفطروا حتى تروا الهلال أو تكملوا العدةThe month is like this, and like this, and like this, and he gestured with his ten fingers -meaning: thirty- and the month is like this, and like this, and like this, and he gestured with his ten fingers and withdrew the thumb in the third -meaning: that it becomes twenty-nine.
الشهر هكذا وهكذا وهكذا، وأشار بأصابعه العشرة -يعني: ثلاثين- والشهر هكذا وهكذا وهكذا، وأشار بأصابعه العشرة وخنس الإبهام في الثالثة -يعني: أنه يكون تسعاً وعشرينAnd he said:
Do not fast until you see the crescent, and do not break your fast until you see the crescent, and if it is obscured from you, then complete the count.
لا تصوموا حتى تروا الهلال، ولا تفطروا حتى تروا الهلال، فإن غم عليكم فأكملوا العدةWe are an unlettered Ummah, we do not use astronomical counting or computation. The month is like this, and this
إنا أمة أمية لا نكتب ولا نحسب، الشهر هكذا وهكذاSo if the people of Makkah fast based on the sighting in Riyadh, and the people of Riyadh fast based on the sighting in Makkah, or Jeddah, or Madinah, or the Levant, or Egypt, or the like, there is no harm in this. The important thing is the confirmation of the sighting, the confirmation of the sighting by the eye, not by calculation. If the sighting is confirmed and the people of the country, who are neighbors to the country of the sighting, are assured that it is a Sharia-compliant sighting, and they know that this country cares about the sighting, and that it cares about the witnesses, and that it does not act by calculation, then it is followed. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah bless you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.