Praise be to Allaah.
The majority of scholars are of the view that sighting the new moon
ofRamadaan on the first night of the month is a communal obligation,
andif all the people fail to do it then they are sinning. This is also
the Hanafi view.
Some of the fuqaha' were of the view that moon sighting is mustahabb.
It says in Majma' al-Anhaar (1/283): It is a communal obligation for
the people to seek the new moon on the evening of the twenty-ninth of
Sha'baan or Ramadaan, and also of Dhu'l-Qa'dah, and it is obligatory
for the ruler to enjoin the people to do that.
It says in al-Fataawa al-Hindiyyah (1/197): It is obligatory for the
people to seek the new moon on the twenty-ninth of Sha'baan at the
time of sunset, and if they see it they must fast. If it is cloudy
then they must complete the month as thirty days. End quote.
See: Fath al-Qadeer (2/313).
It says in Kashshaaf al-Qinaa' (2/300): It is mustahabb for the
peopleon the night before the thirtieth of Sha'baan to sight the new
moon of Ramadaan.
It is mustahabb to sight the new moon so as to beon the safe side with
regard to fasting and so as to avoid disputes. It was narrated that
'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to count the days in
Sha'baan morecarefully than at any other time, then he wouldfast when
he sighted (the new moon) of Ramadaan. Narrated by al-Daaraqutniwith a
saheeh isnaad.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah in a marfoo' report: "Count the days
of Sha'baan for the sake of Ramadaan." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi. End
quote.
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Tirmidhi (678).
It says in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: They should strive to count its days accurately, and that is by
means of watching the waxing and waning of themoon, so that they will
becertain of when to expectthe new moon of Ramadaan and will not miss
any of it. End quote.
In al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (22/23) it says: Sighting the new moon is
something that isdecreed by the fact that some acts of worship are
connected to specific times. It is prescribed for the Muslims to
strive in seeking it and it is more important on the night before the
thirtieth of Sha'baan, in order to find out whether Ramadaan has
begun, and on the night before the thirtieth of Ramadaan in order to
find out whether the month has ended and Shawwaal has begun, andon the
night before the thirtieth of Dhu'l-Qa'dah to find out if Dhu'l-Hijjah
has begun. These three months have to do with two of the pillars of
Islam,namely fasting and Hajj, and the setting of the dates for 'Eid
al-Fitr and 'Eid al-Adha.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) encouraged
seeking the sighting of the moon. It was narratedthat Abu Hurayrah
said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Fast when you see it and break the fast when you see it, and if it is
too cloudy then complete the number (of days) of Sha'baan as thirty."
And it was narrated from 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased
with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "The month is twenty-nine days, so do not fast
until you see it, and if it is cloudy then complete the month as
thirty days." Thefirst hadeeth enjoins fasting the month of Ramadaan
when its new moon is sighted or when the month of Sha'baan is
completed with thirty days, and it enjoins ending the fast when the
new moon of Shawwaal issighted, or when Ramadaan is completed with
thirty days. The second hadeeth forbids fasting Ramadaan before the
new moon is sighted or before Sha'baan has been completed if it is
cloudy.
And there is a hadeeth narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) in which he enjoined paying attentionto the new
moon of Sha'baan because of Ramadaan. He said: "Count the days of
Sha'baan carefully for the sake of Ramadaan." This hadeeth shows the
importance of paying attention to the month of Sha'baan in order to
workout when Ramadaan starts. It was narrated from 'Aa'ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) used to count the days in Sha'baan more carefully
than at any other time, then he would fast when he sighted (the new
moon) of Ramadaan, and if it was cloudy he would count thirty days and
then fast.
The commentators said: i.e., he would make sure to count the days of
Sha'baan carefully in order to begin the fast of Ramadaan at the right
time.
--
- - - - - - -