Ramadan Articles - Crescent of Ramadan and Astronomical Calculations

A question was received by the Permanent Committeefor Scholarly
Research andIftaa')religious verdicts(, may Allaah grant them success,
regarding this issue.The members of thecommittee were 'Abdullaah ibn
Manee', 'Abdullaah ibn Ghudayyaan, under the deputy chairman:
'Abdur-Razzaaq 'Afeefy.
Following is the text of the question and the Committee's answertaken
from Volume No. 10/104, Fatwa No. )386(, with very slight
modification:
Q: Is it permissible for a Muslim to depend on astronomical
calculationsto decide the beginning and the end of fasting
)inRamadan(? Or is it a mustto see the crescent?
A:The IslamicSharee'ah)Islamic legislation( is a tolerant one; its
rulings are generic and comprehensive to both humans andJinnalike,
regardless of their ranks – whether they are scholars or illiterate
people, rural folk or urban dwellers. This is why Allaah The Almighty
has made it easy for them to identify the times of acts of worship. He
has made specific signs for them by which they can all know the time
of the beginning and end of such acts. He has made, for example, the
time of sunset a sign for the advent ofMaghrib)sunset( prayer and the
end of'Asr)afternoon( prayer. Also, the time of'Ishaa')night( prayer
can be recognized by the disappearance of twilight. Allaah The
Almighty has made the sighting of the crescent after its disappearance
atthe end of every lunar month a sign for the advent of the new month,
and the end of the previous one. Allaah The Almighty has not obligated
us to observe the beginning of the month based on something that is
not known except to some people, which is the case with astronomy and
its calculations. Thus, the texts of the Quran andSunnah)Prophetic
tradition( have made sighting the crescent a sign for all Muslims to
start fastingRamadan; and they stipulated for them to end their fast
on sighting the crescent ofShawwaal. The same applies to'Eed
Al-Adhha)the Feast of the Sacrifice( and the Day of'Arafah. Allaah The
Almighty Says )what means(:
·}So whoever sights ]the new moon of[ the month, let him fast it;{]Quran 2: 185[
·}They ask you, ]O Muhammad[, about the new moons. Say, "They are
measurements of time for the people and forHajj."{]Quran 2: 189[
The Prophet,, said: "When you see it )the crescent of the month of
Ramadan(, start fasting, and when you see it again )that of the month
of Shawwaal(, stop fasting; and if the sky is overcast )and you
cannotsee it( then complete the days of Ramadan to thirty
days."]At-Tirmithi; Ibn Maajah; Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ad-Daarimi[
Thus, he,, has made fasting contingent on sighting the crescent
ofRamadan, and made stopping the fasts contingent on seeing
thecrescent ofShawwaal. Hedid not link this to any astronomical
calculationsor to the movements of the stars. This was the way things
used to be at the time of the Prophet,, the rightly-guided Caliphs and
the fourImaams)Abu Haneefah, Maalik, Al-Shaafi'i, and Ahmad(, in
addition to the time of the three generations to which theProphet,,
witnessed to be the best.
Therefore, referring to astronomy in establishing the advent of the
lunar months to start any act of worship or to end it without sighting
the crescent, is an act ofBid'ah)innovation in religion( in which
there is no good, as it is not supported by any evidence from
theSharee'ah. This is why the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia still abides by
the way of the Prophet,, and the righteousSalaf)predecessors( in
confirming acts of worship like fasting, breaking the
fast,'Eeds)Muslim feasts( and times ofHajj– which is to sight the
crescent. Following theSalafin all religious matters achieves welfare
for the Islamic nation, and all evil lies in following the acts
ofBid'ahinnovated in our religion of Islam. May Allaah protect all
Muslims from both hidden and apparent tribulations.
An important note:
When the Muslim leaders in non-Muslim countries decide the place that
they rely on in sighting the crescent and declare that they follow it,
it is not permissible for the Muslims there to reject this, so that
some fast upon the sighting in this country while others fast upon the
sighting in another country other than the first, and a thirdparty may
fast upon the sighting of a third country and so on – even though they
live in one region. This makes one find in the same country, those who
fast following the way of India, those who break their fast following
the way of Saudi Arabia or the like. This represents a clear
dispraised disagreement,which is something that Allaah The Almighty
hates. It is in no way religiously or reasonably sound to find Muslims
who live in the same place disagreeing on the entity on which they
depend in determining the beginning and end of fasting as we see in
the present time. This practice is impermissible.
They must either fast relying on their own sighting or follow the
sighting of the first Muslim country, otherwise, disagreement and evil
will prevail.]Excerpted fromFiqh Al-Aqaliyyaat Al-Muslimah[