Q&A
The Sighting of the Crescent of Ramadan and the Ruling on Opposing the Shari'i Sighting
Question:
The sighting of the crescent (hilal) marks the beginning of the lunar months. This issue is raised every year within our Muslim community here during Ramadan... What is our stance on the opinion of using astronomical calculations as a substitute for the sighting (ru'yah) to establish the beginning of Ramadan? Is it merely a weak opinion (marjuh) or is it rejected (mardud), i.e., invalid (batil)? In other words, does it have a semblance of evidence (shubhat al-dalil) or not? If it is a rejected opinion—as I understand—what is the ruling on the fasting of those who follow this opinion? For your information, there are many of them here in Australia and other Western countries, and their numbers are increasing.
Another matter: if it becomes clear to a fasting person that he opposed the sighting, what should he do? Isn't there some hardship in that? Also, some of those we debated say that fasting based on the crescent sighting is impractical; they might go out to see it and not find it, or they might disagree on the sighting, which causes a problem! What is the view on this issue? Furthermore, calculations today determine the birth of the crescent accurately, and thus determine the possibility of seeing it even if it is not seen. Why do we not adopt calculations to make things easier, just as we calculate prayer times?
Answer:
The sighting (ru'yah) is what is relied upon for the fasting of Ramadan according to the evidence reported regarding that, including:
صُومُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ وَأَفْطِرُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ، فَإِنْ غُبِّيَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَكْمِلُوا عِدَّةَ شَعْبَانَ ثَلاَثِينَ
"Fast at its sighting and break your fast at its sighting. If it is obscured from you, then complete the number of Sha'ban as thirty."
As for the evidence that those who rely on astronomical calculations use, it is rejected (mardud) and does not apply to the issue. The two most famous points they mention are:
First: The Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw):
إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ، لاَ نَكْتُبُ وَلاَ نَحْسُبُ، الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا
"We are an illiterate nation; we do not write or calculate. The month is like this and like this." (Bukhari)
Regarding this Hadith, although it contains a descriptive attribute (wasf mufhim), which is the word "ummiyah" (illiterate) that might suggest it is a legal cause ('illah) requiring the application of the divergent implication (mafhum al-mukhalafah)—meaning that if we were not an illiterate nation, we would use calculation—this is incorrect as is well known in Usul (principles of jurisprudence). This implication is suspended (mu'attal) because the description of "illiteracy" occurred according to the most common case (kharaja makhraj al-ghalib), as the Arabs were, for the most part, illiterate. Additionally, this implication has been suspended by a text, which is the Hadith: "If it is obscured from you, then complete the count to thirty" (Bukhari). No condition was mentioned with it; meaning, if the sighting of the crescent is not possible due to clouds, rain, or any reason preventing the sighting, the Shari'i ruling has been defined as completing the month as thirty, even if the crescent has risen but the clouds hide it. Therefore, the literal text (mantuq) of the Hadith is acted upon, and its implication (mafhum) is suspended.
This occurs in the conditions for acting upon the mafhum in more than one case. It is suspended if it follows the most common case, or if a text suspends it, such as:
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَاقٍ
"And do not kill your children for fear of poverty." (QS. Al-Isra [17]: 31)
The phrase "for fear of poverty" is a descriptive attribute (wasf mufhim). Likewise, it occurred according to the most common case, as they used to kill them for fear of poverty. Furthermore, this implication was suspended by a text:
وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ
"And whoever kills a believer intentionally - his recompense is Hell." (QS. An-Nisa [4]: 93)
Therefore, this implication is suspended. It cannot be said that the prohibition is only killing children for fear of poverty and that it is permissible to kill them out of wealth! Rather, it is prohibited in both cases, whether out of poverty or wealth. Similarly, the verse:
لَا تَأْكُلُوا الرِّبَا أَضْعَافًا مُضَاعَفَةً
"Do not consume usury, doubled and multiplied." (QS. Ali 'Imran [3]: 130)
The phrase "doubled and multiplied" is a descriptive attribute, and it also occurred according to the most common case, as they used to practice usury in doubled amounts. Then this implication was suspended by a text:
وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا
"And Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden usury." (QS. Al-Baqarah [2]: 275)
Therefore, this implication is suspended. It is not said that only excessive usury is prohibited while a small amount of usury is permissible; rather, usury, whatever its amount, is prohibited because the implication of "doubled and multiplied" is suspended as we stated.
Thus, the implication of the word "ummiyah" is suspended as we have explained. This means that if the sighting of the crescent is impossible due to clouds or rain, it is obligatory to complete the month as thirty days, whether we know how to calculate or not.
Second: Their claim that prayer times rely on calculation, and therefore, the time of fasting should rely on calculation. The answer to that is:
Anyone who tracks the texts regarding fasting will find them different from the texts regarding prayer. Fasting and breaking the fast are linked to the sighting:
مَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ
"So whoever among you witnesses the month, let him fast it." (QS. Al-Baqarah [2]: 185)
And: "Fast at its sighting and break your fast at its sighting." Thus, the sighting is the ruling. However, the texts regarding prayer are linked to the verification of the time:
أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ
"Establish prayer at the decline of the sun." (QS. Al-Isra [17]: 78)
And: "If the sun declines, then pray." Prayer was dependent on verifying the time; by whatever means you verify the time, you pray. If you look at the sun to see the time of decline (zawal) or look at the shadow to see the shadow of everything equal to it or twice its length as mentioned in the Hadiths of prayer times—if you do that and verify it, the prayer is valid. If you do not do that but instead calculate it astronomically and know that the time of decline is at such-and-such hour, and you look at your watch without going out to see the sun or the shadow, the prayer is valid. That is, you verify the time by any means. Why? Because Allah (swt) requested the prayer upon the entry of the time and left the verification of its entry to you without specifying the method of verification. As for fasting, He requested fasting by the sighting, so He specified the cause (sabab) for you. Moreover, He told you that if the clouds obscure the sighting and you do not see it, do not fast, even if the crescent exists behind the clouds and you are certain of its existence through astronomical calculation.
This is our opinion on the matter: astronomical calculation is not permissible in determining the beginning and end of the fast of Ramadan; rather, it is the Shari'i sighting.
- As for the fasting of those who follow astronomical calculation: if they fast the days that are considered part of Ramadan according to the sighting, then their fast is valid. If they miss a day of Ramadan according to the sighting, they are responsible for it and must make it up (qada).
This is what we are convinced of and explain to the people. We do not possess a stick to force them to our opinion; rather, we explain it to them in a good manner and with kind wisdom, and the matter ends there. We do not let the issue take the form of a clash; rather, we draw the straight line next to the crooked line, and Allah (swt) is the Guide to the even path.
- As for the claim that following the sighting makes the matter difficult—such as a person fasting until the end of the month and then someone else informs him that today is Eid, or if he wakes up not fasting on the first day of Ramadan and someone comes and tells him the crescent was sighted so today is Ramadan, and thus the matter becomes difficult for him...
The answer to that is that the matter is easier than that. A Muslim fasts and breaks his fast according to the extent of his knowledge of the sighting after seeking it. If he fasts or breaks his fast based on the lack of sighting according to him, then someone comes who informs him with correct knowledge of the crescent sighting, he must follow it. This is established by the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw):
رُوِيَ عن جماعة من الأنصار: «غُمَّ علينا هلال شوّال فأصبحنا صياماً، فجاء ركب من آخر النهار فشهدوا عند النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أنهم رأوا الهلال بالأمس، فأمرهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يفطروا ثُمَّ يخرجوا لعيدهم من الغد»
"It was narrated by a group of the Ansar: 'The crescent of Shawwal was obscured from us, so we woke up fasting. Then a caravan came at the end of the day and testified before the Prophet (saw) that they had seen the crescent yesterday. So the Messenger of Allah (saw) ordered them to break their fast and then go out for their Eid the following morning.'" (Ahmad)
In the past, the reality was that news of the sighting did not reach from one place to another easily, as happened with the Messenger (saw). The news of the sighting from the arriving delegation to Madinah reached the Prophet (saw) during the day while the Messenger and the Muslims in Madinah were fasting because they had not seen the crescent. When the delegation informed the Messenger (saw) of the sighting, the Messenger (saw) ordered the Muslims to break their fast. That day was the last day of Ramadan; the Prophet (saw) had fasted it completing the count because it was not seen in Madinah. When news reached him that it was seen elsewhere, he ordered the breaking of the fast because that day was from Shawwal, i.e., the Eid, and not the completion of the count of Ramadan.
This is a simple matter. Every region seeks the sighting. If they do not see the crescent and no reliable news reaches them that it was seen elsewhere, they should fast or break their fast. If news of the crescent sighting reaches them, they must adopt it because the Hadith is an address to everyone: "Fast at its sighting...".
Regarding your statement that they say it is "impractical," why is it impractical? If the people of Australia seek the crescent of Shawwal and do not see it, and no news reaches them that it was seen elsewhere, let them fast. If news of the crescent sighting reaches them during the day, they must break their fast because that day is Eid, just as the Messenger of Allah (saw) did... and so on. Furthermore, news now travels easily and simply... Therefore, the argument that it is "impractical" does not stand as an excuse for the Muslim who wants to seek the truth in his worship.
As for calculation determining the birth of the crescent, that is correct. But as for it determining the possibility of its sighting, that is incorrect because astronomers differ in determining the amount of time that must pass after the birth of the crescent before it can be seen after sunset. Regardless, we do not fast or break the fast based on the actual birth of the crescent, but rather by its sighting. This is how the Messenger of Allah (saw) commanded us:
صُومُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ وَأَفْطِرُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ، فَإِنْ غُبِّيَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَكْمِلُوا عِدَّةَ شَعْبَانَ ثَلاَثِينَ
"Fast at its sighting and break your fast at its sighting. If it is obscured from you, then complete the number of Sha'ban as thirty."
The crescent of Ramadan might exist, but clouds obscure it so it is not seen; thus, we complete the count according to the text of the Hadith. The time for fasting is by the sighting as stated in the evidences. If the time for fasting, like the time for prayer, were not conditioned upon the sighting, then determining the time by calculation would be correct. However, the evidences for fasting came relying on the sighting, while the evidences for prayer came with the verification of time without the condition of sighting: "If the sun declines, then pray..." as we explained previously.