رویت ہلال کا بیان

Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he mentioned Ramadan and said: 'Do not fast until you see the crescent, and do not break the fast until you see it; and if it is obscured from you (by clouds), then complete the reckoning for it (i.e. count the month as thirty days).'

Islam addresses people of every kind — the dark-skinned and the fair, villagers and city-dwellers, those far from settlements and far from the means of life, desert-wanderers and forest-dwellers, and mountaineers — all sorts of people. Its laws contain concession for everyone, so for every matter it has prescribed a method that is easy for all and not burdensome to act upon. That is why, for those rulings of the Shariah connected with a specific time — such as the prayer and the like — the standard set for them is the rising and setting of the sun, its climbing and declining, and similar observable effects. Likewise, for matters tied to the (lunar) months, the sighting of the moon (i.e. seeing the moon with the naked eye — not the mere presence of the moon on the horizon) has been made the basis of the ruling, as Allah the Exalted says: 'It is He who made the sun a shining light and the moon a derived light and determined for it phases, that you may know the number of years and the reckoning of time. Allah did not create these things without purpose.' (Yunus: 5)

Thus, for the coming and going of Ramadan and Eid, the Hadiths have laid down that same natural and simple principle which is in complete accord with the spirit of Islam, so that the matter may be settled without the need for technical means, instruments of observation, or the science of calculation — as in this Hadith the Master of both worlds (peace and blessings be upon him) plainly commands: 'Fast after seeing the moon, and break the fast (i.e. celebrate Eid) only after seeing the moon; so if on the twenty-ninth there are clouds and the like (and the sighting of the crescent is not established), then reckon the month of Sha'ban as thirty days (and likewise take account of the month of Ramadan).' (Bukhari, Muslim).

From this Hadith it becomes clearly evident that Muslims need not fall into any distress, nor is there any need to seek help from telescopes or other instruments and rules of calculation. Simply, when the moon is seen (on the 29th), they should begin fasting (if it is the moon of Ramadan) or celebrate Eid (if it is the moon of Eid). If the moon is not seen, then after completing thirty days they should observe Ramadan or Eid (whichever the sighting is for). If the moon is present on the horizon but clouds have obstructed its being seen, so that it could not be observed, in this case too the ruling is the same — that thirty days be completed. And a further ease is that it is not made obligatory upon every person to sight the moon; rather it suffices for some Muslims to sight it. It is not a condition that everyone see it; rather the sighting of two pious persons suffices on behalf of all, and for Ramadan the sighting of even a single pious person suffices, but for the moon of Eid al-Fitr the testimony of one person is not sufficient. (Reported by Muslim)

Therefore, from this Hadith it has become clear as daylight that the real thing is the sighting of the moon — not the moon's presence on the horizon, nor the mere birth of the new moon. Hence it can be said without hesitation that going above the clouds by aeroplane to see the moon, or straining after it by means of some instrument so that the moon may somehow be made out, or accepting the establishment of the crescent through the rules of calculation and the principles of astronomy and acting accordingly — all these things do not accord with the spirit of the Shariah. As it comes in one narration, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said that we are a people unlettered in calculation and reckoning; the month is sometimes twenty-nine days and sometimes thirty. (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim).