The new moon seen in the daytime: is the fast broken or not?

Yahya bin Abi Ishaq says: I saw the new moon, the moon of Eid, near the time of the Zuhr prayer. Upon that some people broke their fast. We came to Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) and mentioned the whole matter to him. He said: "As for me, I will complete this fast until night."

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: If the new moon is seen during the day, do not break the fast until you see it at the time when it is (normally) seen.

Al-Zibriqan says: Having seen the moon during the day, people broke their fast. I came to Abu Wa'il and said: I have seen the new moon during the day. He recited this verse of the Holy Qur'an: "Complete the fast until the night." [Al-Baqarah: 187]

Abd al-Rahman bin Harmalah says: People saw the new moon after the sun had passed its zenith, and upon that some people broke their fast. I mentioned this to Sa'id bin al-Musayyib and he said: In the time of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) too, people saw the moon during the day and some of them broke their fast. Upon that Sayyiduna Uthman said: "As for me, I will complete my fast until night." He said: Once in the time of Marwan too the moon was seen during the day and some people broke their fast; Marwan threatened those who had broken the fast. Sa'id said: Marwan did the right thing.

Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: If you see the new moon during the day, do not break the fast, for the moon's course is in the sky; perhaps it appeared at that very moment.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says: If you see the new moon in the early part of the day, do not break the fast; and if you see it in the latter part, break the fast.

The father of Rukayn says: We were with Salman bin Rabi'ah at a place called Balanjar. We saw the moon of Shawwal on the 29th of Ramadan at forenoon (chasht) time. Salman said: Show it to me as well. I showed him the moon, and he ordered the people to break their fast.

Salih al-Dahhan says: Once the new moon was seen in the daytime on the last day of Ramadan. Having seen the moon, people became busy eating and drinking. At that time a group of the Azd were in i'tikaf. They said: O Salih! Go as our messenger to Jabir bin Zayd. I went to him and mentioned the whole matter to him. He said: Did you also see the moon? I said: Yes. He said: Did you see it in front of the sun or behind the sun? I said: I saw it in front of the sun. Jabir bin Zayd said: This day of yours is a day of Ramadan; you only saw the moon on its course. Order your companions to complete their fast and their i'tikaf.

Ibrahim says: Sayyiduna Utbah bin Farqad (may Allah be pleased with him) was away in the Sawad (the farmlands of Iraq). The people saw the new moon in the latter part of the day and broke their fast. This reached Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), so he wrote a letter in which he said: If the new moon is seen at the beginning of the day, it is the moon of the previous day, so break your fast; and if the moon is seen in the latter part of the day, it is the moon of the coming day, so complete the fast.

Ata used to say: If the moon of Shawwal is seen during the day, do not break the fast. Then he would recite this verse: "Then complete the fast until the night." [Al-Baqarah: 187]

Al-Hasan bin Ubaydullah says: I saw the moon of Shawwal before midday. I told Abu Burdah about it, and he ordered me to complete my fast.

Abu Wa'il says: We were at a place called Khaniqin when a letter from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to us, in which it was written: Some new moons are bigger than others. When you see the new moon during the day, do not break the fast until two Muslim men testify that they sighted it the previous evening.