Husayn bin al-Harith al-Jadali says that the governor of Makkah delivered a sermon and said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) charged us to perform the sacrifice upon sighting it. If we do not see it and two upright witnesses testify, we perform the sacrifice on their testimony." I asked Husayn bin al-Harith: Who is the governor of Makkah? He said: I do not know. Then he met me after that and said: He is al-Harith bin Hatib, the brother of Muhammad bin Hatib. Then the governor said: "Among you is one who knows Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) better than I, and he witnessed this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," and he pointed with his hand towards a man. Husayn says: I said to an elderly man beside me: Who is this to whom the governor pointed? He said: This is Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and he spoke the truth; he was indeed more knowledgeable than him. Then he (Ibn Umar) said: "This is what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8185
Ibrahim al-Harbi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: He (the governor of Makkah) is al-Harith bin Hatib bin al-Harith bin Ma'mar bin Habib bin Wahb bin Hudhafah bin Jumah; he was among the emigrants to Abyssinia. Ali bin Umar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This chain is connected and sahih (authentic).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8186
Rib'i bin Hirash (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates from one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) that the people began the morning fasting on the thirtieth day.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8187
Rib'i bin Hirash narrates from one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) that the people began the morning fasting on the thirtieth day. Then two Bedouins came and testified that they had seen the crescent the day before, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded the people "to break their fast."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8188
Rib'i bin Hirash narrates from one of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with him) that the people differed over the last day of Ramadan. Then two men came and testified that they had seen the crescent the previous evening, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded the people "to break their fast."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8189
Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that on the morning of the thirtieth the people were fasting. Then two men came and testified that they had seen the crescent the day before, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded the people to break their fast.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8190
Abu Wa'il (may Allah have mercy on him) says: The crescent of Ramadan appeared to us while we were at Khaniqin; some of us fasted and some of us broke the fast. Then a letter from Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to us: When you see the crescent during the day, do not break the fast until two Muslim witnesses testify that they saw it the day before. The Shaykh says: By this he means the crescent at the end of Ramadan.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8191
Abu Wa'il (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to us while we were at Khaniqin: Indeed, some crescents are bigger than others, so when you see the crescent at the beginning of the day, do not break the fast until two upright witnesses testify that they saw it the day before.
This is an authentic report (athar) from Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8192
Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I was with Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib and Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with them both) at al-Baqi'. They looked towards the crescent, and meanwhile a rider came. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) met him and asked him: Where have you come from? He said: From the west. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Have you seen the crescent? He said: Yes. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 'Allahu akbar' (Allah is the Greatest); indeed this one man suffices the Muslims. Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up, performed ablution, wiped over his leather socks, and then led the Maghrib prayer. Then he said: I saw him (peace and blessings be upon him) do just this.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8193
Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I was with Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) when a man came and said: I have seen the crescent of Shawwal. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O people, break your fast. Then he narrated the hadith up to wiping over the leather socks.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8194
Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla narrates that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) accepted the testimony of a single man for sighting the crescent of Eid al-Fitr or al-Adha.
Muhammad bin Ali al-Warraq said: I asked Abu Nu'aym: Did Ibn Abi Layla hear from Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)? He said: I do not know. I asked Yahya bin Ma'in: Did Ibn Abi Layla hear from Umar? He did not affirm it. Ali (al-Daraqutni) said: Abd al-A'la is Ibn Amir al-Tha'labi; others are more reliable than him, and the hadith of Abu Wa'il from Umar has a sounder chain than it; al-A'mash and Mansur narrated it from Abu Wa'il.
Yahya bin Ma'in was asked about Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla narrating from Umar, and he said: He did not see him. I said to him: What about the hadith he narrates: "We were with Umar looking for the crescent"? He said: "It is nothing."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب الصيام / 8195