✦ By: ʿUbaydullah Tahir ḥafiẓahullāh
❀ Ḥadīth:
«عن كريب، ان ام الفضل بنت الحارث رضي الله عنها بعثته إلى معاوية بالشام، قال: فقدمت الشام فقضيت حاجتها، واستهل على رمضان وانا بالشام، فرايت الهلال ليلة الجمعة، ثم قدمت المدينة فى آخر الشهر، فسالني عبد الله بن عباس رضي الله عنهما، ثم ذكر الهلال، فقال: ” متى رايتم الهلال؟ "، فقلت: ” رايناه ليلة الجمعة "، فقال: ” انت رايته؟ "، فقلت: ” نعم ورآه الناس، وصاموا وصام معاوية "، فقال: ” لكنا رايناه ليلة السبت فلا نزال نصوم حتى نكمل ثلاثين او نراه "، فقلت: ” او لا تكتفي برؤية معاوية رضى الله عنه وصيامه ؟ فقال: ” لا هكذا امرنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. »
Kuraib رحمه الله narrated:
Umm al-Faḍl bint al-Ḥārith رضي الله عنها sent me to Muʿāwiyah رضي الله عنه in Shām. I went there and fulfilled her task. While I was in Shām, the moon of Ramaḍān appeared, and I saw it on the night of Friday. Later in the month, I returned to Madinah. Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما asked me about the moon. He said:
“When did you see the moon?”
I replied: “We saw it on the night of Friday.”
He asked: “Did you see it yourself?”
I said: “Yes, and others saw it too, and they fasted, and Muʿāwiyah also fasted.”
Ibn ʿAbbās said: “But we saw it on the night of Saturday, so we will continue fasting until we complete thirty days or we see it (again).”
I asked: “Will you not be satisfied with the moon sighting and fasting of Muʿāwiyah?”
He replied: “No! This is how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded us.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1087]
① This ḥadīth clearly shows that regional differences in moon sighting (Ikhtilāf al-Matāliʿ) are to be considered valid.
② Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما, despite knowing about the moon sighting in Shām, did not rely on it for the people of Madinah.
③ He stated that the command of the Prophet ﷺ was to act upon the local sighting or complete thirty days.
④ This ruling implies that each region may follow its own moon sighting, and it is not mandatory for distant regions to follow the sighting of another place.
⑤ The practice of the Companions shows independence in regional moon sightings, which is adopted by many scholars and schools of thought.
❖ Regional Differences in Moon Sighting (Ikhtilāf al-Matāliʿ)
❀ Ḥadīth:
«عن كريب، ان ام الفضل بنت الحارث رضي الله عنها بعثته إلى معاوية بالشام، قال: فقدمت الشام فقضيت حاجتها، واستهل على رمضان وانا بالشام، فرايت الهلال ليلة الجمعة، ثم قدمت المدينة فى آخر الشهر، فسالني عبد الله بن عباس رضي الله عنهما، ثم ذكر الهلال، فقال: ” متى رايتم الهلال؟ "، فقلت: ” رايناه ليلة الجمعة "، فقال: ” انت رايته؟ "، فقلت: ” نعم ورآه الناس، وصاموا وصام معاوية "، فقال: ” لكنا رايناه ليلة السبت فلا نزال نصوم حتى نكمل ثلاثين او نراه "، فقلت: ” او لا تكتفي برؤية معاوية رضى الله عنه وصيامه ؟ فقال: ” لا هكذا امرنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. »
Kuraib رحمه الله narrated:
Umm al-Faḍl bint al-Ḥārith رضي الله عنها sent me to Muʿāwiyah رضي الله عنه in Shām. I went there and fulfilled her task. While I was in Shām, the moon of Ramaḍān appeared, and I saw it on the night of Friday. Later in the month, I returned to Madinah. Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما asked me about the moon. He said:
“When did you see the moon?”
I replied: “We saw it on the night of Friday.”
He asked: “Did you see it yourself?”
I said: “Yes, and others saw it too, and they fasted, and Muʿāwiyah also fasted.”
Ibn ʿAbbās said: “But we saw it on the night of Saturday, so we will continue fasting until we complete thirty days or we see it (again).”
I asked: “Will you not be satisfied with the moon sighting and fasting of Muʿāwiyah?”
He replied: “No! This is how the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded us.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1087]
✔ Key Rulings and Lessons:
① This ḥadīth clearly shows that regional differences in moon sighting (Ikhtilāf al-Matāliʿ) are to be considered valid.
② Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما, despite knowing about the moon sighting in Shām, did not rely on it for the people of Madinah.
③ He stated that the command of the Prophet ﷺ was to act upon the local sighting or complete thirty days.
④ This ruling implies that each region may follow its own moon sighting, and it is not mandatory for distant regions to follow the sighting of another place.
⑤ The practice of the Companions shows independence in regional moon sightings, which is adopted by many scholars and schools of thought.
