❖ Question:
In some Muslim countries, people rely solely on calendars and astronomical calculations instead of actual moon sighting. What is the ruling on this?
❖ Answer:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed the Ummah to begin fasting by sighting the moon and to break the fast (celebrate Eid) by sighting the moon. If the sky is cloudy or dusty, then complete thirty days of the month.
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Hadith 1900, 1906, 1907), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Hadith 1080, 1081)
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
"We are an unlettered nation; we do not write nor calculate. The month is like this, and this, and this"—and he folded his thumb the third time—"and the month is like this, and this, and this"—and he extended all his fingers, meaning the month may be twenty-nine or thirty days."
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Hadith 1913), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Hadith 1080)
Another narration from Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī states:
"Fast when you see it (the moon), and break your fast when you see it. If it is cloudy, complete thirty days of Shaʿbān."
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Hadith 1909), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Hadith 1081)
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
"Do not fast until you see the new moon or complete the month, and do not break your fast until you see it or complete the month."
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Hadith 1906), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Hadith 1080)
❖ Conclusion:
These authentic Hadiths make it clear that it is obligatory to act upon actual moon sighting, and in the absence of sighting, to complete the month as thirty days.
Relying on astronomical calculations for establishing the beginning or end of the lunar month is not permissible.
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) also reported the consensus (ijmāʿ) of scholars on this issue — that relying on calculations in moon sighting is invalid.
— Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, Rasā’il fī al-Hilāl (25/132)
This is the correct and definitive position, with no room for doubt.
— Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله)
In some Muslim countries, people rely solely on calendars and astronomical calculations instead of actual moon sighting. What is the ruling on this?
❖ Answer:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed the Ummah to begin fasting by sighting the moon and to break the fast (celebrate Eid) by sighting the moon. If the sky is cloudy or dusty, then complete thirty days of the month.
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Hadith 1900, 1906, 1907), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Hadith 1080, 1081)
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
"We are an unlettered nation; we do not write nor calculate. The month is like this, and this, and this"—and he folded his thumb the third time—"and the month is like this, and this, and this"—and he extended all his fingers, meaning the month may be twenty-nine or thirty days."
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Hadith 1913), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Hadith 1080)
Another narration from Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī states:
"Fast when you see it (the moon), and break your fast when you see it. If it is cloudy, complete thirty days of Shaʿbān."
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Hadith 1909), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Hadith 1081)
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
"Do not fast until you see the new moon or complete the month, and do not break your fast until you see it or complete the month."
— Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Hadith 1906), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Hadith 1080)
❖ Conclusion:
These authentic Hadiths make it clear that it is obligatory to act upon actual moon sighting, and in the absence of sighting, to complete the month as thirty days.
Relying on astronomical calculations for establishing the beginning or end of the lunar month is not permissible.
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) also reported the consensus (ijmāʿ) of scholars on this issue — that relying on calculations in moon sighting is invalid.
— Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, Rasā’il fī al-Hilāl (25/132)
This is the correct and definitive position, with no room for doubt.
— Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله)
