❖ Question:
What is the correct method by which the beginning of each lunar month is established?
❖ Answer:
Authentic Hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ indicate that the establishment of a lunar month, including Ramadan and Shawwāl, is based on the sighting of the moon.
If on the 29th night of Shaʿbān (i.e., the night of the 30th), after the sun has set, one trustworthy person sees the moon, that sighting is accepted for establishing Ramadan.
Similarly, on the 29th night of Ramadan, if two trustworthy individuals see the moon, that sighting is accepted to determine the beginning of Shawwāl (i.e., Eid).
There is no need to consider the duration for which the moon remains visible after sunset—whether it is twenty minutes or more or less. This is because no authentic Hadith imposes a specific number of minutes or a fixed duration for the moon to remain visible after sunset.
— al-Lajnah ad-Dā’imah (The Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Iftā’)
What is the correct method by which the beginning of each lunar month is established?
❖ Answer:
Authentic Hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ indicate that the establishment of a lunar month, including Ramadan and Shawwāl, is based on the sighting of the moon.
If on the 29th night of Shaʿbān (i.e., the night of the 30th), after the sun has set, one trustworthy person sees the moon, that sighting is accepted for establishing Ramadan.
Similarly, on the 29th night of Ramadan, if two trustworthy individuals see the moon, that sighting is accepted to determine the beginning of Shawwāl (i.e., Eid).
There is no need to consider the duration for which the moon remains visible after sunset—whether it is twenty minutes or more or less. This is because no authentic Hadith imposes a specific number of minutes or a fixed duration for the moon to remain visible after sunset.
— al-Lajnah ad-Dā’imah (The Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Iftā’)
