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Last Updated: 21 June 2022

Related: Regional Moon Sighting Fatwa by Darul Uloom Deoband

Question: I wish to inform you that based on the global moon sighting theory, many of our UK Masajid who normally follow UK/Morocco regional sighting reports (because of persistently cloudy weather in the UK) have now found a new source of moon sighting news from all the way to Nigeria, and celebrated Eid-ul Fitr on Sunday 25th June 2017, even though we have received NEGATIVE sighting reports from Morocco Awqaf Ministry (with 278 sighting points).

From your previous comment that "global sighting is baseless", would you agree that the UK Muslims should NOT go as far as Saudi Arabia or Nigeria and most certainly not across to the opposite Hemisphere to your own country, South Africa (even if your sightings reports are most reliable) on the basis of global sighting theory (as it is baseless)?

To reiterate, kindly clarify, if it's valid for UK Muslims to borrow moon sighting news from South Africa on the opposite hemisphere, over 8,000 miles away (rather than confine to UK/Morocco region only) on the basis of global sighting theory?

Dated:  7 Shawwal 1438 (2 July 2017)

Answer: Those in the UK who had contravened the Shariah by bypassing Morocco and accepting the baseless Nigerian announcement have erred grievously. It appears that they did so solely to celebrate Eid on Sunday which is very convenient for most people. In the process, they deemed it appropriate to override the Shariah.

We believe that Morocco is the nearest to the UK, and a valid arrangement exists with Morocco for hilaal information. As such, those who usually follow Morocco have sinned by going to Nigeria where the authorities are submissive to Saudi Arabia which does not accord the proper Shar’i importance to hilaal-sighting.

Furthermore, there is no need and no goodness for the UK to follow South Africa which is 8,000 miles away. When people seek to override the Shariah, they invite problems, difficulties and controversies. The global sighting theory is bunkum. It has no validity in the Shariah.

Mufti A. S. Desai
Mujlisul Ulama of South Africa
Dated: 8 Shawwaal 1438 (3 July 2017)

References: Email Fatwa from Mujlisul Ulama on African Moon Sighting

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Last Updated: 21 June 2022

Related: Fatwa on Following Neighbouring Countries by Darul Uloom Deboand [English, pdf] [Urdu/اردو]

Question 1: What is the basis of Global Moon Sighting in Hanafi Madhab? I wish to know if the global sighting rule is the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa (رحمه الله, d. 772 CE) himself or was it decided later by other scholars of the Hanafi school, such as Imam Ibn Abedin Ash-Shami [رحمه الله, d. 1836 CE]? Dated 3 June 2017 (8 Ramadan 1438 AH)

Answer 1: Considering the geographical situation of the world, it is understood that unity in the whole world is not possible, for example, if in the United States of America and Canada there is night, it is day in India. therefore difference (of moon sighting or Ikhtilaf e Matale) is unavoidable. Some scholars and jurists have preferred this view. ‏ "‏صُومُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ وَأَفْطِرُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ فَإِنْ غُمَّ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْدُرُوا ثَلاَثِينَ"‏[Hadith]

It means that begin fasting and pray Eid salat on sighting the moon. If the moon is not sighted on 29th, complete 30 days of the month. If a Shariah-compliant witness comes from outside in a proper way, it should be accepted and acted upon. If this principle of Shariah is put into practice, there shall be no dispute.

Mufti Habibur Rahman, Mufti Waqar Ali, Mufti Mohammed Noman Sitapuri, Darul Iftah, Darul Uloom Deoband, 13/1/1439  [Ref: Fatwa: 1132-1547 / B = 2/1439] (Received: 4 November 2017).

Question 2: Please clarify what you mean by, “If a Shariah-compliant witness report comes from outside, it should be accepted”. Reports from how far outside is considered to be Shariah-compliant? Note also that the first day’s crescent moon (Hilal) goes below the horizon before Isha time, which is between 1 hour to 1.5 hours after Maghrib, depending on the season (summer or winter). Therefore, if the moon is not sighted in the UK due to adverse weather conditions, then [we propose that] any news of foreign countries must not exceed 1.5 hrs time-zone difference to the East (e.g. Germany) or to the West (e.g. Western Sahara). And to avoid moonset before sunset and change of seasons, we must limit the locations to above the equator (i.e. Tropic of Cancer - see attached map). If this suggestion is approved, it will be consistent with your previous fatwa (i.e. UK to follow Morocco) and could also form the basis of greater unity for the UK Muslims, InShaAllah. Dated 9 December 2017 (20 Rabi ul Awwal 1439)

Answer 2: The reply with the blessings of Allah.
(1) News from distant countries will not be admitted if it would result in our [lunar] month being 28 or 31 days (as it would be against teachings of Quran and Hadith). News (of the crescent moon) from countries where there is not much difference in sunrise and sunset times to us, can be accepted if it is received in a prescribed way.

(2) Previously it was stated by your people [Muslims of Britain] that Morocco is the closest country in respect to sunrise and sunset times and only those people can verify [sighting reports]. Then we did write that you can accept the news from Morocco if it is received in a prescribed way. According to you, Germany and [Western] Sahara are also close to Britain and there is not much difference in sunrise/sunset times so news from those countries can also be accepted [if it is received in a prescribed way].

Mufti Habibur Rahman, Mufti Waqar Ali, Mufti Mohammed Noman Sitapuri, Darul Iftah, Darul Uloom Deoband, 21 Rabi ul Awal 1439 [Ref: 1943 / B=450/1439] (Received: 27 January 2018).

[Note that by accepting moon sighting reports from Morocco, we are automatically accepting it from Western Sahara, because whenever there is a negative sighting report from the mainland of Morocco, the Moroccan Awqaf Ministry would wait until they receive the report from the Moroccan Army/Navy in Dakhla (Western Sahara) - Editor]

References: Question 1 Urdu (pdf) | Question 2 Urdu (pdf) | Question 1 & 2 with English translation (pdf)

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Last Updated: 21 June 2022

[Due to the prolonged adverse UK weather, telescopes may be used to locate the moon – Editor]

Question: What is the legislated Sharee’ah method by which the beginning of the month is established? And is it permissible to rely on astronomical observatories in determining the beginning of the month and its ending? And is it permissible for the Muslim to use a telescope in sighting the crescent?

Response: The legislated Sharee’ah method in verifying the beginning of the month is for the people to try to sight the crescent. And [in doing so] it is befitting the sighting be verified by one who is trustworthy with respect to his religion [and character] and strong vision. So if they sight it, they must act upon this sighting, and start fasting if it was the crescent of Ramadhaan, or stop fasting if it was the crescent of Shawwaal.

It is not permissible to rely on the calculations of the atsonomical observatories if there was no actual sighting. However, if there was a sighting, even if the sighting was through the astronomical observatories, then it is accepted, since it falls under the general statement of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam):

«When you see it then fast, and when you see it break your fast»

As for calculations, then it is not permissible to act upon it, nor to rely on it.

As for the use of what is known as a telescope – which is a glass instrument that magnifies the crescent – then there is no harm in using it, however, it is not obligatory. [This is] because what is apparent from the Sunnah is the reliance upon normal sighting [with the naked eye], and not anything else. However, if it is used, and someone trustworthy sights it, then this sighting is to be acted upon.

The people of the past would use similar means when they would climb up to a height after Maghrib on the 29th day of Sha’baan or Ramadhaan; So they would seek out the crescent [from this height] using a telescope.

In any case, whenever the sighting of the crescent is verified, in whatever manner it was seen, then it is obligatory to act upon this sighting, based on the generality of the statement of the Prophet (sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam):

«When you see it then fast, and when you see it break your fast»

Reference: Fataawa Ramadhaan – Volume 1, Page 62, Fatwa No.28
al-Fataawa libni ‘Uthaymeen – Kitaab ad-Da’wah – Volume 1, Pages 150-151
[Ref: 20 August 2009/Fatwa-Online]

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Last Updated: 07 January 2023

Renowned Scholar: Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani

Responding to ISNA Fiqh Council's claim, "Element of place is dominant in Eid al-Adha", Mufti Muhammad  Taqi Usmani, a renowned scholar of Darul Uloom in Karachi wrote the following:

I have gone through the article of ISNA and with the utmost respect for their sentiment for Muslim unity, I am forced to say that the view expressed in the article (Eid al-Adha on next day of Arafat) is in total disagreement with the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, and with the Shari'ah position recognized throughout the centuries. This is an unprecedented view which has never been adopted by any of the Muslim jurists during the past 1400 years, and it has a number of intrinsic defects and anomalies, some of which are summarized here.

The article admits that the celebration of Eid al-Fitr should be tied to the sighting of the moon in each country and should not be linked with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, however, the article calls for celebration of Eid al-Adha according to the Saudi Calendar regardless of the local dates, which means Eid al-Adha will be celebrated in North America on 8th or 9th of Zul-Hajjah. It is thus clear that the theory proposed in ISNA's article is impractical.

The article has laid much emphasis on the concept of unity of the Muslim Ummah, which no one can deny. At the same time, however, one must appreciate that unity does not mean that the entire Muslim Ummah throughout the world should perform their acts of worship at one and the same time, because it is physically not possible. It is evident that when people in Saudi Arabia are performing their Fajr prayers, those in North America may still have not completed their Isha prayers of the previous day. Similarly, when Muslims in Los Angeles offer their Fajr prayers, those in India and Pakistan are offering their Maghrib or Isha prayer of the same day.

If it is made obligatory on all the Muslims in the world to offer their acts of worship at one and the same time for the sake of unity, such unity can never materialize (because of the time differences). It is, therefore, obvious that offering one's acts of worship at different times do not affect the concept of Muslim Unity.

What does the Muslim unity mean?

It means that all Muslims should treat each other with brotherly sympathy and affection and should not spread disorder and dissention among them. Nor should they invent new ideas foreign to the teachings of Quran and the Sunnah which may lead to division and conflict among Muslims.

It is also astonishing that the article views the celebration of Eid al-Adha on different days as being against the concept of Ummah while in the matter of celebration of Eid ai-Fitr, this concept is dispensed with. If the celebration of Eid al-Fitr on different days does not affect the concept of unity, how can it be said to harm unity in the case of Eid al-Adha?

It is true that Eid al-Adha falls immediately after the day of Arafat in Saudi Arabia, but it is not necessary that the Muslims in every country should follow the same dates in their respective areas. Hajj, no doubt, is tied with a particular place but the celebration of Eid al-Adha is not confined to that place alone. It is celebrated everywhere in the world and cannot be tied to the Saudi calendar.

The article admits that the celebration of Eid al-Adha in other countries was never linked with its celebration in Saudi Arabia throughout the past 14 centuries. This, the author's claim was because of a lack of communication facilities. With vastly improved communication today, they argued that everyone almost anywhere can find out the day of Hajj, and should celebrate Eid al-Adha based on Saudi calendar.

There is a clear admission in this argument that it is not obligatory according to Quran or the Sunnah to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to Saudi calendar. Had this been so, Muslims would have tried their best to find the exact date of Hajj in Saudi Arabia. It is not correct to say that it was not possible in those days for people living outside Saudi Arabia to know the exact date of Hajj, because this date is normally determined on the first night of Zul-Hijjah. There is a nine day period until which is more than sufficient to acquire this information. However, no jurists has ever stressed that such information be collected in order to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to Saudi dates.

Further, if the argument of the article is accepted and it is held that the real intention of Quran and Sunnah was to link the celebration of Eid al-Adha with the Saudi dates, as a mandatory provision for all Muslims in the world, it means that the Shari'ah has stressed a principle which was not acceptable for 1300 years. Is it not against the Quranic declaration that Allah does not make a thing mandatory unless it is practical for the human beings.

If the authors argue that the celebration of Eid al-Adha was not linked with the dates in Makkah in the past but it has become a mandatory requirement of the Shari'ah now, then the question arises, who has abrogated the previous principle and on what basis? There is no provision in Quran or the Sunnah which orders the Muslims to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to their local dates up to a particular time and to link it with the dates in Makkah thereafter. Whoever considers this and similar questions arising out of this unprecedented theory advanced in the article can appreciate its fallacy.

Finally, I would like to inform you that the question of sighting the moon for each lunar month including Zul-Hijjah was thoroughly discussed at the annual sessions of the Islamic Fiqh Academy (held in Jordan, October 11-16, 1986) attended by more than a hundred outstanding scholars of Shari'ah. The academy adopted the resolution recommended that all Muslim countries should determine all the lunar months including Zul-Hijjah on the same basis for both Eid al-Fitr as well as Eid al-Adha.

This resolution represents the consensus of Muslim jurists throughout the world. The proposal contained in the ISNA article, however, goes totally against this consensus.

Before parting with the subject, I would like to emphasize that such unprecedented proposals can never advance the cause of Muslim unity. Rather, they may create a new point of disunity and dissention among Muslims. Before venturing such opinions as definite "Fatwa", these should be discussed at some responsible international forum of contemporary Muslim jurists like the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in Jeddah. [May 2000]

PLEASE NOTE: Since the publication of the above ruling, ISNA held a conference in November 2000 and subsequently changed their position to follow local moon sighting news instead, but from 2006 they opted to use calculations of moonset after sunset at Makkah horizon (same as Saudi Ummul Qura Calendar criteria). [Ref: http://www.fiqhcouncil.org/node/21]