Unfortunately, these "moon sighting wars" happen twice a year at the worst possible times - when Muslims should be celebrating and happy and not arguing about a matter already made clear over 1400 years ago.
Moon Sighting in Qur'an and Sunnah
The original ruling on the criteria for sighting the moon began with the Qur'an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, found in many Ahadith:
- Qur'an (2:189): "They ask you concerning the new moons. Say: They are but signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for pilgrimage.
- Hadith (al-Bukhari and Muslim): It is reported that the Messenger, peace be upon him said, "Fast when you see the crescent. If it is obscured to you (by clouds) then complete thirty days of Sha'aban and break your fast when you see the crescent. If it is obscured from you then fast thirty days".
- Hadith (Dawood): It is relayed that Ibn Umar said, "People were looking for the crescent (of Ramadan). I informed the Prophet, peace be upon him, that I saw it. So he fasted (on the following day) and ordered the people to fast.
- Hadith (Darqutnee and Ahmad): It is reported that the Messenger, pbuh, said, "If two Muslims testify (that they saw it) then fast or break your fast" (as the case may be for the particular month).
With such criteria already in place, there is no room for overturning the rulings of Allah and his Messenger. It is not for mankind to follow God's creation in the disobedience of the Creator (God).
(La ta3t al-makhlooq fi ma3siyat el-khaaliq)
Based on the information, it is clear that:
- The moon should be sighted by the naked eye.
- It should be reported by a trustworthy source.
- One should fast or break his fast based on receiving word from such a source.
- If there is doubt of one person's testimony, seek a second.
- If the second corroborates, fasting or breaking it commences.
- If one does not receive word from any of the above sources either by locale or lack of communication, he or she uses their own naked eyes or that of their community.
- However, if they have received word as outlined above, it is obligatory for them to begin or break fast accordingly.
It is not permissible for Fatwa's to be made regarding matters which already have precedent in the Qur'an and Sunnah. Considering the above in addition to the Qur'anic passage: "Whoever obeys the Messenger, verily obeys Allah" (4:80), it is easy to see that there is no room for argument regarding this matter.
Current Application
On September 29th, the new moon was sighted in the Emirates, in addition to other places - actual sighting, not calculations, meaning that the Eid will be celebrated on September 30th, 2008. Despite this announcement and awareness thereof, several entities decided to go against the application of Qur'an and Sunnah to this matter and apply a secular ruling based on calculations.
In the Qur'an, several times, it is repeated that man can calculate all he wants but it is Allah's calculations that will prevail.
Allah (God) can create whatever circumstances He wills. This tendency in favor of calculations has caused straying off course in other matters as well, since the same method is applied towards prayer times.
Most Muslims in Western countries, instead of looking at the sun and the moon, time their prayers (salat) and fast-breaking according to a spreadsheet of calculations, which are many times incorrect, resulting in people either breaking fast before the sun has actually set or sitting there 20 minutes after it has set still waiting (which goes against the Prophet's exhortation to speed to the fast-breaking).
Oddly enough, when one is asked to step outside and see that it is or isn't time, many times they are adamant about sticking to the written schedule instead of the criteria set by Allah and His Messenger, pbuh.
