Moon-sighting: Don’t disregard this beautiful Sunnah

By Asma bint Shameem

I remember when I was a little girl, we would go up to the roof of our house on the 29th of Sha’baan and try to look for the new moon of Ramadhaan.

It brings backs fond memories to the mind and I can’t help but smile at the happiness and excitement that I felt as a child, trying to sight the new moon, perching on tiptoes, competing with my brother to spot it before he could!

Will we begin fasting tomorrow?

Will it be Ramadhaan?

And when we did actually see it, the delight…indescribable,

the giggles…uncontrollable!

Sighting the moon was such a sweet joyful experience and it was part of the whole spirit of Ramadhaan.

It only added to the sacred beauty and sanctity of the blessed month, and to our Ibaadah and submission to Allaah.

And now, many years later, as another Ramadhaan approaches us, I look forward to another chance to look for the moon, this time with my kids, teaching them the importance of this Sunnah, sharing with them their innocent joy and excitement…their delight at seeing the bright crescent that brings glad tidings of a blessed month full of mercy and barakah.

And why shouldn’t it be so?

Yet nowadays, people have abandoned this beautiful Sunnah and have resorted to calculations, without even attempting to sight the moon.

They just sit at home, rely on a calendar and start their fasting based on calculations.

They forget that, to search for the new moon is an ACT OF IBAADAH and a means of EARNING REWARD from Allaah.

The Order from Allaah is to SEE the new moon

Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'ala commands us to SEE the moon and then to start fasting.

He said:

‎فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ

“So whoever among you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadhaan), he must observe sawm (fast) that month…” [al-Baqarah 2:185]

Here Allaah uses the word شَهِدَ which means to SEE something with the eye.

It is the SUNNAH of our beloved Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam)

The Sunnah is ‘seeing’ and not mere 'knowledge' of moon’s existence above the horizon.

There is a major difference between the 'birth' of the moon and actually 'seeing' it.

The moon might be 'born' but it is not always possible to immediately 'see' it.

It may NOT be visible to the human eye.

We need to realize that the month of Ramadhaan does not begin with the 'birth' of the moon.

It does not even begin when it becomes 'possible' to sight the moon.

The month of Ramadhaan, begins according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam), with the actual SIGHTING of the moon.

This means a human EYE has to ‘see’ the crescent of Ramadhaan.

There are many, many Ahaadeeth encouraging us to ‘look’ ( with our eyes) for the new moon.

🌿 The Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Do not fast until you ‘SEE’ the new moon, and do not stop fasting until you ‘SEE’ it, and if it is concealed by clouds then count out (the thirty days of Sha’baan ) for it.” (Bukhaari, Muslim).

Reflect on the words of the Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam).

What is he telling us to do?

He is clearly telling us to start and stop fasting when we sight the moon and then he's saying something really important.

He's telling us "if it is concealed by clouds".

That means that he is well aware of the fact that the moon might be behind the clouds.

So it is 'born'.

It is there behind the clouds.

It is present.

Yet if we cannot SEE it, we are not supposed to start fasting, even if it is there behind the clouds.

Nothing could be clearer than that!

🍃 Aaishah (Radhi Allaahu anha) said:

"The Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) used to count the days in Sha’baan more carefully than at any other time, then he would fast when he SIGHTED (the new moon) of Ramadhaan." (al-Daaraqutni--saheeh).

The Sahaabah would actually SIGHT the moon:

🔹Fadl said:

“I SAW the new moon (of Ramadhaan) on Friday. I then came back to Medeenah at the end of the month.

Abdullah ibn Abbas asked me (about the new moon of Ramadhaan) and said: When did you SEE it?

I said: We SAW it on Friday night.

He said: (Did) you SEE it yourself?

I said: Yes, and the people also SAW it so they observed fast and Mu’awiyah also observed fast.” (Saheeh Muslim)

🔹And Anas ibn Maalik Radhi Allaahu anhu said:

"We were with ‘Umar radhi Allaahu anhu between Makkah and Madeenah and we LOOKED for the new moon. I was a man who had keen eyesight and I SIGHTED it..."

Now if something is a clear Order of Allaah, an established Sunnah of the Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) and an undisputed practice of the Sahaabah, why would anyone want to go against it or do otherwise?

Yet there are people who resort to calculating the beginning or end of an Islaamic month.

Allaah knew exactly what progress would be made in astronomy and other sciences over the years.

He knew that there will come a time when it would be easy to calculate the birth of the moon.

Yet, in spite of that, He ordered us with His Infinite Knowledge and Wisdom, to 'see' the new moon and He instructed His Messenger (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) to teach his Ummah the same.

🔺Argument:

“But there were no calculations back then. So can I resort to calculations now?”

Now someone might say that at the time of the Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) there were no calculations, but now that we do, what's the harm in it?

But the fact of the matter is that astronomical calculations DID exist at the time of the Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) and even way before that.

Astronomy and its calculations have been around for literally thousands of years before the Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam)'s time, some even say as early as around 2000 BC.

Yet he (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) specifically told us NOT to calculate the birth of the moon; rather he told us to try and see it.

🌿 He (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

“We are an unlettered nation, we do not write or calculate.

The month is such-and-such” and he gestured with his hands three times, and held down his thumb the third time, then he said, “or the month is such-and-such” and he gestured with all of his fingers, meaning that the month may be twenty-nine days or it may be thirty.”(al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

In this hadeeth, when the Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) is saying that "we do not write or calculate", he is telling us to stay away from calculating the birth of the new moon and that there is no need to resort to astronomical calculations.

He (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) is not telling us to be ignorant or uneducated.

He is also not saying that Muslims shouldn't calculate other things.

Actually, if you think about it, Islaam is the religion of knowledge.

In order for us to be good practicing Muslims, we have to CALCULATE.

Don't we calculate zakaat every year?

Doesn't inheritance and the distribution of property after someone dies require calculations?

This hadeeth is specifically telling us to stay away from ‘calculations’ of the “new moon”.

🔹 Ibn Taymiyah said:

"It is a basic fact of Islaam that we must SIGHT the crescent moon with regard to fasting, Hajj, ‘iddah,... and other rulings that are connected to the lunar calendar.

There are many texts from the Prophet which indicate that, and the Muslims are unanimously agreed on that.

NO difference of opinion was known concerning that in the past or in modern times, apart from some fuqaha’ after the third century AH, who claimed that if the new moon is covered by clouds it is permissible for an astronomer to follow calculations himself, so that if his calculations indicate that the moon could have been sighted he may fast, otherwise he should not.

This view, even though it is subject to the condition that there be clouds and it applies only to the astronomer, it is an ODD VIEW that is outweighed by the consensus on the opposite view. With regard to following calculations when the sky is clear or applying the results of the calculations to the general public, this is something that NO Muslim has EVER suggested.

The scholars were unanimously agreed that it is not permissible to rely on calculations for proving the beginning and end of the fast and so on.

Al-Haafiz narrated in al-Fath (4/127) that al-Baaji said:

"The CONSENSUS of the salaf is that calculations should not be relied on, and their consensus is PROOF for those who come after them."

(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa)

🔹The Council of Senior Scholars issued an important statement on this topic:

"The Council has studied the issue of proving the new moon by means of calculation, and what has been narrated in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and they have studied the comments of the scholars on this matter.

They have decided UNANIMOUSLY that astronomical calculations carry no weight in determining the new moon with regard to Islamic matters, because the Prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Fast when you see it and stop fasting when you see it.”

And he (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Do not fast until you see it, and do not stop fasting until you see it.” And because of other evidence to that effect."

(Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 10/102)

🔺Can we use a TELESCOPE to spot the moon?

It is permissible to use telescopes etc. to sight the moon, because the telescope is just an aid to assist the human EYE, and it is different from calculating the time of the birth of the moon.

🍃 Shaikh Ibn Uthaymeen said:

“With regard to using a telescope to see the crescent, there is nothing wrong with it, but it is not necessary, because the apparent meaning of the Sunnah is that we should rely upon ordinary sighting and not anything else. But if it is used and the moon is sighted by a trustworthy person, then this sighting may be acted upon.

In the past, the people used that because they used to climb up the minarets on the night before the 30th of Sha’baan and the night before the 30th of Ramadhaan and look for it by means of a telescope.”

(Fataawa ‘Ulama’ al-Balad al-Haraam p. 192, 193) 

🔹Sighting the new moon of Ramadhaan is a Fardh Kifaayah

The majority of scholars are of the view that sighting the new moon of Ramadhaan on the first night of the month is a Fardh Kifaayah (communal obligation).

This means that if everyone abandons 'looking' for the moon, then we are all sinful.

🍃Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:

"It is obligatory to witness the new moon for establishing certain acts of worship.

If these acts are obligatory, such as fasting Ramadhaan and Hajj, then witnessing the new moon also becomes obligatory on at least a part of the Muslim Ummah (Fardh Kifaayah).

That is because, “what is necessary to fulfill the requirements of an obligation is an obligation itself.”

🌿The Sunnah Dua upon seeing the new moon:

The Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) even taught us the dua to read when we see the new moon.

He Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam used to say:

‎اللهُ أَكْـبَر، اللّهُمَّ أَهِلَّـهُ عَلَيْـنا بِالأمْـنِ وَالإيمـان، والسَّلامَـةِ والإسْلام، وَالتَّـوْفيـقِ لِما تُحِـبُّ رَبَّنـا وَتَـرْضـى، رَبُّنـا وَرَبُّكَ الله

Allaahu Akbar. Allaahumma ahlilhu ‘alayna bi’l-yumni wa’l-eemaan wa’l-salaamah wa’l-islaam. Rabbiy wa rabbuka Allaah

Allaah is the greatest.

O Allaah, make the new moon rise on us with blessing, faith, safety and Islam. My Lord and Your Lord is Allah).” (at-Tirmidhi - saheeh by al-Albaani)

So make an effort tonight to sight the Ramadhaan moon with full attention and eagerness and say this prayer if you see it.

And Allaah knows best.