Our Deen Islam is based on one thing only and that is trust in the truthfulness of our Prophet Muhammadﷺ. We believe that the Ayaat of the Qur’an are the speech of Allahﷻ because Muhammadﷺ said so. That is why we treat the Ahadith of Rasoolullahﷺ with so much reverence because they were also said by the same person, i.e., Muhammadﷺ, who recited for us, the Word of Allahﷻ. It is a measure and proof of his truthfulness that he never claimed his speech to be the Word of God – Kalaamullah, even though Allahﷻ said about the speech of Muhammadﷺ:
وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ ٱلْهَوَىٰٓ – إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْىٌ يُوحَىٰ
Najm 53: 3-4 Nor does he speak of his own volition. It is only a revelation sent ˹to him˺.
Allahﷻ commanded us, Believers, to obey Muhammadﷺ unquestioningly.
وَمَآ ءَاتَىٰكُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَىٰكُمْ عَنْهُ فَٱنتَهُوا۟ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ
Hashr 59: 7 Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it. And whatever he forbids you from, leave it. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is severe in punishment.
Allahﷻ didn’t restrict obedience to Rasoolullahﷺ to worship alone or anything else. He gave a blanket command and ordered us to obey Rasoolullahﷺ in every matter and warned us of His punishment if we didn’t obey Rasoolullahﷺ without question. Let us remember that Islam means submission and it is only obedience which makes us Muslims.
Finally, for the purpose of our discussion here, Allahﷻ declared on oath by Himself that we can’t have faith until we accept the rulings of Rasoolullahﷺ in all matters wholeheartedly without any resistance to them in our hearts.
فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا۟ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا
Nisa 4: 65 But no! By your Rabb, they will never be believers until they accept you ˹O Prophet˺ as the judge in their disputes and find no resistance within themselves against your decision and submit wholeheartedly.
Based on this our scholars from the Sahaba onwards have always taken the position that anyone who denies a Sahih Hadith or refuses to accept a ruling of Rasoolullahﷺ, has committed Kufr and has left Islam.
https://islamqa.info/en/answers/115125/ruling-on-one-who-rejects-a-saheeh-hadith
That is the light in which we must see the following Hadith of Rasoolullahﷺ:
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ رَغِبَ عَنْ سُنَّتِي فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي
Abdullah ibn Amr (RA) reported: Rasoolullahﷺ said, “Whoever does not desire my Sunnah is not a part of me.” (Sunan Ibn-Abi Asim) Hadith Sahih (Al-Albani)
For those who love His Messengerﷺ and emulate him, Allahﷻ promised:
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِى يُحْبِبْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
A’al Imraan 3: 31 Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “If you ˹sincerely˺ love Allah, then emulate me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Finally, Allahﷻ said about this Deen of ours Islam:
ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًا
Ma’ida 5: 3 Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favor upon you, and chosen Islam as your way.
About when this Ayah was revealed, we have the narration where a Jew said to ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab (R), ‘O leader of the believers! There is an Ayah in your Book (Qur’an) which is read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us (Jews), we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed) as a day of celebration.” ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattab (R) asked him, “Which Ayah is that?” The man replied: “This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” [Quran 5:3]. ‘Umar (R) replied: “No doubt, we know when and where this Ayah was revealed to Rasoolullahﷺ. It was the day he was standing at ‘Arafah on a Friday.” [Bukhari & Muslim] Both being Eids.
This is evidence that the Ayah declaring that Islam is complete was revealed on Yawm Al Arafah which is the 9th of Dhul Hijjah. Therefore, it is a part of our Creed to believe Islam to be complete and to believe that Rasoolullahﷺ completed his responsibility of conveying the Message of Islam by word and deed; by teaching it and demonstrating it in his life. We believe that he didn’t leave anything out and so there is no scope for anyone to add anything or change anything in Islam. Rasoolullahﷺ shut the door to all innovations in Islam and declared that all innovation is misguidance and will be in the Fire. We hear this Hadith in almost every Juma Khutba in every masjid.
عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ فِي خُطْبَتِهِ يَحْمَدُ اللَّهَ وَيُثْنِي عَلَيْهِ بِمَا هُوَ أَهْلُهُ ثُمَّ يَقُولُ مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْهُ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ إِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ وَأَحْسَنَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ وَشَرُّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلُّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلُّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلُّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ
Jabir ibn Abdullah(R) reported: Rasoolullahﷺ would praise Allah in his sermon, as He deserves to be praised, and then he would say, “Whomever Allah guides, no one can lead him astray. Whomever Allah allows to go astray, no one can guide him. The truest word is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The evilest matters in religion are those that are newly invented, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Hellfire.” (Sunan al-Nasai – Hadith Sahih)
On the importance of sighting the moon, we have many Ahadith. One is:
Kurayb (RA) reported: I came to Syria and tended to my needs. The crescent of Ramadan appeared over me while I was in Syria and I saw it on Friday, then I came to Medina at the end of the month. Abdullah ibn Abbas, (R) asked me about it and I mentioned the crescent. Ibn Abbas said, “When did you see it?” I said, “We saw it on Friday night.” Ibn Abbas said, “You saw it?” I said, “Yes, people saw it and they fasted, as did Mu’awiyah.” Ibn Abbas said, “But we saw it on Saturday night, so we will continue fasting until we complete thirty days, or we see it.” I said, “Is it not enough that Mu’awiyah saw it and he fasted?” Ibn Abbas said, “No, such was the command of Rasoolullahﷺ.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim – Sahih)
Imam Al-Tirmidhi said, “The people of knowledge act upon this Hadith, that the people of every land have their own moon sighting.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi)
عَنْ كُرَيْبٍ قَالَ فَقَدِمْتُ الشَّامَ فَقَضَيْتُ حَاجَتَهَا وَاسْتُهِلَّ عَلَيَّ رَمَضَانُ وَأَنَا بِالشَّامِ فَرَأَيْتُ الْهِلَالَ لَيْلَةَ الْجُمُعَةِ ثُمَّ قَدِمْتُ الْمَدِينَةَ فِي آخِرِ الشَّهْرِ فَسَأَلَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الْهِلَالَ فَقَالَ مَتَى رَأَيْتُمْ الْهِلَالَ فَقُلْتُ رَأَيْنَاهُ لَيْلَةَ الْجُمُعَةِ فَقَالَ أَنْتَ رَأَيْتَهُ فَقُلْتُ نَعَمْ وَرَآهُ النَّاسُ وَصَامُوا وَصَامَ مُعَاوِيَةُ فَقَالَ لَكِنَّا رَأَيْنَاهُ لَيْلَةَ السَّبْتِ فَلَا نَزَالُ نَصُومُ حَتَّى نُكْمِلَ ثَلَاثِينَ أَوْ نَرَاهُ فَقُلْتُ أَوَ لَا تَكْتَفِي بِرُؤْيَةِ مُعَاوِيَةَ وَصِيَامِهِ فَقَالَ لَا هَكَذَا أَمَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
The statement of Abdullah Ibn Abbas (RA) is based on the command of Rasoolullahﷺ who commanded us to see the new moon and start the new month and if the sky is cloudy and we can’t see the new moon, then to complete 30 days of the current month. We believe in Islam, and we believe Rasoolullahﷺ and obey him unquestioningly as a mark of being Muslims.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، – رضى الله عنه – أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ صُومُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ وَأَفْطِرُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ فَإِنْ غُمِّيَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَكْمِلُوا الْعَدَدَ
Abu Huraira (R) reported that Rasoolullahﷺ said, ‘Start fasting on sighting it (the new moon) and break (fast) on sighting it (the new moon), but if the sky is cloudy for you, then complete the number (of thirty). (Muslim – Hadith Sahih)
We also know and understand this to be a fundamental principle that Rasoolullahﷺ used to answer questions as asked, but his answer applies to everything in that context. The evidence for this is in the famous Hadith Jibreel, narrated by Umar Ibn Al Khattab (R) and others, where Rasoolullahﷺ defined Al-Ihsan (Excellence) in terms of Salah. But we know that the definition is not restricted to Salah but extends to every transaction in life. We must live our lives as if we can see Allahﷻ and know that Allahﷻ is with us in real time and sees, hears and knows everything we say or do.
قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، مَا الإِحْسَانُ – قَالَ الإِحْسَانُ أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاكَ
(Extract from Hadith Jibreel) The man asked, “Ya Rasoolullahﷺ, ‘What is Ihsan (Excellence)?” Rasoolullahﷺ said, “Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then (know) that Allah sees you.”
So, though Rasoolullahﷺ mentioned the sighting of the moon with respect to starting and stopping of fasting, all our scholars have agreed and stated that the principle of sighting the moon to calculate the beginning and end of the month applies to every month and not to Ramadan alone.
Therefore, when Rasoolullahﷺ stood in Arafa and asked the people (rhetorically) what day it was and then stated the date as the 9th of Dhul Hijja, he had counted that from the day he sighted the new moon of Dhul Hijja. He didn’t use astronomical calculations or calendars to determine the date of the month. If he had wanted to do so, he could have because Lunar calendars have been in existence for at least 3000 years. The fact that he neither used them nor commanded or permitted people to use astronomical calculations to determine the beginning of the month, shows us that this is a spiritual matter and not a matter of scientific calculations or convenience. The fact that he made a specific declaration about moon sighting to begin the month binds us to his command and doesn’t give us the freedom to use different methods to calculate, as we do with respect to the time of daily prayers. We don’t measure shadows, we use clocks. But with respect to sighting the moon to begin the month, that is a specific command and so must be followed and not changed or ignored.
Finally, Rasoolullahﷺ did not command us to synchronize our date with Makkah or Madina and so those who insist on following Saudi Arabia must provide proof for their insistence. In Islam, every matter must have a Daleel (Evidence) and the only Dala’ail that are acceptable in matters of worship are Ayaat of the Qur’an and/or Sahih Ahadith. If we don’t have such a Daleel, then to do something based on whatever logic appears reasonable to us in matters of worship is a Bida’a (innovation) and we know what Rasoolullahﷺ said about that.
In the light of all the above evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah, I submit that the best, even only permissible, way to calculate the beginning of the month and its end is by sighting the moon. Sighting by a reliable, practicing Muslim who is on the Sunnah is acceptable for a region, the exact extent of that region is left to local leaders/scholars to determine.
There is no evidence to show that using astronomical calculations to calculate the beginning of the month for religious purposes, was permitted by Allahﷻ or His Messengerﷺ i.e., there is no Ayah or Hadith permitting this. Finally, since there is a specific Hadith commanding us to sight the moon and start or end the month. To ignore that command and use calculations because that is more convenient would be to reject the Sahih Hadith. Let us remember that when Rasoolullahﷺ commanded us to do something, this was because of Allahﷻ’s command to him. In this is benefit for us, even if we may not see it sometimes. That is Islam.
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