Sunday, 20 October 2013

SIGHITNG THE MOON AND GIVING TESTIMONY FOR IT

SIGHITNG THE MOON AND GIVING TESTIMONY FOR IT

Q.   How is it to try to sight the moon for the month of Ramadhan?
*  Trying to sight the moon for the month of Ramadhan and scanning the horizon for it on the 29th of Sha’ban is ordained. It is, likewise, desirable to try to sight the moon for the month of Sha’ban on the 29th of Rajab so that correct estimate of the 29th of Sha’ban later is made possible. If on the 29th of Sha’ban the Ramadhan moon is sighted, fast must be kept the next morning. If no moon has been sighted although the horizon was clear, no fast should be kept in the morning. If, however, the horizon was under cloud or dust, eating and drinking should be avoided until ten or eleven o’clock in the morning. If in the meantime word about the sighting of moon is received through some reliable source, we must intend for the fast. If not, we should resume eating and drinking. But intending for the fast on the day following the 29th of Sha’ban under the assumption that if Ramadhan has not commented it will be counted as a Nafl fast is undesirable.

Q.   What testimony is dependable for the Ramadhan moon?
*  If the sky is not clear because of cloud or dust, the testimony of one truthful and god-fearing person shall be good for the opening of Ramadhan whether such a person is a man or woman, free or slave. Similarly, testimony of a person who is not known to be a transgressor and who looks god-fearing on the face of it, is also reliable.

Q.   What testimony is acceptable for the ‘Id moon?
*  In the event of the horizon being not clear, the testimony of two pious and truthful men or of one man and two women shall be good.

Q.   How many people must testify to having sighted the moon in the event of the horizon being clear?
*  If the horizon is clear, people in such a large number must be there to the sighting of the moon that their version becomes beyond the suspicion of concoction and falsehood. The number should be large enough to inspire confidence and trust in the minds of the people.

Q.   Will the word about the sighting of the moon in a distant city or town be acceptable to the people of another locality?
*  The news from whatever distant a place it comes could be acceptable. For instance, the people in Burma have not sighted the moon, but still they will have to observe the missed fast at a later should a person from Delhi testify to having sighted the moon before them. Provided always that the testimony comes from a source cognizable in Shariah. Telegraphic message is not acceptable in Islam.

Q.   If a lone person sights the Ramadhan moon whose testimony is not accepted by scholars of the Shariah for purposes of fasting, is he duty bound to start fasting as an individual?
*  Yes, he is ordained to fast. But if he has counted thirty days of fasting on the basis of his own testimony, but still the ‘Id moon has not been sighted, he shall have to fast even  on the 31th day along with others.

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