Moon sightings determined

30-3-2003 | IslamWeb

Question:

If the crescent for Ramadan is viewed by non-Muslims but relayed live by TV, then should we Muslims after seeing it on TV accept it as having sighted the crescent and either begin the month or end it?

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Answer:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

If you mean seeing the Crescent by non-Muslims, we state that seeing the Crescent of the new lunar month should be done by a Muslim since sighting by a non-Muslim is not considered. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said to a Bedouin who saw the Crescent: "do you bear the witness that La Ilaha Illa Allah (none deserves to be worshipped but Allah) and I am His Messenger?" The Bedouin replied in positive. So the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) ordered people to start fasting. [ Abu Dawood, al-Nasaee and al-Tirmizi ]
Therefore, the Muslim jurists make a condition that the one who gives witness of seeing the Crescent should be a Muslim.
Then, it is recorded in al-Mudawana (a book of Maliki Fiqh): 'If two Muslim men give witness concerning seeing the Crescent, you have to start fasting (or said, to break fasting).'
If non-Muslim mass media convey the news concerning seeing the Crescent, such news is also not considered in Shari'a, since Muslim scholars refuse the witness of a dissolute person in religious matters. This means it is normal to refuse the witness of a non-Muslim. al-Zila'I in his book Nasb al-Rayah said, witness of a dissolute person is not accepted in the religions'.
According to al-Sheikh Muhammad Saleh Ibn al-Uthaimeen (may Allah's mercy be upon him), Muslims who live in a non-Muslim country are to do their best to see the Crescent if possible; otherwise, they are to do in accordance with what a Muslim country does concerning seeing the Crescent or not. Allah knows best.