FASTING CHAPTER · 9 – What is done when the crescent moon is seen in a country other than the one where it is observed one night earlier?
Küreyb (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
Haris's daughter, Ümmül Fazl, sent her to Damascus to Mu'awiya. She said:
"I came to Damascus and fulfilled what he requested. While I was in Damascus, the crescent moon of Ramadan appeared; we saw the crescent on Friday night. Then, at the end of the month, I returned to Medina. Afterwards, Ibn Abbas asked me, 'When did you see the crescent?' I said, 'We saw it on Friday night.' He then said, 'Did you see it as well?' I replied, 'Yes, I saw it, and so did the people; they fasted, and Mu'awiya also fasted.' Then Ibn Abbas said, ‘But we saw the moon on Saturday night, and we fast until we complete thirty days or sight the month of Shawwal.’ I asked him, ‘Do you not suffice with what Mu’awiya saw and then fasted upon?’ He replied, 'No, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us in this manner.' [253]
COMMENTARY:
It is said that Kasim bin Muhammad, Salim bin Abdullah bin Umar, and Ikrimah stated that each person should observe his fast according to what he sees.
Ibn al-Munzir said: If the people of one city learn that the people of another city saw the moon a day before them, they should make up for the days they have eaten.
This is also the opinion of Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Ash-Shafi’i, and Ahmad bin Hanbal.
It is related from Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) that:
If a person fasts on Monday in any land, then two people witness the new moon of Pazar night in consequence of it. Hasan said regarding this matter: neither the one who began his fast on Monday nor his companions make up [the missed days].