13/2. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1080e — Ramadan Crescent Sighting
The obligation to fast Ramadan when the crescent is sighted, and to break the fast when the crescent is sighted, and that if it is cloudy at the beginning or end of the month, then the month should be completed as thirty days.
Ramadan Crescent Sighting Hadith Explained
Sahih Muslim : 1080e
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1080e
وَحَدَّثَنِي زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، عَنْ أَيُّوبَ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، - رضى الله عنهما - قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّمَا الشَّهْرُ تِسْعٌ وَعِشْرُونَ فَلاَ تَصُومُوا حَتَّى تَرَوْهُ وَلاَ تُفْطِرُوا حَتَّى تَرَوْهُ فَإِنْ غُمَّ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْدِرُوا لَهُ " .
Ibn'Umar (Allah be pleased with-both of them) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: The month of Ramadan may consist of twenty-nine days. So do not fast till you have sighted it (the new moon) and do not break fast, till you have sighted it (the new moon of Shawwal), and if the sky is cloudy for you, then calculate.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1080eIn-book reference : Book 13, Hadith 8USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 6, Hadith 2367
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1080e
This Ramadan crescent sighting Hadith reports that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said the month of Ramadan may consist of twenty-nine days. He then instructed not to fast until the new moon is sighted, and not to break the fast until the new moon of Shawwal is sighted. If the sky is cloudy, then people should calculate. The Hadith joins two ideas in a simple way: the month may be twenty-nine days, and the crescent is the sign used for beginning and ending. It does not say to guess casually. The instruction is tied to sighting, and cloudy weather is mentioned as the case when calculation is needed.
What we learn from this hadith
- Ramadan may be twenty-nine days.
- Fasting should begin after sighting the new moon.
- Ending Ramadan should also follow sighting the new moon.
- Cloudy skies are handled by calculation in this narration.
