13/2. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1080h — Twenty-Nine Nights and Moon 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.
Twenty-Nine Nights Moon Sighting Hadith
Sahih Muslim : 1080h
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1080h
وَحَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى، وَيَحْيَى بْنُ أَيُّوبَ، وَقُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، وَابْنُ، حُجْرٍ قَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى أَخْبَرَنَا وَقَالَ الآخَرُونَ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ جَعْفَرٍ - عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ، دِينَارٍ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ ابْنَ عُمَرَ، - رضى الله عنهما - قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " الشَّهْرُ تِسْعٌ وَعِشْرُونَ لَيْلَةً لاَ تَصُومُوا حَتَّى تَرَوْهُ وَلاَ تُفْطِرُوا حَتَّى تَرَوْهُ إِلاَّ أَنْ يُغَمَّ عَلَيْكُمْ فَإِنْ غُمَّ عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْدِرُوا لَهُ ".
Ibn 'Umar Narrated from:
Ibn 'Umar (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: The month may consist of twenty-nine nights. So do not fast till you have sighted it (the new moon) and do not break it till you have sighted it, except when the sky is cloudy for you, and if it is so, then calculate it.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1080hIn-book reference : Book 13, Hadith 11USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 6, Hadith 2370
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1080h
This twenty-nine nights moon sighting Hadith reports that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said the month may consist of twenty-nine nights. He then said not to fast until the new moon is sighted and not to break the fast until it is sighted. The exception mentioned is when the sky is cloudy. In that case, the narration says to calculate it. The Hadith is closely tied to Ramadan timing and crescent sighting. It also shows that the month does not always have to be thirty nights. The wording is careful: sighting is the normal sign, while cloudiness is the situation where calculation is mentioned.
What we learn from this hadith
- The month may consist of twenty-nine nights.
- Fasting should not begin until the new moon is sighted.
- The fast should not end until the new moon is sighted.
- Cloudy weather is mentioned as the exception for calculation.
