13/2. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 1080m — Month Length by Hand Count
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.
Month Length Hadith: Twenty-Nine or Thirty
Sahih Muslim : 1080m
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 1080m
وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ عُقْبَةَ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ حُرَيْثٍ - قَالَ سَمِعْتُ ابْنَ عُمَرَ، - رضى الله عنهما - يَقُولُ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " الشَّهْرُ تِسْعٌ وَعِشْرُونَ " . وَطَبَّقَ شُعْبَةُ يَدَيْهِ ثَلاَثَ مِرَارٍ وَكَسَرَ الإِبْهَامَ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ . قَالَ عُقْبَةُ وَأَحْسِبُهُ قَالَ " الشَّهْرُ ثَلاَثُونَ " وَطَبَّقَ كَفَّيْهِ ثَلاَثَ مِرَارٍ .
Ibn 'Umar Narrated from:
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, and Shu'ba (one of the narrators) (gave a practical demonstration how the Holy prophet (ﷺ) explained to them) by unfolding his hands thrice and folding his thumb at the third turn. 'Uqba (one of the narrators in this chain of transmitters) said: I think that he said that the month consists of thirty days and unfolded his palm three times.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 1080mIn-book reference : Book 13, Hadith 16USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 6, Hadith 2375
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 1080m
This narration reports Ibn Umar saying that Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said the month may consist of twenty-nine days. Shu'ba then demonstrated the meaning by opening both hands three times and folding a thumb on the third turn. The report also notes that Uqba thought there was a wording about thirty days, shown by opening the palms three times. A careful reading of this month 29 days hadith should keep both details in their places. The first wording clearly states twenty-nine. The added narrator note mentions a possible thirty-day wording. The shared lesson is that the month is understood through its counted length, and the report preserves how the narrators explained that count.
What we learn from this hadith
- The narration clearly mentions a month of twenty-nine days.
- The hand demonstration helps explain the number.
- Narrator notes should be read carefully and not mixed without care.
