Watching the crescent is the criterion of the beginning and end of Ramadan

Q: You know, may Allah safeguard you, what occurs every year, especially this year, with regard to the difference of the Muslim countries over the beginning and end of the obligatory Sawm (Fast). Some Libyans observed a thirty one-day Sawm; some other Libyans received a Fatwa from their scholars and some of our scholars to break their Sawm in secret on the 30th day of Ramadan. After the latter had broken their Sawm, they came to us seeking a Fatwa on their breaking Sawm. This resulted in a conflict of Fatwas. We have refrained from giving a Fatwa to this latter group. Also some countries observed Sawm after us like Morocco, and then they came (Part No. 9; Page No. 16) to this country (Saudi Arabia). May you, kindly, submit these cases to the competent scholarly authorities whose issued Fatwas are accepted by the laypeople. We pose here, in brief, the questions we want to ask about as follows:1. If the Sawm of those who observe Sawm a day before us is based - as some of them have mentioned- on seeing the crescent of Ramadan (in their country), is it permissible for them to follow our country in its Sawm when they come here and observe Sawm for thirty one days?2. If their Sawm is based on the calculation of time, would this mean they should observe Sawm thirty one days? Would the ruling differ if their Sawm was based on the calculation of Greenwich Meridian Time - according to some people, as the Greenwich Meridian line passes by Morocco at a two thousand km. Distance from Libya? 3. What is the legal ruling to be followed in the future in cases similar to those who broke their Sawm after completing thirty days, whether due to having been given a Fatwa on their doing so or not? Also, what is the legal ruling to be given to those who observed Sawm for twenty nine days, following the Sawm of Saudi Arabia, while their country where they started Sawm for thirty days, as was the case in the previous years?

A: First: The criterion upon which the beginning and end of Ramadan is based is watching the crescent, not astronomical calculations of time; as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Start fasting on seeing it (the new moon of Ramadan), and give up fasting on seeing it (the new moon of Shawwal). The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: Do not fast until you sight it (the moon) and do not break your fast until you sight it. What is meant here is to observe Sawm on seeing the crescent of Ramadan with the naked eye or by the tools that help a person watch the sky and identify the crescent, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: (Part No. 9; Page No. 17)  The beginning of Ramadan is on the day when you begin fasting, the end of Ramadan is on the day when you end it, and `Eid Al-Adha is on the day when you sacrifice. Second: The criterion of dating events as considered by the Muslims is the Hijri (lunar) calendar, according to which a month is at least twenty nine days or thirty days at most. Third: A Muslim person is required to observe and break their Sawm according to the country he or she is residing in at that time, whether this country is their homeland or they are only residents in it, and whether the beginning and end of Sawm in this country is determined by the Government, the Mufty (Muslim scholar qualified to issue legal opinions), or through the Shar`y (Islamic legal) judiciary court and the religious judge to whom determining the same is assigned. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The beginning of Ramadan is on the day when you begin fasting, the end of Ramadan is on the day when you end it, and 'Eid Al-Adha is on the day when you sacrifice. This Hadith is reported by Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhy through good Isnad (chain of narrators). Also, when the Muslims observe and break their Sawm at the same time in the same country, this indicates their unity and distances them from disagreement and difference. Fourth: The Muslims residing in non-Islamic countries are to refer to the Islamic centers in these countries, as these centers replace the Islamic governments with regard to identifying the crescent of Ramadan. Fifth: The criterion of determining the beginning of the month of Sawm is what is considered in this concern in the country in which a Muslim person resides at that time; and should he or she travel to another country during this month, the criterion of determining the end of the same is what is considered in the country to which he or she has traveled. Accordingly, a Muslim is to end the month according to the country to which he or she has traveled, even if that country ended Sawm before the country (Part No. 9; Page No. 18) where he had started his or her Sawm; but if the duration of their days of Sawm was less than twenty nine days, they must make up for the missed day of Sawm so that they abide by the least duration of the month of Sawm.If a Muslim observed Sawm for thirty days in the country he traveled to (calculating the day in which he or she has observed Sawm with the country which started observing Sawm a day before the country he traveled to), and there is still a day to be observed by the latter, he or she is to observe Sawm with its people to celebrate `Eid-ul-Fitr (the Festival of Breaking the Fast) and offer the `Eid Prayer with them.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.