Lives in a country whose people rely on astronomic estimations to start and end Ramadaan

16/08/2009| IslamWeb

Question:

i'm in india in india they fast by calender they not see the moon the goverment force them to fast by calender . i fast with arabs please answer me if i'm right i'm a somalian and i know arabic and you can answer in arabic or in english

 

Fatwa:

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.  

 

We hope that you were correct for fasting with the countries where the moon was sighted because it is not correct to rely on astronomic estimations in determining the beginning or the end of fasting. Therefore, this estimation should not be taken into account, rather, what should be relied on is the sighting with one's eyes or completing the month of Sha'baan 30 days.

 

Indeed, we clarified that a Muslim who lives in a country whose people rely on astronomic estimations should rely in starting fasting and breaking the fast on his own sighting of the moon or the sighting of the nearest country to him, especially that the majority of the scholars are of the view that if the moon is sighted in one country all the people are obliged to fast. Hence, it is more appropriate to act according to the view of the majority of the scholars .

 

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by:The Fatwa Center at Islamweb