Do Saudi Scholars impose Saudi moon sighting on Non-Saudi residents?

Sayyidina Abu Huraira (RA) narrated that Rasul-ullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) made a mention of the new moon and (in this connection) said: Observe fast when you see it (the new moon) and break fast when you see it (the new moon of Shawwal), but when (the actual position of the month is) concealed from you (on account of cloudy sky), then count thirty days. [Muslim]

The blessed month of Ramadhan is around and we should prepare ourselves to immerse in the Barakah and tranquillity which is exclusive to this great month and ensure that not a moment of it is wasted without us distancing ourselves from the fire of hell and gaining proximity to Jannah. This isn't a month of bickering or time wasting, rather it should be viewed as a colossal opportunity to get close to Allah (SWT).

Unfortunately in the west, this month will also bring controversies about its start and end dates and a primary factor in this confusion is our sincere brothers and sisters who will simply turn on their TV sets (to check for Taraweeh Salah in Haram) or contact their friends and acquaintances or receive email or SMS notifications from certain websites and portals; for them the start and end of Ramadhan, Eidul-Fitr and Eidul-Adha has become inseparable from Saudi Arabia.

We write this to appeal to the conscious of all those who wish to follow the noble Sunnah of Rasul-ullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam). The command in the Sunnah is for Muslims to observe the crescent locally and it is explicit in the Authentic Hadeeth of Rasul-ullah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam):

Sayyidina Abu Huraira (RA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (Sallaho Alaihe Wassallam) made a mention of the new moon and (in this connection) said: Observe fast when you see it (the new moon) and break fast when you see it (the new moon of Shawwal), but when (the actual position of the month is) concealed from you (on account of cloudy sky), then count thirty days. [Muslim]

The practise of imposing moon sighting of one location (be it Makkah) has never been the practise of the Muslim Ummah for 1400+ years, an important consideration is obviously the time difference i.e. by the time its sunset in Makkah there are Muslims around the world who are already in bed because its past midnight in their locality. But, more importantly we have the explicit practise of Sahaba (RA) which expressly shows us that the Sahaba (RA) followed local moon sighting.

Kuraib reported that Umm Fadl, daughter of Harith, sent him (Fadl, i.e. her son) to Sayyidina Mu'awiya (RA) in Syria. I (Fadl) arrived in Syria, and did the needful for her. It was there in Syria that the month of Ramadan commenced. I saw the new moon (of Ramadan) on Friday. I then came back to Medina at the end of the month. Sayyidina Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas (RA) asked me (about the new moon of Ramadan) and said: When did you see it? I said.: We saw it on the night of Friday. He said: (Did) you see it yourself? -I said: Yes, and the people also saw it and they observed fast and Mu'awiya also observed fast, whereupon he said: But we saw it on Saturday night. So we would continue to observe fast till we complete thirty (lasts) or we see it (the new moon of Shawwal). I said: Is the sightidg of the moon by Mu'awiya not valid for you? He said: No; this is how the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) has commanded us. Yahya b. Yahya was in doubt (whether the word used in the narration by Kuraib) was Naktafi or Taktafi. [Muslim]

The purpose of this article is to show that it is neither the Fatwa nor the practise of Saudi Scholars to impose Saudi sighting on Western Muslims, in fact their opinion is quite the opposite which is to follow local sighting!

What is the Saudi system of moon sighting?

The following video is a recording of a meeting with British Muslim Scholars and Shaykh Abdullah Munea (member of Saudi Royal Courts) and Shaykh Abdul Aziz bin Saleh Al-Hamid (member of the Saudi Supreme Court) and the two clear statements can be heard directly from the Saudi Scholars who are responsible for moon sighting in the country:

1Saudi Arabia does not sight the moon every month, rather they rely on the civil "Ummul-Qura Calendar" for all months other then Ramadhan, Shawaal & Dhul-Hijjah.

2Calculations are taken into consideration i.e. when the moonset is before sunset; since it is not possible to establish the month the sighting is not considered.

There should be no illusions or misunderstanding in anyone's mind after watching the video above that Saudi Arabia actually uses moon sighting for all 12 months or that calculations are not considered during the moon sighting process in Saudia, the later may have been the case previously but it is no longer true.

Do the Saudi Scholars give Fatwa for Western Muslims to follow Saudi moon sighting?

Absolutely not!

The advice and Fatwa of the Saudi Scholars has always been for the Muslims (globally) to establish sighting of the moon locally and to follow their own local sighting, we will now attempt to give opinions of major and well known Saudi Scholars who unanimously advise Muslims to follow local sighting.

Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (RA) negating setting of Makkah for global sighting:

فأما قول من قال إنه ينبغي أن يكون المعتبر رؤية هلال مكة خاصة ، فلا أصل له ولا دليل عليه

"As for those who say that it is necessary to follow the sighting of Makkah, then let it be known to them, that there is no proof or basis for this in the Qur'aan and Hadith". (Sheikh Abdullah bin Baz RA AlBa'ath ul Islaaami Zil Hijjah 1399 Hijri).

Shaykh Salih al-Uthaymeen (RA) on negating setting of Makkah for global sighting:

... Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about those who call for the ummah to be united in fasting and for the moon sighting to be based on its sighting in Makkah. He said:

This is impossible from an astronomical point of view, because the sighting of the new moon, as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said, differs, according to the scientists who are well-versed in this field. Because it differs, then each country should have its own ruling, according to the reports and according to science.The evidence from reports is the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Sawm (fasts) that month" [al-Baqarah 2:185]

Shaykh Adil Salahi (ArabNews):

...These people are well meaning. They think that Islam is practiced in its best form in Saudi Arabia and they want to follow it. But their practice is wrong because it does not have a solid basis. If we were to extend their practice to its logical conclusion, we should offer prayers according to the timings in Saudi Arabia, rather than our own timings. Thus, we should import Saudi calendars and follow the timings indicated in them. Similarly, we should fast the same number of hours as fasting is indicated in Saudi Arabia. This is easy nowadays, because of satellite television. We can always watch the time in Saudi Arabia and follow it. Needless to say, no one will agree to this although some logical argument could be presented in its support, such as the unity of all Muslims.

Yet the practice of all Muslims is that each locality has its own timings. The difference in prayer time between Jeddah and Dammam, at the two coasts of Saudi Arabia is around an hour. No one suggests that it should not be observed. In fact if it is not observed, we run the risk of having our prayers rendered invalid.

The difference in starting Ramadan has always been known, and the Prophet's (peace be upon him) companions accepted it. Abdullah ibn Abbas asked someone who had traveled from Damascus to Madinah about the day they started Ramadan...

Dr Ahmed Ibn Saifuddin (HA):

...Muslims should follow their own local sighting except for the month of Dhul-Hijjah..

Shaykh Saud Al-Shuraim (Imam of Makkah) in his Friday Khutbah on 22nd of July 2011:

The sheikh said sighting the moon is established in the Sharia, and this principle does not preclude benefiting from modern science and technology as these do not violate the principle nor contradict it. Examples of this include the usage of binoculars and mathematical calculations which assist in realising the sighting of the moon, or tahqeeq al-ru'yah. By this means, conflicting points of view can be unified and disputation lessened. He then quoted the following Hadeeth from Saheeh Muslim in favour of following local sighting:

Kuraib reported that Umm Fadl, daughter of Harith, sent him (Fadl, i.e. her son) to Sayyidina Mu'awiya (RA) in Syria. I (Fadl) arrived in Syria, and did the needful for her. It was there in Syria that the month of Ramadan commenced. I saw the new moon (of Ramadan) on Friday. I then came back to Medina at the end of the month. Sayyidina Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas (RA) asked me (about the new moon of Ramadan) and said: When did you see it? I said.: We saw it on the night of Friday. He said: (Did) you see it yourself? -I said: Yes, and the people also saw it and they observed fast and Mu'awiya also observed fast, whereupon he said: But we saw it on Saturday night. So we would continue to observe fast till we complete thirty (lasts) or we see it (the new moon of Shawwal). I said: Is the sightidg of the moon by Mu'awiya not valid for you? He said: No; this is how the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) has commanded us. Yahya b. Yahya was in doubt (whether the word used in the narration by Kuraib) was Naktafi or Taktafi. [Muslim]

Shaykh Salih al-Uthaymeen (RA) negating the concept of global Eidul-Adha after Hajj:

فقد اطلعنا على فتوى سماحتكم في كتاب «فتاوى إسلامية» حول رؤية الهلال في بلد لا تلزم جميع البلاد بأحكامه. فهل ينطبق هذا على رؤية هلال عيد الأضحى (شهر ذي الحجة) أفيدونا مأجورين

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته

الهلال تختلف مطالعه بين أرض وأخرى في رمضان وغيره، والحكم واحد في الجميع، لكني أرى أن يتفق الناس على شيء واحد، وأن يتبعوا ما يقوله أمير الجالية الإسلامية في بلاد غير المسلمين؛ لأن الأمر في هذا واسع إن شاءالله، حيث إن بعض العلماء يقول: متى ثبتت رؤية الهلال في بلد الإسلام في أي قطر لزم الحكم جميع المسلمين في جميع الأقطار الإسلامية. - كتبه محمد الصالح العثيمين في  15/2/1421

The answer by Dr Ahamed Ibn Saifuddin (HA) might confuse some Muslims so here we present the unequivocal statement of Shaykh (Qadhi) Salih al-Uthaymeen (RA):

Q: Should we abide by the local sighting in determining the Eid-al-Adha or should we follow the pilgrims' schedule, knowing that North America sighting of crescent may come a day before Saudi Arabia's sighting?

A: "You should abide by the city you're living in."

Q: This means that we will fast the 9th of Zul-Hijja of North America and pray Eid on 10th Zul-Hijja of North America!

A: "Yes, and this is what you should do without any (Haraj) or mental anxiety."

Who is attempting local sighting in UK & North America?

Alhumdolillah there are many Muslims who have been blessed to follow the Sunnah and sight the moon every month and report on the progress. We request all British Muslims to register with ICOP-UK:

1 All Muslims are encouraged to revive the Sunnah and sight the crescent locally and co-ordinate their efforts in a spirit of cooperation and brotherhood.

2All moon sighting attempts are broadcast on the web

3All moon sighting reports are co-ordinated with countries east of UK (Morocco, South Africa etc)

4All moon sighting reports can be sent via email or SMS

5 ICOP-UK is collection of well intentioned Muslims and all Services are provided free of charge for the benefit of Muslims with the expectation of reward on the day of judgement.

We request all Muslims to register free and play a crucial role in reviving the Sunnah.

In the US Hilal Sighting of North America is a similar organisation working along similar lines to revive the Sunnah of local moon sighting.

TV or Sunnah?

In conclusion we pose a simple questions to all Muslims in the West who fear Allah (SWT) and want to follow the Sunnah:

--> Would you turn on your TV in a few days time to obtain your news of moonsighting OR would you follow the Sunnah?