Ramdan Moonsighting - Question and Answer

Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Raheem

Question:

With regard to the affirmation of the legitimate sighting of the new moon, is it permitted to consider the scientific facts as either revocatory or consolidating of the testimony of he whose sighting confirms the beginning of the month of Ramadhan? In other words, if a Muslim were to say that he has sighted the new moon in one side of the space, and the astronomic facts dismissed the possibility of the new moon appearing in that part, while confirming that the new moon would be born in a different side, would it be fitting to consider the astronomic calculations in this context as a stipulation upon the witness in order to determine whether he is telling the truth or not? Thus, the testimony is either revoked or consolidated? I would be grateful if the emphasis were on the aspects related to the consideration of the witness’s testimony in this particularity.

Answer:

The Shahadah i.e. testimony is the foundation of Al-Bayyinaat i.e. the evidences, and these represent all what confirms and proves the claim or the allegation, and they are the proof of the claimant; it is also considered as one of the actions outlined by the address of the Legislator, i.e. it is one of the Shari'ah liabilities, thus, it is imperative to have a Shari'ah evidence that indicate its status as being part of Al-Bayyinaat.
The evidence has been established concerning the existence of four types of evidences, these are: The testimony, the confession, the oath and the conclusive written documents. Apart from these, nothing is deemed as part of Al-Bayyinaat as far as Shari'ah is concerned, because there is no evidence to suggest that it is part of Al- Bayyinaat.
The evidence pertaining to the Shahadah has been listed in the Qur'an and the Hadith. As for the Qur'an, Allah (swt) says: T.M.Q. "And get two witnesses out of your own men..." [2-282]
Allah (swt) also says: T.M.Q. "And take for witness two persons from among you endued with justice..." [65-2 ]
Allah (swt) also says: T.M.Q. ".And take witnessed whenever you make a commercial contract..." [2 -282]
As for the Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Either your two witnesses or his oath.”. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said some allies of a man from Al-Ansar who was killed in Khaybar: “Do you have two witnesses who will testify the killing of your friend?”

The word Shahadah is derived from MuShahadah, which is Mu’aayanah, which means viewing or observation. The taking of an oath has been called Shahadah, because the viewing is a cause for it. Hence, the Shahadah occurs if there is a viewing or what is similar to it, such as hearing or sensing or anything similar to viewing. The Shahadah cannot be deemed as evidence unless it is decisive for the witness, because it is the proof that affirms the claim. Hence, it is wrong for anyone to bear witness unless it was based on knowledge, i.e. based on decisiveness. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “If you see something as you see the sun, you may then bear witness, otherwise refrain.”
Therefore, whatever is occasioned through one of the senses, deemed as conclusive through the identification of what is sensed, and based on knowledge, i.e. on decisiveness, it is permitted for one to testify it, and whatever does not occur through this, one is forbidden to testify it.

Shari'ah has decreed that the testimony of the Muslim is initially acceptable, because embracing Islam makes the person who embraces it a trustworthy in origin. Hence, the Muslim is trustworthy unless his wrongdoing is established. To reject the Shahadah i.e. testimony of a Muslim is against what is initially established, and whatever is contrary to what is originally established requires confirmation, i.e. it requires a proof to confirm it. This proof cannot be anything else but a Shari'ah text, because the rejection is a Shari'ah rule, thus it requires a Shari'ah evidence. Also, because the affirmation of what is contrary to what Shari'ah has initially established requires a Shari'ah text confirming what is contrary to the original. Therefore, the testimony cannot be rejected except through an accusation. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “No testimony for the impeached.” Therefore, the Muslim acts as an authority if the aspect of truthfulness in him were preponderant in his favour. However, the impeachment is determined by Shari'ah and not by reason; thus a testimony cannot be rejected except through an impeachment which a Shari'ah text indicates its validity to render a testimony incredible. As long as there exists no Shari'ah text indicating impeachment, the testimony cannot be rejected. Those whom the Shari'ah text has stipulated the rejection of their testimony are the untrustworthy, the Mahdood i.e. the punished and the traitor, man or woman. Also rejected through a Shari'ah text are the testimonies of the enemy against his enemy, if the enmity were related to a worldly matter, the testimony of the employee for his employer, if it were related to the employment, and the testimonies of the son for his father, and the father for his son, the wife for her husband and the husband for his wife. Apart from these categories, one’s testimony must be accepted, for there is no Shari'ah text to stipulate the rejection of their testimony.
Hence, the ruler or the judge must abide by the Shari'ah texts with regard to rejecting a testimony and he must not transgress these texts.

The Legislator (swt) has made the appearance of the new moon of Ramadhan a Sabab i.e. a cause for fasting. In other words Allah (swt) has made it a sign indicating the start of fasting Ramadhan. Bukhari extracted on the authority of Ibnu Omar that the Messenger of Allah (saw) mentioned Ramadhan and said: “Do not fast until the sight the crescent and do not stop fasting until you sight it. If it is cloudy then calculate it.” The Messenger of Allah (saw) also said: “The month consists of 29 nights, so do not fast until you sight it and if it is cloudy then complete the count to thirty.” Ibnu Omar also reported: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: “If you sight it, then break fast and if it is cloudy then calculate about it.” it has also been reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Fast when you sight it and end your fast when you sight it and if it were cloudy for you then complete the count of Shaaban.”
Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (saw) ordered the fasting when we sight the new moon on the first day and he linked the fasting to the sighting of the new moon, and if its sighting were not possible, he ordered us to complete thirty days. The Messenger of Allah (saw) did not link the fasting to the birth of the crescent not did he mention anything about this. Therefore, the Legislator (swt) has decreed that the appearance of the crescent is the cause of fasting, thus if it were not sighted then the Shari'ah Sabab i.e. cause would not have occurred. Hence, the Shari'ah rule cannot be confirmed through calculation or other than that, even if it were accurate or conclusive, because the Legislator has not made it a Sabab, thus it cannot stipulate fasting. This is confirmed by what Bukhari extracted on the authority of Ibnu Omar, that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “We are an illiterate Ummah, we do not write and we do not calculate. The month is such and such, meaning sometimes it is 29 and sometimes 30.” What is meant by calculation is this context is the astronomic calculations. The text also indicates that the Shari'ah rule should not be subject to calculations in the first place.

The Legislator has made the testimony of one single Muslim sufficient in the affirmation of the crescent’s sighting , whether this were the crescent of Ramadhan or the crescent of Shawwal. Ibnu Abbas reported that a Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah (saw) and said: “I sighted the crescent.” He (saw) said: “Do you profess that there is no god but Allah? He said: “Yes” He (saw) then asked him: “Do you profess that Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah?” HE said: “Yes”. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “Call upon people to fast tomorrow then O Bilal.”

Therefore, if a witness were to testify with what does not contradict the senses, nor with what contradicts the conclusive text, and if the ruler or the judge were content that the witness is most probably sincere, due to the fact that he is Muslim, mature and sane, and free of any reasons that may make his testimony rejected according to Shari'ah, his testimony must be accepted and it must be acted upon, because it conforms with the command of the Legislator and because the rule is built upon the least amount of doubt and not upon decisiveness. If the testimony of the witness is sound, it will not requires anything to consolidate it. It is also forbidden to cancel it except through that which a testimony is rejected from a Shari'ah viewpoint. The astronomical calculations and scientific facts should not be taken into consideration because they, and their like, have no evidence, neither from the Book, nor from the Sunnah, thus they cannot be deemed as part of AlBayyinaat, for there is no evidence to indicate that they are an evidence. To act upon such calculations is contradictory to what the Legislator (swt) has established as Sabab for fasting and contradictory to the rule that He (swt) has decreed in order to confirm the Sabab.

2 Ramadhan 1420h
9 December 1999