MOONSIGHTING & EIDS With all the confusion twice a year concerning the Eid celebrations, this section is extremely necessary.

The following are traditions of our Holy Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) concerning this issue and are offered as a basis of the many "proofs" for local moonsighting, which is believed to be the Sunnah of our Prophet (saw).

Each of the articles below are in support of local moonsighting and the arguments contained therein are very strong if not irrefutable. If you seriously are looking for answers, do not be discouraged by the length of a few of these articles, as they will prove the validity of local moonsighting over any other method.

********************

From Muslim @Book 6, Number 2378: Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Whenever you sight the new moon (of the month of Ramadan) observe fast. and when you sight it (the new moon of Shawwal) break it, and if the sky is cloudy for you, then observe fast for thirty days.

From Muslim @Book 6, Number 2391: Kuraib reported that Umm Fadl, daughter of Harith, sent him (Fadl, i. e. her son) to Mu'awiya 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. Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) 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 (fasts) or we see it (the new moon of Shawwal). I said: Is the sighting 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 ibn Yahya was in doubt (whether the word used in the narration by Kuraib) was Naktafi or Taktafi.

From Muslim @Book 6, Number 2392: Abu'l-Bakhtari reported: We went out to perform Umra and when we encamped in the valley of Nakhla, we tried to see the new moon. Some of the people said: It was three nights old, and others (said) that it was two nights old. We then met Ibn 'Abbas and told him we had seen the new moon, but that some of the people said it was three nights old and others that it was two nights old. He asked on which night we had seen it; and when we told him we had seen it on such and such night, he said the Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said: Verily Allah deferred it till the time it is seen, so it is to be reckoned from the night you saw it. 1426 Hijri / 2005-2006
Eid Announcements 1426
List of Islamic Councils and their Eid-ul Fitr 1426 Decision
Sighting Reports for Shawwal 1426
Towards Resolving the Recurring Moon-sighting Controversy

Note: The webmaster of this site is not a Mufti; however, it is generally known that when one misses a day of fasting in Ramadan due to error (such as following the erred judgment that Eid was to be celebrated on Thursday instead of Friday, in most parts of the world), one must still make up that missed day of fasting. As long as one did not intentionally miss fasting, there is nothing else he must do after making up that one day's fast, once he is convinced of the error committed.

Fatwa for Eid-ul-Fitr 1420 AH - Sh Yusuf Qaradawi
Fatwa on Eclipse and Lunar Calendar - Sh Ibn 'Uthaymeen
Fatwa on Ramadan and Eids According to Saudi Arabia - Sh Ibn 'Uthaymeen
Hilal Sighting in Saudi Arabia: A First Hand Report - Salman Zafar Shaikh
ISNA's Eid al-Adha Decision Evaluated - Mufti Taqi Uthmani
Muslims in N. America NOT to pray Eid on Day after Arafah - Sh Ibn 'Uthaymeen

See Also: Fasting & Ramadan