and is therefore better and greater. In short, if you reflect upon Islamic law and the divinely ordained obligations, you will find them to embody the utmost wisdom and to conform perfectly to human welfare.
Fasting Ramadan becomes obligatory upon sighting its new moon. If it is not seen on the clear night preceding the thirtieth day, they are to begin the morning not fasting; but if it is obscured by clouds or haze, then, according to the apparent position of the madhhab, fasting is obligatory . . .
His statement, “Fasting Ramadan becomes obligatory upon sighting its new moon,” is not intended to establish that fasting is obligatory, since this is necessarily known. Rather, he intends to explain when it becomes obligatory. He therefore mentioned that it becomes obligatory through one of two matters:
The first is sighting its new moon—that is, the new moon of Ramadan.
-
Allah the Exalted says: “So whoever among you is present during the month should fast it.” [al-Baqarah 2:185]
-
The Prophet ﷺ said: “When you see it, then fast.” (1)
This indicates that fasting does not become obligatory on the basis of astronomical calculation. Thus, if astronomers who track the phases of the moon determine that a given night is part of Ramadan, but the new moon has not been seen, then fasting is not observed, because the Sacred Law has made this ruling contingent upon something perceptible: sighting.
Some later scholars held that astronomical calculations must be followed when sighting is not possible. They interpreted accordingly the hadith of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father), in which the Prophet ﷺ said: “If it is obscured from you, then determine it accordingly.” They said that this is derived from estimation, meaning calculation. But the correct view is that the meaning of “determine it accordingly” is explained by the words of the Prophet ﷺ himself: what is meant is to complete thirty days of Sha'ban.
His statement, “upon sighting its new moon,” includes both seeing it with the naked eye and seeing it by means of optical instruments that bring it closer, for both constitute sighting.