such as fasting, breaking the fast, and the sacrificial rite. Thus, for the moon to count as a “crescent” and the period to count as a “month,” it must actually appear and be recognized as such. If it rises in the sky yet the people remain unaware of it, it is not deemed a crescent; the designation applies only once it becomes visible and widely known, as the Qur’an and Sunnah attest.
As for the well-known position in the school of Imam Ahmad—shared by the other three Imams—whoever sights the crescent on his own is obliged to fast, along with every other ruling attached to the month, because he knows that the day he has seen belongs to Ramadan.
Third benefit
The views on when to begin and end the fast can be summarized in three positions:
- If the crescent is sighted in any one country, fasting becomes obligatory for all Muslims everywhere, on the grounds that the command “When you see it…” addresses the entire ummah.
- Horizons are considered to differ—previously defined in kilometres—so the command applies only to those for whom sighting is possible within their own region.
- Fasting and breaking the fast are binding on all who live under a single political authority.
In terms of evidence, the second view is the strongest, though in practice people today follow the third.
Fourth benefit
Based on the hadith recorded in Sunan al-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurayrah, in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “Your fast is the day you all fast, and your breaking of the fast is the day you all break the fast,” anyone who finds himself in a land where fasting begins or ends must fast or break the fast on that day—even if he is not a resident of that land—because its ruling applies to him. If he then returns to his homeland having fasted fewer than twenty-nine days, he must complete the remaining days after his own community’s festival.