on what is designated by the terms hilāl (crescent) and shahr (month), as in fasting, breaking the fast, and offering sacrifice. Allah Most High says:

“They ask you about the crescents. Say, ‘They are markers of time for people and for Hajj.’”

Thus He, glorified is He, explained that the crescents are markers of time for people and for Hajj. Allah Most High says:

“Fasting has been prescribed for you,”

up to His words:

“The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed as guidance for mankind.”

He has therefore made fasting the month of Ramadan obligatory, and this is agreed upon among Muslims. What people dispute, however, is whether “crescent” denotes what appears in the sky, even if people are unaware of it, with its appearance marking the beginning of the month; or whether “crescent” denotes what people publicly announce, and “month” denotes what becomes widely known among them. There are two views.

Those who hold the first view say that when someone alone sees the crescent, the appointed time for fasting has begun and Ramadan has commenced for him. That night is, in reality, part of Ramadan, even if no one else knows it. They also say that anyone who did not see it must make up the fast if it becomes clear to him that the crescent had appeared. By analogy, the same would apply to the month of breaking the fast and the month of sacrifice. Yet, regarding the month of sacrifice, I know of no one who has said that a person who alone sees its crescent should stand at ‘Arafah by himself, apart from the other pilgrims, and then, on the following day, offer his sacrifice, stone Jamrat al-‘Aqabah, and come out of ihrām independently of the other pilgrims.

Their disagreement concerns only breaking the fast. Most scholars treated it like offering sacrifice and said that he should break the fast only with the Muslims. Others said that breaking the fast is like fasting, and that Allah has not commanded His servants to fast thirty-one days. The inconsistency of