among the believers.
3. The devils are chained—the rebellious ones among them, as another narration makes clear. These “rebels” (marada) are the demons most hostile and aggressive toward the children of Adam. The chaining (tasfīd) means they are shackled, their hands bound, so they cannot reach what they normally reach outside this month. Everything the Prophet ﷺ has told us here is true; he conveyed it as sincere counsel to the ummah, encouraging them to do good and warning them against evil.

As for Abu Hurayrah’s second hadith, he said: “Begin the fast when you sight it, and end the fast when you sight it.” This means that the Muslims are obliged to fast once they see the crescent of Ramadan. If they do not see it, no fasting is required of them. Hence his words: “If it is hidden from you, then complete thirty days of Shaʿbān.” In other words, if the crescent is concealed by clouds, rain, or the like, Shaʿbān must be completed as thirty days—this is al-Bukhārī’s wording.

Muslim’s version states: “Then fast thirty days,” and this concerns the case when the crescent of Shawwāl is hidden. Thus, the Prophet ﷺ clarified in this hadith that whenever the crescent is obscured on the night of the thirtieth of Shaʿbān, Shaʿbān must be completed as thirty days; likewise, if it is obscured on the night of the thirtieth of Ramadan, Ramadan is completed as thirty days. Allah is the One who grants success.