Hadiths relating to the Moon and Ramadhan

NARRATOR AbuHurayrah
SAHIH MUSLIM
HADITH_No 2378
Allah's Messenger (peace_be_upon_him) said: 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.

NARRATOR AbuHurayrah
SAHIH MUSLIM
HADITH_No 2379 Allah's Messenger (peace_be_upon_him) said: Observe fast on sighting it (the new moon) and break (fast) on sighting it (the new moon), but if the sky is cloudy for you, then complete the number (of thirty).

NARRATOR AbuHurayrah
SAHIH MUSLIM
HADITH_No 2380
Allah's Messenger (peace_be_upon_him) said: Observe fast on sighting it (the new moon) and break it on sighting it. But if (due to clouds) the actual position of the month is concealed from you, you should then count thirty (days).

NARRATOR AbuHurayrah
SAHIH MUSLIM
HADITH_No 2381
The Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) made a mention of the new moon and (in this connection) said: Observe fast when you see it (the new moon) and break fast when you see it (the new moon of Shawwal), but when (the actual position of the month is) concealed from you (on account of cloudy sky), then count thirty days.

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Abbas
SAHIH MUSLIM
HADITH_No 2391
Kurayb said: Umm Fadl, daughter of Harith, sent him (Fadl, i.e. her son) to Mu'awiyah 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 asked me (about the new moon of Ramadan) and said: When did you see it? I said: We saw it on Friday night. He said: (Did) you see it yourself? I said: Yes, and the people also saw it so they observed fast and Mu'awiyah also observed fast. Thereupon he said: But we saw it on Saturday night. So we shall continue to observe the fast until we complete thirty (fasts) or we see it (the new moon of Shawwal). I said: Is the sighting of the moon by Mu'awiyah not valid for you? He said: No; this is how the Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) has commanded us. Yahya ibn Yahya was in doubt (whether the word used in the narration by Kurayb) was Naktafi or Taktafi.

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Abbas
SAHIH MUSLIM
HADITH_No 2392
AbulBakhtari reported: We went out to perform Umrah and when we encamped in the valley of Nakhlah, 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 (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.

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Abbas
SAHIH MUSLIM
HADITH_No 2526
Hakim ibn al-Araj reported: I went to Ibn Abbas and he was reclining using his mantle as a pillow near the fountain of Zamzam. I said to him: Tell me about fasting on Ashura. He said: When you see the new moon of Muharram then count the (days) and observe fast on the 9th. I said to him: Is it how the Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) observed the fast? He said: Yes.

NARRATOR AbuHurayrah
SAHIH MUSLIM
HADITH_No 2635
We were talking about laylat al-Qadr in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and he said: He who amongst you remembers (the night) when the moon arose and it was like a piece of plate (at the fag end of the month in a state of waning).

NARRATOR Anas ibn Malik
SAHIH MUSLIM
HADITH_No 6868
We were with Umar between Mecca and Medina so that we might begin to look for the new moon. I was a man with sharp eyesight, so I could see it, but none saw it except myself. I began to say to Umar: Don't you see it? But he could not see it. Thereupon Umar said: I shall soon be able to see it (when it shines more brightly). I lay in bed. He then mentioned to us of the people of Badr and said: Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) showed us one day before (the actual battle) the place of death of the people (participating) in (the Battle) of Badr and he was saying: This will be the place of death of so and so tomorrow, if Allah wills. Umar said: By Him Who sent him with truth, they did not miss the places (of their death) which Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) had indicated for them. Then they were all thrown in a well, one after another. Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) then went to them and said: O, so and so, the son of so and so; O so and so, the son of so and so, have you found what Allah and His Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) had promised you? I have, however, found absolutely true what Allah had promised me. Umar said: Allah's Apostle (peace_be_upon_him) said: How can you talk as bodies without souls in them. Thereupon he said: You cannot hear more distinctly than (they can) what I say, but with the exception that they have no power to make any reply.

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Umar
AL-MUWATTA
HADITH_No 18.1.1
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once mentioned Ramadan and said, "Do not begin the fast until you see the new moon, and do not break the fast (at the end of Ramadan) until you see it. If the new moon is obscured from you, then work out (when it should be)."

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Umar
AL-MUWATTA
HADITH_No 18.1.2
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A month has twenty-nine days in it. Do not start the fast or break it until you see the new moon. If the new moon is obscured from you, then work out (when it should be)."

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Abbas
AL-MUWATTA
HADITH_No 18.1.3
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, once mentioned Ramadan and said, "Do not start the fast or break it until you see the new moon. If the new moon is obscured from you, then complete a full thirty days."

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Umar
AL-MUWATTA
HADITH_No 20.9.31
Ubayd ibn Jurayj said, to Ibn Umar, "AbuAbdurRahman, I have seen you doing four things which I have never seen any of your companions doing." He said, "What are they, Ibn Jurayj?" and he replied, "I have seen you touching only the two Yamani corners, I have seen you wearing hairless sandals. I have seen you using yellow dye, and, when you were at Makkah and everybody had started doing talbiyah after seeing the new moon, I saw that you did not do so until the eighth of Dhul-Hijjah." Abdullah ibn Umar replied, "As for the corners, I only ever saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, touching the two Yamani corners. As for the sandals, I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, wearing hairless sandals and doing wudu in them, and I like wearing them. As for using yellow dye, I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, using it, and I also like to use it for dyeing things with. As for doing talbiyah, I never saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, begin doing so until he had set out on the animal he was riding on (i.e. for Mina and Arafat)."

NARRATOR AbuUmayr ibn Anas
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 1153
AbuUmayr reported on the authority of some of his paternal uncles who were Companions of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him): Some men came riding to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and testified that they had sighted the new moon the previous day. He (the Holy Prophet), therefore, commanded the people to break the fast and to go out to their place of prayer in the morning.

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Umar
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 1768
Ubayd ibn Jurayj said to Abdullah ibn Umar: AbuAbdurRahman, I saw you doing things which I did not see being done by your companions. He asked: What are they, Ibn Jurayj? He replied: I saw you touching only the two Yamani corners; and I saw you wearing shoes having no hair; I saw you dyeing in yellow colour; and I saw you wearing ihram on the eighth of Dhul-Hijjah, whereas the people had worn ihram when they sighted the moon. Abdullah ibn Umar replied: As regards the corners, I have not seen the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) touching anything (in the Ka'bah) but the two Yamani corners. As for the tanned leather shoes, I have seen the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) wearing tanned leather shoes, and he would wear them after ablution. Therefore I like to wear them. As regards wearing yellow, I have seen the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) wearing yellow, so I like to wear with it. As regards shouting the talbiyah, I have seen the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) raising his voice in talbiyah when his she-camel stood up with him on its back.

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Umar
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 2312
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The month consists of twenty-nine days, but do not fast till you sight it (the moon) and do not break your fast till you sight it. If the weather is cloudy, calculate it thirty days. When the twenty-ninth of Sha'ban came, Ibn Umar would send someone (who tried) to sight the moon for him. If it was sighted, then well and good; in case it was not sighted, and there was no cloud and dust before him (on the horizon), he would not keep fast the next day. If there appeared (on the horizon) before him cloud or dust, he would fast the following day. Ibn Umar would end his fasting alone with the people, and did not follow this calculation.

NARRATOR Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 2318
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to count the days in Sha'ban in a manner he did not count any other month; then he fasted when he sighted the new moon of Ramadan; but if the weather was cloudy he counted thirty days and then fasted.

NARRATOR Hudhayfah
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 2319
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Do not fast (for Ramadan) before the coming of the month until you sight the moon or complete the number (of thirty days); then fast until you sight the moon or complete the number (of thirty days).

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Abbas
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 2320
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Do not fast one day or two days just before Ramadan except in the case of a man who has been in the habit or observing a fast (on that day); and do not fast until you sight it (the moon). Then fast until you sight it. If a cloud appears on that day (i.e. 29th of Ramadan) then complete the number thirty (days) and then end the fasting: a month consists of twenty-nine days.

NARRATOR Mu'awiyah
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 2322
AbulAzhar al-Mughirah ibn Farwah said: Mu'awiyah stood among the people at Dayr Mustahill lying at the gate of Hims. He said: O people, we sighted the moon on such- and-such day. We shall fast in advance. Anyone who likes to do so may do it. Malik ibn Hubayrah as-Saba'i stood up and asked: Mu'awiyah, did you hear the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say something (about this matter), or is this something on the basis of your opinion? He replied: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) as saying: Fast the month (in the beginning) and in the last.

NARRATOR Ammar
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 2327
AbuIshaq reported on the authority of Silah: We were with Ammar on the day when the appearance of the moon was doubtful. (The meat of) goat was brought to him. Some people kept aloof from (eating) it. Ammar said: He who keeps fast on this day disobeys AbulQasim (i.e. the Prophet) (peace_be_upon_him).

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Umar
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 2331
Husayn ibn al-Harith al-Jadli from the tribe of Jadilah Qays said: The governor of Mecca delivered a speech and said: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) took a pledge from us that we should perform the rites of hajj after sighting the moon. If we do not sight it and two reliable persons bear witness, we should perform the rites of hajj on the basis of their witness. I then asked al-Husayn ibn al-Harith: Who was the governor of Mecca? He replied: I do not know. He then met me later on and told me: He was al-Harith ibn Hatib, brother of Muhammad ibn Hatib. The governor then said: There is among you a man who is more acquainted with Allah and His Apostle than I. He witnessed this from the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). He then pointed with his hand to a man. Al- Husayn said: I asked an old man beside me: Who is that man to whom the governor has alluded? He said: "This is Abdullah ibn Umar, and he spoke the truth. He was more acquainted with Allah than he. He (Abdullah ibn Umar) said: For this is what the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) commanded us (to do).

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Abbas
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 2333
A bedouin came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: I have sighted the moon. Al-Hasan added in his version: that is, of Ramadan. He asked: Do you testify that there is no god but Allah? He replied: Yes. He again asked: Do you testify that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah? He replied: Yes. and he testified that he had sighted the moon. He said: Bilal, announce to the people that they must fast tomorrow.

NARRATOR Ikrimah
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 2334
Once the people doubted the appearance of the moon of Ramadan, and intended neither to offer the tarawih prayer nor to keep fast. A bedouin came from al-Harrah and testified that he had sighted the moon. He was brought to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). He asked: Do you testify that there is no god but Allah, and that I am the Apostle of Allah? He said: Yes; and he testified that he had sighted the moon. He commanded Bilal who announced to the people to offer the tarawih prayer and to keep fast.

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Umar
ABU DAWUD
Hadith_No 2335
The people sighted the moon, so I informed the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) that I had sighted it. He fasted and commanded the people to fast.

NARRATOR AbuRazin al-Uqayli
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 4713
I asked: Apostle of Allah! will each one of us see his Lord? Ibn Mu'adh's version has: "being alone with Him, on the Day of Resurrection? And what sign is there is His creation?" He replied: AbuRazin! does each one of you not see the moon? Ibn Mu'adh's version has: "on the night when it is full, being alone with it?" Then the agreed version goes: I said: Yes. He said: Allah is more great. Ibn Mu'adh's version has: It is only part of Allah's creation, but Allah is more glorious and greater.

NARRATOR Qatadah
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 5073
When the Prophet of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) saw the new moon, he said: "a new moon of good and right guidance; a new moon of good and right guidance; a new moon of good and right guidance. I believe in Him Who created you" three times. He would then say: "Praise be to Allah Who has made such and such a month to pass and has brought such and such a month."

NARRATOR Qatadah
ABU DAWUD
HADITH_No 5074
When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) saw the new moon, he turned away his face from it.

NARRATOR Abdullah ibn Abbas
MISHKAT AL-MASABIH
HADITH_No 1230r
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Do not anticipate Ramadan. Start the fast with observing the new moon and terminate it with observing it. If the sky is overcast let the month run to thirty days.

NARRATOR Talhah ibn Ubaydullah
MISHKAT AL-MASABIH
HADITH_No 1233r
On seeing a new moon, the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) would supplicate: Allah, do Thou cause the appearance of this moon to be a harbinger of peace, faith, security and Islam for us. Thy Lord, O moon, and mine is Allah. May this be a moon presaging guidance and good.

MISHKAT NARRATOR AbuDharr
MISHKAT AL-MASABIH
HADITH_No 1267r
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If you observe fast on three days in a month, then make them the days of the 13th, 14th and 15th nights of the moon.

NARRATOR AbuHurayrah
MISHKAT AL-MASABIH
HADITH_No 1975
Allah's Messenger (peace_be_upon_him) said, "Calculate on the basis of the new moon of Sha'ban when Ramadan begins."

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Predicted crescent sighting for Ramadhan and Eid ul-Fitr 1417AH

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