In countries like Srilanka & India we start our fasting oneday later than the middle-eastern countries.
Question
1)Why cant the muslim world have one particular day where everyone starts the month of ramadhan & celebrate eid at the sametime. 2)This time there was chaos about the festival day. In the news that night they (the Ulema of the main mosque in the country) announced that Eid would be on monday. At 1:30 in the night it was announced that it was the festival day (thats sunday). nobody was ready, especially the women folk. & infact many people dint know that it was the festival day till morning.but apparantly there were two gropus of people where one group celebrated on sunday & the others on monday.whats the ruling regarding this & should the rest of us catch up on the fast that we missed?
Answer
The start and the end of the any month in the Islamic calendar expecially the month of Ramadaan is based on the sighting of the Moon, as stated in the Hadith narrarted in Sahih Muslim "Fast when you see it (i.e. the moon) and break when you see it...". The sighting of the moon by the people of the country or neigbouring countries is compulsory.
The idea of celebrating a unified Eid for the entire Ummah has been discussed and deliberated by leading Ulama for a considerable period of time. Apart from the above quoted Hadith, there are also many academic issues that are to be considered to achieve the idea of a unified Eid. The matter is still being deliberated. It is difficult for us to comment on the chaos regarding announcement of Eid in your country. We suggest you refer to the reliable Ulama of your locality for advise.
and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT.
- Answered by
- Mufti Ebrahim Desai
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