Moonsighting in the UK
Question
السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
Maaf for the troubles wanted to ask, I was a bit confused regarding the citation of the moon. I am currently situated in the UK and few of the people here follow the closest Islamic country which is Morocco and some follow Saudi Arabia. Can you please explain to me regarding this.
Jazakallahu khair
Answer
As salām ʿalaikum wa raḥmatullāhī wa barakātuhu
In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The sighting of the moon of a country in “close proximity” is a valid view. This would fall under the ambit of local moonsighting.
Discrepancies in the Saudi Arabia moon sighting have been noted by senior scholars. That being said, our advice is to follow the opinion your family may follow to facilitate ease and unity.
And Allāh Taʿālā knows best.
References (Arabic / Urdu sources)
Local Moonsigting – Muftī Ebrahim Desai رحمه الله
Saudi Arabia Moonsighting – Muftī Ebrahim Desai رحمه الله
Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Darul Ifta, Madrasah Urwah bin Az-Zubayr. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, ask the issuing Darul Ifta directly.