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QUESTION 7️⃣
Is the sighting of a new moon valid and authentic if ascertained through modern types of machinery?
Calculations (star counts) are not to be returned to in establishing the new moon for Ramadaan or other months related to the divine legislation. This is a consensus and is agreed upon by the people of knowledge.
Shaykh al- Islām Abu al-‘Abbās Aḥmad bin ‘Abdul- Ḥalīm bin Taymiyyah (in Majmũ’ al-Fatāwā, 25/207) reported this consensus.
The (main) evidence for this is in the statement of the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ):
”Begin fasting (Ramadaan) when you sight it (the new moon). Break the fast (for Ramadaan) when you sight (the new moon for the tenth month, Shawwāl). But if (due to clouds) the actual position of the month is concealed from you, you should then count thirty days”
(An-Nasāī, 2124. Reported by ibn ‘Abbās. Authenticated by As-Shaykh al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ wa Ḍa’īf An-Nasāī, 5/268 with this specific wording. It is also reported in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī, 1909 and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 1081 with slight variations in their wordings)
As for using machinery, that which is apparent from the legislative proofs is that people are not bound to search for the crescent using these tools. It is sufficient to search for it by the naked eye.
However, if someone sights the new moon using modern machinery and is certain of the sighting after sunset along with being trustworthy, then I do not know of any problem in accepting it. This is because it is still ascertained visually not by calculation or star counts.
So, whoever sights the new moon through astronomical observatories, or from the top of a mountain or in a lighthouse and it is confirmed he sighted it visually, it is accepted. Whether it is sighted through an observatory, a lighthouse, or any machinery, it is accepted as long as a trustworthy witness attests that he sighted it visually. This also includes a telescope which is a kind of endoscope that brings things nearer visually.
There is no problem with using these tools. However, the main mode of sighting the moon is by the naked eye. This applies to divine legislations like; the beginning and end of Ramadaan, the specifying of the Ḥajj days, and other legislations.
May Allaah (ﷻ) guide us all to have a good understanding of the religion and be steadfast upon it. He is indeed the Most Kind and Generous.
See 30 Questions and Answers on Fasting in Ramadaan by ‘Allāmah Abdul-‘Azīz Ibn Bāz, translated by ‘Abi ‘Abdir-Raḥmān Uways Onwordi at-Taweel
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