Fasting and celebrating the 'Eed with Saudi Arabia

2-3-2004 | IslamWeb

Question:

We are in Ghana, West Africa. Can we fast and celebrate our Eid the same day with Saudi Arabia?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

 

A Muslim has to act according to the sighting of the moon in his country. This is in conformity with the Hadeeth: "The fasting (begins) when you (the community) start fasting, and breaking the fast is on the day you (the community) break the fast, and the day of sacrifice (i.e. the day of 'Eed when people slaughter the sacrifice) is when everyone celebrates this day." [At-Tirmithi and Al-Albaani]

Therefore, a person is not obliged to imitate the people of a distant country from him because of the difference of the rising and setting of the moon that exists from one country to another distant one.

The evidence for this, is that Kurayb said: "We were looking at the moon rising to find out whether or not Ramadan has started, while I was in the Levant [Greater Syria - i.e. Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Palestine) and I saw the moon the night of Friday (meaning Thursday night) then I went to Madeenah at the end of the month. Abdullaah Ibn 'Abbaas    asked me: "Did you see the beginning of the moon, I replied ‘Yes’, and it had been seen by the people and they fasted, Mu'aawiyah fasted as well, he said ‘but we saw the moon on the night of Saturday (i.e. Friday night), and fasted until we completed thirty days, or until we saw the moon’, I said, ‘Are you not satisfied with the sighting by Mu'aawiyah and his fasting,’ he said, ‘No’." This is what the Prophet ordered us to do." [Muslim]

Allaah Knows best.