Mishkat al-Masabih

Mishkat al-Masabih 1981

Arabic hadith text

وَعَنْ أَبِي الْبَخْتَرِيِّ قَالَ: خَرَجْنَا لِلْعُمْرَةِ فَلَمَّا نَزَلْنَا بِبَطْنِ نَخْلَةَ تَرَاءَيْنَا الْهِلَالَ. فَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْقَوْمِ: هُوَ ابْنُ ثَلَاثٍ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْقَوْمِ: هُوَ ابْنُ لَيْلَتَيْنِ فَلَقِينَا ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ فَقُلْنَا: إِنَّا رَأَيْنَا الْهِلَالَ فَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْقَوْمِ: هُوَ ابْنُ ثَلَاثٍ وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْقَوْمِ: هُوَ ابْنُ لَيْلَتَيْنِ. فَقَالَ: أَيُّ لَيْلَةٍ رَأَيْتُمُوهُ؟ قُلْنَا: لَيْلَةَ كَذَا وَكَذَا. فَقَالَ: إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَدَّهُ لِلرُّؤْيَةِ فَهُوَ لِلَيْلَةِ رَأَيْتُمُوهُ وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ عَنْهُ. قَالَ: أَهَلَلْنَا رَمَضَانَ وَنَحْنُ بِذَاتِ عِرْقٍ فَأَرْسَلْنَا رَجُلًا إِلَى ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ يَسْأَلُهُ فَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِن الله تَعَالَى قد أَمَدَّهُ لِرُؤْيَتِهِ فَإِنْ أُغْمِيَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ» . رَوَاهُ مُسلم

Translation

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

Abu al-Bakhtari said: We went out to perform ‘umrah, and when we stopped in the valley of Nakhlah, we tried to sight the new moon. Some of the people said, ‘It is three nights old,’ while others said, ‘It is two nights old.’ We met Ibn ‘Abbas and told him that we had seen the new moon, with some saying it was three nights old and others saying it was two. He asked: ‘On which night did you see it?’ We told him: ‘On such-and-such a night.’ He said: ‘The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set its reckoning by sighting, so it is to be counted from the night on which you saw it.’ In another version from him, he said: We sighted the Ramadan new moon when we were at Dhat ‘Irq, and sent a man to Ibn ‘Abbas to ask him. Ibn ‘Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Allah Most High has set it by sighting; if it is obscured from you, complete the count.’ Muslim transmitted it.