Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 14, Hadith 20
Narrated Kuraib: That Umm al-Fadl, daughter of al-Harith, sent him to Mu’aqiyah in Syria. He said: I came to syria and performed her work. The moon of Ramadan appeared while I was in Syria. We sighted the moon on the night of Friday. When I came to Median towards the end of the month (of Ramadan), Ibn ‘Abbas asked me about the moon. He said: When did you sight the moon ? I said: I sighted it on the night of Friday. He asked: Did you sight it yourself ? I said: Yes, and the people sighted it. They fasted and Mu’awiyah also fasted. He said: But we sighted it on the night of saturday. Since then we have been fasting until we complete thirty days or we sight it. Then I said: Are the sighting of the moon by Mu’awiyah and his fasts not sufficient for us? He replied: No. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded us to do so.
حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ، – يَعْنِي ابْنَ جَعْفَرٍ – أَخْبَرَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَبِي حَرْمَلَةَ، أَخْبَرَنِي كُرَيْبٌ، أَنَّ أُمَّ الْفَضْلِ ابْنَةَ الْحَارِثِ، بَعَثَتْهُ إِلَى مُعَاوِيَةَ بِالشَّامِ قَالَ فَقَدِمْتُ الشَّامَ فَقَضَيْتُ حَاجَتَهَا فَاسْتُهِلَّ رَمَضَانُ وَأَنَا بِالشَّامِ فَرَأَيْنَا الْهِلاَلَ لَيْلَةَ الْجُمُعَةِ ثُمَّ قَدِمْتُ الْمَدِينَةَ فِي آخِرِ الشَّهْرِ فَسَأَلَنِي ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الْهِلاَلَ فَقَالَ مَتَى رَأَيْتُمُ الْهِلاَلَ قُلْتُ رَأَيْتُهُ لَيْلَةَ الْجُمُعَةِ . قَالَ أَنْتَ رَأَيْتَهُ قُلْتُ نَعَمْ وَرَآهُ النَّاسُ وَصَامُوا وَصَامَ مُعَاوِيَةُ . قَالَ لَكِنَّا رَأَيْنَاهُ لَيْلَةَ السَّبْتِ فَلاَ نَزَالُ نَصُومُهُ حَتَّى نُكْمِلَ الثَّلاَثِينَ أَوْ نَرَاهُ . فَقُلْتُ أَفَلاَ تَكْتَفِي بِرُؤْيَةِ مُعَاوِيَةَ وَصِيَامِهِ قَالَ لاَ هَكَذَا أَمَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم .
Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 14, Hadith 20
This hadith is from the Sunan Abi Dawud collection of hadiths. For those new to Islamic texts, Sunan Abi Dawud is a classic, respected collection of the teachings and life example of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Written over a thousand years ago by a dedicated scholar named Abu Dawud, it sits among the religion’s six most important source books. It contains thousands of entries that are thoughtfully sorted by practical topics like how to worship, how to conduct business fairly, and how to treat one’s family with kindness. The compiler was renowned for his meticulous fact-checking of each story’s origins, which is why it remains a profoundly trusted and widely studied guide for Muslims on how to live a good and faithful life.
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For more Hadith in Book 14: Fasting (Kitab Al-Siyam)