The month is thus and thus. (He then withdrew his thumb at the third time). He then said: Fast when you see it, and break your fast when you see it, and if the weather is cloudy calculate it (the months of Sha'ban and Shawwal) as thirty days.

We saw the new moon of Ramadan as we were at Dhit-i-'Irq. We sent a man to Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with both of them) to ask him (whether the sighting of a small moon had something of the nature of defect in it). Upon this Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with both of them) said that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said: Verily Allah deferred its sight, but if (the new moon) is hidden from you, then, complete its number (thirty).

"The Messenger of Allah said: "The Messenger of Allah said: Do not fast before Ramadan. Fast when you see it and stop fasting when you see it, and if clouds prevent you from seeing it, then complete Thirty (Days)."'

"Do not anticipate the month until you see the crescent before it, or you complete the number of days. Then fast until you see the new moon, or you complete the number of days."

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'D not anticipate the month until you complete the number, or you see the crescent. Then fast, and do not stop fasting until you see the crescent, or your complete thirty days."' (Sahih) Al-Hajjaj bin Artah reported it in a Mursal from.

'I have sighted the crescent.' He said: 'Do you bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger?' He said: 'Yes.' So the Prophet gave the call saying: 'Fast."'

Abu Umama reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If you observe your five times of prayer, fast during your month, pay the zakat on your properties, and obey him who has a right to issue commands to you, you will enter your Lord’s paradise.” Ahmad and Tirmidhi transmitted it.

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'When you see the crescent then fast, and when you see it, then stop fasting. If it is too cloudy then complete Shaban as thirty days, unless you see the crescent before that, then fast Ramadan as thirty days, unless you see the new crescent before that."'

I heard Messenger of Allah (PBUH) during the sermon of the Farewell Pilgrimage saying, "Be mindful of your duty to Allah; perform your five daily Salat, observe Saum during the month (of Ramadan) , pay the Zakat on your properties and obey your leaders; (if you do so) you will enter the Jannah of your Rubb".

[At-Tirmidhi, who categorized it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].

The Prophet (saws) said: Do not fast (for Ramadan) before the coming of the month until you sight the moon or complete the number (of thirty days); then fast until you sight the moon or complete the number (of thirty days).

‘Ali reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When the middle night of Sha'ban comes, spend the night in prayer and fast during the day, for in it God most high comes down at sunset to the lowest heaven and says, ‘Is there no one who asks forgiveness so that I may forgive him ? Is there no one who asks provision so that I may provide him? Is there no one afflicted so that I may relieve him? Is there not such and such? Is there not such and such?’ till the dawn comes.” Ibn Majah transmitted it.

"The Messenger of Allah ordered fasting the tenth day for the Day of Ashura."

AbulAzhar al-Mughirah ibn Farwah said: Mu'awiyah stood among the people at Dayr Mustahill lying at the gate of Hims. He said: O people, we sighted the moon on such-and-such day. We shall fast in advance. Anyone who likes to do so may do it. Malik ibn Hubayrah as-Saba'i stood up and asked: Mu'awiyah, did you hear the Messenger of Allah (saws) say something (about this matter), or is this something on the basis of your opinion? He replied: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) as saying: Fast the month (in the beginning) and in the last.

The Prophet (saws) said: Do not fast one day or two days just before Ramadan except in the case of a man who has been in the habit or observing a fast (on that day); and do not fast until you sight it (the moon). Then fast until you sight it. If a cloud appears on that day (i.e. 29th of Ramadan) then complete the number thirty (days) and then end the fasting: a month consists of twenty-nine days.

"I heard Abu Umamah saying: I heard the Messenger of Allah giving a Khutbah during the Farewell Hajj, and he said: 'Have Taqwa of your Lord, and pray your five (prayers), and fast your month, and pay the Zakat on your wealth, and obey thosewho are in charge of you, you will enter the Paradise of your Lord.'" He said: "I said to Abu Umamah: 'How old were you when you heard this Hadith (from the Messenger of Allah)?' He said: 'I heard it when I was thirty years old.'"

We went out to perform the ‘umra, and when we encamped in the valley of Nakhla we tried to see the new moon. Some of the people said it was three nights old and others that it was two nights old. We then met Ibn ‘Abbas and told him we had seen the new moon, but that some of the people said it was three nights old and others that it was two nights old. He asked what night we had seen it, and when we told him we had seen it on such and such a night he said, “God’s messenger deferred it till the time it is seen, so it is to be reckoned as being on the night you saw it.” In a version he said: We saw the new moon of Ramadan when we were in Dhat ‘Irq* and we sent a man to Ibn ‘Abbas to enquire of him. He replied that God’s messenger had said, “God most high has deferred it till it is seen, but if the weather is cloudy observe the fast after the complete number of days have passed.” *Dhat 'Irq was near Nakhla, so this version is simply a little more precise than the other about were they were. Muslim transmitted it.

“The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘When it is the night of the middle of Sha’ban, spend its night in prayer and observe a fast on that day. For Allah descends at sunset on that night to the lowest heaven and says: ‘Is there no one who will ask Me for forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Is there no one who will ask Me for provision, that I may provide for him? Is there no one who is afflicted by trouble, that I may relieve him?’ And so on, until dawn comes.’”

That people from the- tribe of 'Abdul-Qais came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and said: Messenger of Allah, we belong to the tribe of Rabi'a and there live between you and us the unbelievers of the Mudar tribe and we find it impossible to come to you except in the sacred months; direct us to a deed which we must communicate to those who have been left behind us and by doing which we may enter heaven. Upon this the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I enjoin upon you four (things) and forbid you to do four (things): worship Allah and associate none with Him, establish prayer, pay Zakat, and observe the fast of Ramadan, and pay the fifth part out of the booty. And I prohibit you from four (things): dry gourds, green-coloured jars, hollowed stumps of palm-trees, and receptacles. They (the members of the delegation) said: Do you know what al-naqir is? He replied: Yes, it is a stump which you hollow out and in which you throw small dates. Sa'id said: He (the Holy Prophet) used the word tamar (dates). (The Holy Prophet then added): Then you sprinkle water over it and when its ebullition subsides, you drink it (and you are so intoxicated) that one amongst you, or one amongst them (the other members of your tribe, who were not present there) strikes his cousin with the sword. He (the narrator) said: There was a man amongst us who had sustained injury on this very account due to (intoxication), and he told that he tried to conceal it out of shame from the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him). I, however, inquired from the Messenger of Allah (it we discard those utensils which you have forbidden us to use), then what type of vessels should be used for drink? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: In the waterskin the mouths of which are tied (with a string). They (again) said: Prophet of Allah, our land abounds in rats and water-skins cannot remain preserved. The holy Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: (Drink in water-skins) even if these arenibbled by rats. And then (addressing) al-Ashajj of 'Abdul-Qais he said: Verily, you possess two such qualities which Allah loves: insight and deliberateness.