Fasting: Conflicting Crescent Sightings by Scholars — Whom Should You Follow?

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Fasting: Conflicting Crescent Sightings by Scholars — Whom Should You Follow?

English:

Question #837:

If the Islamic scholars of a city differ regarding the new crescent and one considers all of them to be just and precise in their investigations, what is his duty?

Answer #837:

If the difference between the two testimonies leads to contradiction, in the sense that one of them claims the new crescent has been substantiated and the other claims the opposite, one’s duty is to neglect both of them and act according to aṣl. However, if the first group testifies to the sighting of the new crescent, but the second group does not claim to have seen it, others should accept the view of the first group — if they are just — and break their fasts. The same rule applies when the authorised religious authority issues a decree announcing substantiation of the new crescent.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Fasting