Q: Is it lawful to start fasting Ramadan in Mayotte Island, Comoros, on a day other than that on which Makkah Al-Mukarramah started fasting or not?May you, please, cite the evidence for your answer? Also, is it lawful to offer the Prayer of `Eid-ul-Adha (the Festival of the Sacrifice) on a day other than that on which the `Eid Day is celebrated in Makkah Al-Mukarramah or not? Please cite the evidence of your answer, especially that in this season, like all previous seasons of fasting, the majority of the people of the Mayotte Islands started fasting on Monday, March 5, 2001 instead (Part No. 9; Page No. 22) of Tuesday, March 6, 2001, noting that our island is located on the same meridian as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, our sister Muslim Country.

A: It is obligatory for Muslims in each country to start and end fasting and to offer the Prayer of `Eid-ul-Fitr (the Festival of Breaking the Fast) and the Prayer of `Eid-ul-Adha upon sighting the related new moon in their respective countries. Otherwise, they are to calculate the respective month (Sha'ban, Ramadan, or Dhul-Qa`dah) as thirty days. This is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Fast when you see it (the new moon), and break your fast when you see it. If the weather is cloudy, calculate it, meaning calculate (the months of Sha'ban or Shawwal as thirty days). In another wording of this Hadith, the second part of the conditional clause reads: Then complete the month of Sha'ban to be thirty days. Accordingly, when the new moon is seen in a certain country (on the 29th night of Sha`ban), or the month is completed as thirty days, all the people of that country must start the fasting of Ramadan. The same applies to the time of `Eid-ul-Adha, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Sawm (Fasting, i.e. beginning of Ramadan) is the day when you start Sawm, Fitr (Breaking the Fast, i.e. end of Ramadan) is the day when you end the fast, and Al-Adha (the Festival of the Sacrifice) is the day when you sacrifice. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.