Press Release
The Khilafah "Caliphate" Establishes Unity
Our Ummah is One, our Ramadhan is One and Our Eid is One

In the last days of Shaban, the hearts of Muslims begin to fill with joy as they prepare to welcome the blessed month of Ramadhan, the month of abundant goodness, mercy, forgiveness and redemption from the Fire of Jahannam.  InshaAllah after maghrib on Friday 26 May, corresponding to 29 Shaban, Muslims all over the world will be striving sincerely to sight the Hilaal of Ramadhan, so as to determine whether their first fast is Saturday or Sunday. Indeed, the new moon (Hilaal) sighting is of great importance in our worship of Allah (swt), for it determines the beginning of the compulsory Fasting, the search for the Night of Power in the last ten days and the end of the Fasting through the search for the Hilaal of Shawwal. Indeed, our blessed Deen gave us a methodology to ensure that the Muslims have one Ramadhan and one Eid, for truly Islam is a complete way of life, which clarifies the confusion and gives unambiguous guidance. In order to preserve our worship, it is this methodology of the new moon sighting that must be our standard today, which was seen in the example of the Khulafa'a who implemented Islam sincerely. Moreover, we must adhere to Islam's methodology alone, ignoring the current rulers, who do not care for Islam and have divided the Muslims into over fifty state-lets, dividing us over Eid and Ramadhan every year, as if these were trivial matters.

Following the example of Messenger of Allah (saw), in the era of the Rightly Guided Khulafaa,’ the Muslims used to fast and break their fast on a single day, even when our Khilafah "Caliphate" embraced three continents and even though it was the era of the message by riders. RasulAllah (saaw) said, «صوموا لرؤيته وأفطروا لرؤيته، فإن غُبِّيَ عليكم فأكملوا عدّة شعبان ثلاثين»“Fast at its sighting and break the fast at its sighting and if it is clouded over (i.e. your sight of new moon moon is obscured) then complete the period of 30 days for Sha’ban” (Bukhari). Here, RasulAllah (saw) commands us collectively to fast the month of Ramadan upon the sighting of the moon, wherever we are, for the lands of Muslims are one. The wording of this Hadith has come in a general form because the pronoun of the plural in «صوموا ... وأفطروا» “Sumoo (fast)… wa Iftaroo (break the fast)” indicate Generality, which means all the Muslims together, collectively.

And the new moon sighting of the Muslims in any land is binding upon the Muslims of the other lands, for the Muslims are one and their lands are one. It was related from a group from the Ansar:«غُمَّ عَلَيْنَا هِلَالُ شَوَّالٍ، فَأَصْبَحْنَا صِيَامًا، فَجَاءَ رَكْبٌ مِنْ آخِرِ النَّهَارِ، فَشَهِدُوا عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم، أَنَّهُمْ رَأَوْا الْهِلَالَ بِالْأَمْسِ، فَأَمَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنْ يُفْطِرُوا مِنْ يَوْمِهِمْ، وَأَنْ يَخْرُجُوا لِعِيدِهِمْ مِنَ الْغَدِ»“The new moon of Shawwal was clouded over (obscured) for us and so we arose in the morning fasting. Then riders came at the end of the day and testified before the Prophet (saw) that they had seen the new moon yesterday. And so the Messenger of Allah (r) commanded them to break their fast.” (Ahmad). Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (saw) found the testimony of those Muslims, who had come to Al-Madinah from another land, sufficient to command the breaking of the obligatory Fast.

O Muslims of Pakistan! We fast and break fast by the affirmation of the sighting of the new moon, in any land, as long as that sighting was in accordance to the Shar’iah conditions and restrictions. Indeed, this was the opinion of the majority of the ‘Ulemaa of the Muslims and of all of the Islamic Madhahib (schools of thought) from the time of the Messenger of Allah (saw) until our current day, when we are burdened by rulers whose allegiance is to the colonialists, who divided our lands and imposed other than Islam upon us.

Yes, we must all strive to strive for the sighting of the new moon, as our brothers and sisters in Hizb ut Tahrir do every year, from Indonesia in the East to Morocco in the West. But however, we must also remember that practically, the unity of Ramadhan and Eid will not happen until the day when the Islamic lands are unified through the establishment of the rightly guided Khilafah "Caliphate" state (Caliphate) upon the Methodology of the Prophethood. Thus, we must strive and pray so that joyous day is soon inshaaAllah.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Pakistan