The difference of lunar horizons (ikhtilaf al-matali')

Question

What is the ruling of the Hanafis, and particularly of our elders of Deoband, regarding the lunar horizons (matali'): are they taken into account or not? In 'Aziz al-Fatawa there is a fatwa of Hazrat Mufti 'Aziz al-Rahman ﵀ stating that the reliable and preponderant (rajih) position, that of the zahir al-riwaya and the one on which the fatwa is given, is that the difference of lunar horizons (ikhtilaf al-matali') is not taken into account ('Aziz al-Fatawa, vol. 3, p. 49).

Answer

[ar]واختلاف المطالع غير معتبر على ظاهر المذهب، وعليه أكثر المشايخ، وعليه الفتوى، فيلزم أهل المشرق برؤية أهل المغرب إذا ثبت عندهم رؤية أولئك بطريق موجب. وقال الزيلعي: الأشبه أنه يعتبر، لكن قال الكمال: الأخذ بظاهر الرواية أحوط.[/ar] “The difference of lunar horizons is not taken into account according to the manifest position of the school (zahir al-madhhab)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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