Establishing the moon sighting through Pakistani radio

Question

This year in India the moon was not seen on the 29th of Ramadan, but Radio Pakistan reported at eight o’clock at night that the moon of the 29th had appeared. On hearing this news some hasty people broke the fast, among them a certain respected scholar: he broke the fast and also made others break it. The question to be resolved is: how is the act of those who broke the fast solely on the news or testimony of Radio Pakistan to be judged, and how is the act of those who did not break the fast?

Answer

Answer (1) — Mufti ‘Abd al-Jabbar al-Hanafi, teacher at Madrasa Miftah al-‘Ulum (Mau) In the case asked about, the news of the radio has no validity whatsoever according to the Shari‘a — whether Pakistani, Indian or Arab. The respected scholar who broke the fast on the Pakistani news and made people break it committed a grave error, and making up the fast (qada) is obligatory.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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