I then came back to Madīnah at the end of the month, ’Abdullāh Ibn ’Abbās asked me about the new moon of Ramaḍhān and said: “When did you see it?” I said: “We s

Here are some responses: 1. The statement of Ibn ’Abbās raḍhiyallāhu ’anhu: “This is what the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ commanded us with”, is not clear-cut. He could be referring to the Prophet's command to fast when the new moon is sighted, or to otherwise complete the month as 30 days. So the people of Madīnah completed 30 days and did not begin fasting because they did not see the new moon on the 29th, acting in line with this evidence. Whereas the people of Shām saw the new moon on the 29th, so they began fasting. 2. It's also possible that Ibn ’Abbās raḍhiyallāhu ’anhu thought that this command of the Prophet ﷺ (to sight the moon on the 29th or to complete the month as 30 days) has to be implemented by every region independently, hence why he didn't act on the sighting of the people of Shām; this understanding is based on his own Ijtihād (opinion) and not the statement of the Prophet ﷺ. If so, this Ijtihād alone is not enough to negate or restrict the general evidences. 3. It's also possible that the people of Madīnah did not stop fasting due to Kurayb's testimony because one person's testimony is not enough to establish the end of Ramaḍhān; at least two witnesses are required as mentioned last lesson. 4. Shām and Madīnah share the same Maṭla’, so there's no evidence in this Athar to support their view in the first place!!! Q6. Those who hold the above view have also used Qiyās (analogy) to claim that the new moon has to be sighted locally just like the prayer timings, i.e. the same way each region depends on its own prayer schedule, it should also depend on its own moon sighting. This is a false analogy (قياس مع الفارق) because prayer timings are determined by the sun's position, whereas (lunar) months are determined by the moon's position; and these two celestial bodies serve different purposes and run on different courses. Q7. There are those who say that everyone must follow the ruler's decision in the country they are in. This view is based on the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “The fast is the day the people fast and the breaking of the fast is the day the people break their fast.” [Tirmithi - graded 'Ṣaḥīḥ' by Sheikh Albāni in As-Silsilah Aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥah] Here are 2 explanations mentioned in Nayl Al-Awṭār which disprove this opinion: 1. Al-Khaṭṭābi raḥimahullāh said (paraphrasing): the error is removed from the people even if they make a mistake, as long as they try their best; so after trying their best, if they do not see the crescent until after the thirtieth and they continue fasting for 30 days, then afterwards they realise the month was actually twenty-nine days, then their fasting is correct and there is no sin upon them. And the same applies with Ḥajj; if they make a mistake with regards to the day of ’Arafah, they don't have to repeat their Ḥajj. 2. The Prophet ﷺ is telling us how people will become divided into sects and how they will oppose the Prophet’s guidance; from them will be a sect that will adopt the method of calculation (to determine months) and they will have a following, another sect will fast and stand at ’Arafah before the correct time...but there will be a sect that will hold onto the prophetic guidance, and this is the sect that is manifest upon the truth; this is who the Prophet ﷺ is referring to in the hadith, and they make up the main body of the Muslims - even if they are few in number.