سنن نسائی · Hadith 2197

It was narrated that Simak said: “I entered upon ‘Ikrimah on the day concerning which there was doubt as to whether it was Ramadan or Sha’ban, and he was eating bread, vegetables and milk. He said: ‘Come and eat.’ I said: ‘I am fasting.’ He adjured me by Allah to break my fast. I said Subhan-Allah twice. When I saw that he was insisting, I went forward and said: ‘Give me what you have.’ He said: ‘I heard Ibn ‘Abbas say: The Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم said: ‘Fast when you see it (the crescent) and stop fasting when you see it, and if clouds or darkness prevent you from seeing it, then complete the number of days of Sha’ban, and do not fast ahead of the month, and do not join Ramadhan to a day of Sha’ban.”(Sahih)

Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020