“A Bedouin came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: ‘I have seen the new crescent tonight.’ He said: ‘Do you bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Get up, O Bilal, and announce to the people that they should fast tomorrow.’” Abu 'Ali said: "This is how it was narrated from Walid bin Abu Thawr and Hasan bin 'Ali. It was also narrated from Hammad bin Salamah, but he did not mention Ibn 'Abbas. He said: 'And he announced that they should perform the prayer and that they should fast.'"
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا هُشَيْمٌ، عَنْ أَبِي بِشْرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي عُمَيْرِ بْنِ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي عُمُومَتِي، مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالُوا: أُغْمِيَ عَلَيْنَا هِلاَلُ شَوَّالٍ. فَأَصْبَحْنَا صِيَامًا. فَجَاءَ رَكْبٌ مِنْ آخِرِ النَّهَارِ فَشَهِدُوا عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ أَنَّهُمْ رَأَوُا الْهِلاَلَ بِالأَمْسِ. فَأَمَرَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ أَنْ يُفْطِرُوا وَأَنْ يَخْرُجُوا إِلَى عِيدِهِمْ مِنَ الْغَدِ .
“My paternal uncles among the Ansar who were among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told me: ‘The new crescent of Shawwal was covered with clouds, so we fasted the next day. Then some riders came at the end of the day and testified to the Prophet (ﷺ) that they had seen the new crescent the night before. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded them to break their fast and to go out to offer the ‘Eid prayer the following morning.’”
‘When you see the new crescent, fast, and when you see it, stop fasting. If it is cloudy then calculate it (as thirty days).” Ibn ‘Umar used to fast one day before the new crescent was seen.
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " كَمْ مَضَى مِنَ الشَّهْرِ؟ " . قَالَ: قُلْنَا: اثْنَانِ وَعِشْرُونَ وَبَقِيَتْ ثَمَانٍ . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " الشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا وَالشَّهْرُ هَكَذَا " . ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ وَأَمْسَكَ وَاحِدَةً .
‘How much of the month has passed?” We said: “Twenty-two (days), and there are eight left.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The month is like that, and the month is like that, (and the month is like that), three times, and he withheld one finger the last time.”
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘The month is like that and like that and like that,’ and he showed nine fingers on the third time to indicate twenty-nine.”