Is the sameness of horizon (the longitude) considered to be...

Is the sameness of horizon (the longitude) considered to be a condition in regards to observing the crescent? A: It is sufficient that the crescent be sighted in the areas of the same horizon, or nearby, or in the areas to the east. What is meant by sameness of horizon? A: When certain areas are located on the same longitude, according to astronomy, they are said to share the same horizon.

If the twenty-ninth day of the month was the day of Eid al-Fitr in Tehran and Khorasan, is it permissible for the residents of areas like Bushehr to break their fast too, though the horizon of Tehran and Khorasan differs from the horizon of Bushehr?

A: If the difference between the longitude of two cities is such that the new moon cannot be seen in one of them when sighted in the other, its sighting in the city located to the west of the other is not sufficient for the residents of the city to the east, where the sun sets earlier than in the city to the west, and is sufficient when the case is the reverse.

If the Islamic scholars of a city differ regarding the end of Ramadan, and one considers all of them to be just and precise in their investigations, what is the duty of the city''s inhabitants? A: If the difference between the two testimonies is one of contradiction, in the sense that one of them claims the crescent to have been sighted and the other claims that certainly it has not been sighted, the duty of the inhabitants is to decide the matter through other means.

However, if the first group testifies to the sighting of the new moon, but the second group does not claim to have seen it, the inhabitants have to accept the view of the first group if they are known o be justs. Also, the people have to follow if the Supreme Religious Authority [hakim al-shari] issues a decree announcing the end of Ramadan.

If a person who sees the new moon knows that the city''s religious authority is not able to see the crescent for some reason, is it his duty to inform the religious authority that he has observed the crescent? A: It is not his duty to do so, unless his not doing so can cause some depravity. As you know, most Islamic scholars have written in their book of practical laws [Risalahs] that the beginning of Shawwal can be proved only through five methods.

However, announcement of the end of Ramadan by a religious authority is not among those methods.