Such being the case...

Such being the case, how can most of the people break their fasts when the beginning of Shawwal has been ascertained by the major marjis? What is the duty of a person who is not convinced of the new moon''s sighting by such means? A: Unless a religious authority issues a decree announcing the sighting of the new moon, the mere ascertaining of it by him is not sufficient for others to follow him, unless they are convinced thereby of the end of Ramadan.

If the Guardian of the Muslims'' affairs [Wali Amr al-Muslimeen] issues a decree announcing the next day as Eid al-Fitr and the media report that the crescent has been cited in certain cities, does it determine the Eid for all the cities or only those cities and for others on the same longitudes? A: If the decree issued by the religious authority includes all the cities, his decree is Islamically reliable for all of them.

If on the evening of Eid al-Fitr, the moon appears as a very fine crescent, does it mean that the next day is the first of Shawwal and that the Eid was declared by mistake? Is one required to make up [do qada] for the last day of Ramadan? A: The thinness or thickness of the moon and also its position in the sky are not lawful evidence in deciding the first or second of a month.

But if it brings conviction to the person bound by religious obligation [mukallaf], he is obliged to act in accordance with his knowledge in this case.

Can the night of the full moon, which is the night before the fourteenth of the month, be taken as a reliable basis for calculating the first day of the month so as to determine whether the Day of Doubt was the thirtieth of Ramadan, for example, so that whoever did not fast on that day may have evidence concerning the necessity to make up [do qada] for the thirtieth day of Ramadan and whoever fasted that day, considering Ramadan to continue, may know that he is free of obligation?

A: That which has been mentioned does not constitute a lawful evidence for anything mentioned. However, if it brings knowledge to the person bound by religious obligation [mukallaf], his obligation is to act in accordance with his knowledge. Is watching out for the new moon a wajib kifa''i [a duty that if done by someone, it is ceased to be obligatory upon the others] or something to be done as an obligatory precaution? A: It is not Islamically a legal duty in itself.

What are the methods adopted to ascertain about the sighting of the crescent of the beginning and end of Ramadan?