Q: Salaah-180: The Mufti or pious Aalim of at own receives news of the sighting of the new moon from a Mufti or pious Aalim of another town who telephoned him with the news. He recognised the voice well and heard the news directly without any medium. He was therefore convinced about the news. Is it proper to practice on the news thus received? Is there now any need for another telephone call or any other news?

Answer: The news over telephone will not be acceptable in cases where a veil is an obstacle. However, when the veil does not present an obstacle and there are strong factors to aid in defining exactly who the speaker is, the news over the telephone will be acceptable. 16 Muharram 1338 A.H.

The gist of it all is that news of the sighting of the moon heard over the telephone is acceptable on condition that the informant is reliable and the information is heard and understood properly and it is certain that the informant is who he is. Another condition is that the information must be acceptable to the Ulema and there are other strong factors to augment the information. The incident of Delhi fulfilled all these conditions. This ruling pertains specifically to the moon of Ramadhaan and not to the moon of Eid.

Fatawa Rahimiyyah vol.2