Is it Necessary to verify News of the sighting?

Q: Hil-12: If the moon is not sighted in a place and the Qaadhi, Mufti or Hilaal committee chairman receives a telephone call or a letter from another place stating that the moon had been sighted there, will the fasting start? Similarly, will the fasting start if many people from the town appear before the Qaadhi, Mufti or Hilaal committee chairman and inform him that they has heard news of the sighting from people in another town? Will the Eid be celebrated in these situations when there are many other factors that would support the veracity of the sighting? Is the Aalim or Mufti whom the people rely on obliged to investigate the news and then announce it, or can he just sit by and say that since they did not sight the moon, they will not accept the sighting from other areas, regardless of the authenticity? What is the ruling concerning this?

Answer: It is necessary for the Qaadhi, Mufti, trusted Aalim or Hilaal committee chairman to remain where he is and then hear people testify to their sightings. It is also not necessary for him to look for the moon because then people would have none to testify before. While it is not necessary for him to enquire about the sightings in other areas, it would be best for him to send his deputy to very sightings in other areas because of the confusion and chaos that is likely to reign in our times of radio and high-speed media. Testimony of the verdict of another Qaadhi and a letter from another Qaadhi are methods of establishing the sightings, which have been used by our pious predecessors. For details, refer to the book of Hadhrat Moulana Muhammad Mia RAH. titled "Ru'yate Hilaale Ramadhaan wa Eid ke Masaa'il wa Dalaa'il? (Pg.37).

Fatawa Rahimiyyah vol.3