In the Holy Quran, the chapter of Baqara verse 185, the specifics of the month of fasting and its certain observations are explained as such:
185. The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur''an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever is present at this month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you (through his revelation of appropriate laws); and perhaps you will be grateful.
186. And when My servants ask you, concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.
187. It has been made permissible for you the night preceding fasting to go to your wives [for sexual relations]. They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them. Allah knows that you used to betray yourselves, so He accepted your repentance and forgave you. So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the night. And do not have relations with them as long as you are in seclusion for worship in the mosques. These are the limits [set by] Allah , so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His ordinances to the people that they may heed Him.
The Holy Quran began to be revealed to Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him - in Mecca in the cave of Hira in 610 CE at the 17th day of Ramadan. The process of revelation lasted approximately 23 years with certain intervals and occasions as God almighty pleased. In the above verse the aim of the phrase concerning ''the revelation of the Quran'' is not the whole Quran rather its initial verses. Just as the beginning of the Chapter of Baqara and many other verses, it is attested that a certain portion of the Quran is also called the book or the Quran itself. God almighty decreed the observance of fasting to Muslims, he wanted its observation in a convenient and appropriate time, hence, he chose the time for fasting in which he began to reveal his book that he made guidance for all the humanity.
The Arabic verb shaheda used in the verse does not mean ''sight'', it means ''to reach, be present''. Therefore, the meaning of the verse is not literally ''let them fast whoever sight the Ramadan crescent''. The ruling to begin Ramadan, one of the lunar months, with the sighting the appearance of the crescent and finishing it with the disappearance of the crescent and having the Eid/feast afterwards is determined not with the verse, but with hadith. Also the ruling that in case of obscurity with sighting the crescent, completing the previous month to 30 days and considering the next day as the beginning of the next month is also determined not with the verse, but with hadith. (Al Bukhari, ''book of fasting/sawm'', 5, 11; Muslim, ''book of fasting/siyaam).
Back in the past, when there were no observatories and observation devices were not advanced, the visual sighting of the Ramadan crescent was carried out voluntarily (for the sake of God) by those who undertook this task and those appointed as an officer by the state (either by the mayor or the Qadi).
They would look at the western horizon from a suitable spot on the 29th of the month of Sha''ban. As soon as the sun set off, if the new crescent was sighted, it would lead that the next day would be the beginning of Ramadan and thus, it was announced to the people in a proper way.
Even so, in certain times and places, the court concerning a suit for a debt would listen to witnesses and decreed the beginning of Ramadan. If the crescent was not seen on the 30th day of Sha''ban, as a result of obscurity because of clouds, in that case the beginning of Ramadan was calculated and then announced. What we mean by calculation here is counting the days and determining the completion of 30 days. This method is based on the Prophet''s hadith concerning the ruling.
In 1978, a scientific meeting was held in Istanbul with the participation of Muslim countries'' representatives. In this meeting, They decided to make calculations in order to enable the sighting of the crescent for Ramadan and Eid visible from all parts of the world. They also decided to make a calendar in accordance with this and the supervision of these calculations was conducted by private observatories.
In spite of agreeing with the decisions and their religious-scientific reasons, in countries which do not observe these rulings, there were times when it was globally impossible to see the crescent – based on this calculation.Therefore, announcements marking the beginning of Ramadan are being made based claims of visual sighting.
We are recommending to those who are living in Turkey to follow the Ramadan calendar issued by the Directorate of Religious Affairs in Turkey , which is meticulously implementing the decisions and carrying them out as a part of their duty to avoid confusion with what others say.
