Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s messenger as saying, “Do not fast till you see the new moon, and do not break your fast till you see it; but if the weather is cloudy calculate when it should appear.” In a version he said, “The month consists of twenty-nine days, but do not fast till you see it, and if the weather is cloudy wait till thirty days of the previous month have passed.”
Abu Huraira said that when the Prophet stated that his people would be granted forgiveness on the last night in Ramadan and was asked whether it was Lailat al-qadr, he replied, “No, but a workman is paid his full wages only when he has finished his work.”
Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “Fast when you see it and break your fast when you see it, and if the weather is cloudy treat Sha‘ban as having thirty days.”
Ibn ‘Umar reported the Prophet as saying, “Paradise is decorated for Ramadan from the beginning of the year till a following year, and when the first day of Ramadan comes a wind under the throne blows some of the leaves of paradise on the maidens with bright large eyes,* and they say, ‘My Lord, appoint us husbands from among Thy servants with whom we shall be happy and who will be happy with us’.”
*cf. Qur’an, xliv, 54; lvi, 22.
Baihaqi transmitted the three traditions in Shu'ab al-iman.
