In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh
We would like to begin by extending our gratitude to you for asking this question. May Allah (SWT) give you the best of rewards (Ameen).
In a nutshell, this issue was discussed and redeliberated in great detail at the house of (Mufti) Yusuf Sacha (DB) on Saturday the 11th of March 2017. Shaykh (DB) explained that Shahadah (testimony) and Khabar (news) are two distinct entities in Islamic law and must be treated as such. There are rules and regulations pertaining to accepting Shahadah (testimony). The Shahadah (testimony) must be accepted in person by a designated person (appointed by a Moon Sighting Committee) and they must forward the accepted Shahadah (testimony) to the Moon Sighting Committee to deliberate and make a final decision. We understand that this list doesn’t cover the entire country (yet) but we hope to provide coverage throughout the country, Insha'Allah. In the meantime Muslims should contact their nearest Wifaqul Ulama representative for the time being. The issue of accepting Shahadah (testimony) through skype or video conferencing is still under deliberation and it is not an acceptable method at this time.
