Conditions and Requirements of Obligatory Fast

787. For fasting in Ramadan to be obligatory, one should meet the following terms:

1- Attaining the age of bulūgh,

2- Sanity,

3- Capability,

4- Consciousness,

5- Not being a traveler,

6- Not being in menses or nifās (for a woman),

7- Fasting is not harmful,

8- Fasting is not unbearably hard.

788. Fasting is obligatory for people who meet the above conditions. Therefore, fasting is not obligatory for an immature child, an insane person, an unconscious person, a person who is unable to fast, a traveler, a menstruating woman or after delivery in some cases, and a person for whom fasting is harmful or involves unbearable hardship.

789. If a child reaches bulūgh before morning adhān in Ramadan, he must fast. However, if he reaches bulūgh after morning adhān, fasting on that day is not obligatory.

790. It is obligatory for girls who have just reached bulūgh^* to fast, and it is not permissible to break it simply because of hardship, physical weakness, or the like unless fasting is harmful to them or it is very difficult to bear it.

* According to the famous opinion, when she completes nine lunar years, i.e. equal to 8 solar year, 8 months and 23 days.

791. The fasting of a woman experiencing menses or nifās is not correct, even if she menstruates or gives birth moments before maghrib. The same rule applies if she becomes clean moments after fajr.

792. Whoever knows, or rationally thinks (i.e. fears), that fasting is harmful for them, they are not required to fast. Rather, fasting, in some situations, is ḥarām for them, whether this knowledge or fear is originated from one's personal experience, the advice of a trustworthy physician, or another rational source. If such a person fasts, their fast is not in order unless they fast intending nearness to Allah and later they come to know that it was not harmful.

793. A person who believes that fasting does not harm him, if he fasts and realizes after maghrib that fasting has harmed him, his fast is invalid and he must perform its qaḍā’.

794. It rests with the mukallaf to recognize the effect of fasting in causing illness or its exacerbation, not being able to fast, or its being harmful. Therefore, if a doctor says: fasting is harmful, but his words do not give him confidence or fear of harm, or the mukallaf has learned through experience that fasting is not harmful, he should fast. Also if the doctor says: fasting is not harmful, but he himself knows that fasting is harmful for him or fear so, he should not fast, and fasting is forbidden for him.

795. If a sick person gets better during the day in the month of Ramadan, it is not obligatory to make the intention and fast that day. However, if it is before ẓuhr and he has not done anything that invalidates the fast, it is mustaḥabb caution to make the intention and fast and to perform its qaḍā’ after the month of Ramadan.

796. For a mustaḥabb fast to be valid, it is necessary that one does not owe qaḍā’ of Ramadan fast and by obligatory caution no obligatory fast.

797. If the person, who owes qaḍā’ fast but does not know that it is not in order to keep a mustaḥabb fast while owing a qaḍā’ one, keeps a mustaḥabb fast, their fast is void and does not replace their qaḍā’ one.

798. A person, who does not know whether he owes qaḍā’ fast or not, if he fasts with the intention of what is his duty (whether a fast of qaḍā’ and mustaḥabb fast) while in fact he owes a fast of qaḍā’, it is counted as the fast of qaḍā’.

799. A person owes qaḍā’ fast of Ramadan but forgets it and observes a mustaḥabb fast. If he remembers it in the middle of the day, the mustaḥabb fast is invalidated. Of course, if it is before ẓuhr, he may intend qaḍā’ fast of Ramadan while in the afternoon, his intention of qaḍā’ fast of Ramadan is not valid either.

Makrūh Acts during a Fast

878. Some makrūh acts for a fasting person are as follows:

1. Any act that causes weakness, (such as donating blood and taking a bath);

2. Smelling a fragrant plant, (wearing perfume is not makrūh);

3. Wetting the clothes one is wearing;

4. Brushing with wet wood;

5. Pulling teeth and doing anything that causes blood to come from the mouth;

6. Tasting food and the like;

7. Pouring medicine in the nose if it does not reach the throat;

8. Applying medicine in the eyes and applying kajal if the smell or taste reaches the throat;

9. A woman's sitting in water;

10. Touching one’s wife, joking with her and doing anything that arouses sexual desire;

11. Too much gargling is makrūh for a fasting person.

The Kaffārah of Breaking Fast Intentionally

887. In the holy Islamic shariah, there are three kinds of kaffārah for intentionally breaking a Ramadan fast:
a) To free a slave;
b) to keep fasts for two months;
c) or to feed sixty poor people.
Because at the time being there is no slave to be freed, one should choose one of the two other options.
 

888. Whoever wants to keep fasts for two months as a kaffārah of the fast of Ramadan should keep, at least, (one complete month and one day of the next month) or the 1st 31 days consecutively. As for the rest (29 fasts), if they do not keep them consecutively, it is no problem.

889. A person who has to fast consecutively, if he does not fast for one day in between without an excuse, or if he starts when he comes across a day in which fasting is forbidden, such as ‘Īd of Aḍḥā, or if it is a day in which fasting is obligatory, for example, when he reaches a day that he has vowed to fast on that day, the days he has fasted are not counted and he must fast again from the beginning.

890. A person who wants to fast for sixty days, if there is an excuse, such as an illness or menses, in between due to which she is unable to fast, after the excuse is removed, she can continue the rest of the fasts and it is not necessary to start from the beginning.

891. Feeding sixty poor people can be performed in two ways:
a- to satisfy them with cooked food, or;
b- or to provide each one with 750 gm. (one mudd) of a food item, like wheat, flour, bread, or rice.

892. A poor person is a person who does not have the expenses for himself and his family during the year nor can earn.

893. If a person is not able to do any of the three options in intentional kaffārah, he should feed as many poor people as he can, and it is a caution to ask Allah for forgiveness as well. If he is not able to feed any poor person, it is enough for him to ask Allah for forgiveness, that is, to say with his heart and tongue: أستغغفر الله (I ask God for forgiveness).

894. A person whose duty is to ask Allah for forgiveness due to his inability to fast or feed the poor, if he becomes able to fast or feed the poor later, it is mustaḥabb caution for him to do so.

895. If a person, who wants to feed needy people (as mentioned in the previous rule) as intentional kaffārah, can find 60 needy people, he/she should not pay any of them the share of two or more needy people, i.e. more than one mudd (750 gm.) food, such as wheat, flour, rice, or bread. Rather, it is necessary to give 750 gm. food to any of these 60 people. However, one may give a needy person the shares of his family members so that he/she spends on them. As far as the needy person is concerned, it makes no difference whether it is a child, an adult, a male or a female.

896. If a fasting person does something that invalidates the fast more than once in one day, only one kaffārah is obligatory for him. Of course, if he invalidates the fast by having sexual intercourse or masturbating, by obligatory caution, he is to pay kaffārah as much as he had sexual intercourse or masturbated.

897. If someone invalidates his fast in the month of Ramadan by having forbidden sex or consuming forbidden food and drink, one of the three kaffārahs is sufficient, although it is mustaḥabb caution to observe all three kaffārahs (freeing the slave, fasting for sixty days, or giving food to sixty poor people).

898. A person who is required to observe kaffārah is not obligated to do it immediately, but he should not delay it to such an extent that it is considered as negligence in performing the obligation.

899. If one does not pay the obligatory kaffārah for a few years, nothing is added to it.

900. There is no order in performing the qaḍā’ of fasting and its kaffārah, i.e. each can be prioritized over the other.

Cases in which Only Qaḍā’ of Fasting Is Obligatory

901. A person is to make up for his fast but kaffārah is not required if he abstains from fast invalidators but he:
a) does not intend to fast on the day of Ramadan;
b) fasts but in order to show people that he fasts; or,
c) intends not to fast.

902. During the night of Ramadan, if a junub person does not wake up from the second sleep until the morning adhān (the details are mentioned in issue 844), he is obligated only to make up for the fast as qaḍā’. Of course, until maghrib, he must refrain from doing things that invalidate the fast.

903. A person who forgets the ghusl of janābah during the month of Ramadan and fasts for a few days despite his janābah, he is obligated only to make up for these fasts as qaḍā’.

904. At dawn during Ramadan, as long as he is not sure that it is time for fajr, he can do things that invalidate the fast.

905. At dawn during Ramadan, if one does something that invalidates the fast without investigating whether it is fajr time or not and then it turns out that it was, he must make up for that day. However, if he does so after investigating and becoming sure that it is before fajr but then it turns out that it was time for morning adhān, he is not to make up for the fast.

906. On the day of Ramadan, as long as one is not sure of maghrib, he cannot break his fast.

907. On the day of Ramadan, one breaks his fast after becoming sure that it is maghrib because of darkness or because those, whose news is authentic according to shar‘, say that it is maghrib, but later it turns out that it was not maghrib. In this case, he must perform qaḍā’ of that day.

908. If, due to the cloudy sky, one thinks it is maghrib and breaks his fast, but later it turns out that it was not maghrib, qaḍā’ of that day is not obligatory.

909. If it becomes permissible or obligatory to invalidate the fast for some reason, such as if he is forced to do something that invalidates the fast, or if one jumps into the water to save the life of a drowning person, in this case, kaffārah is not obligatory but it is obligatory to make up for this fast as qaḍā’.

910. If a fasting person during wuḍū’ (when it is mustaḥabb to gargle) gargle with confidence that the water will not go in but water goes in involuntarily, then in case that it is wuḍū’ for an obligatory prayer, his fast is valid. However, if he performs wuḍū’ for something else, or gargle for other than wuḍū’, such as cooling down and the water goes in involuntarily, he should make the qaḍā’ of that day as a caution.

911. If a fasting person knows that during gargling water will be swallowed unintentionally or out of forgetfulness, he should not gargle.

Rulings of Qaḍā’ Fast

912. A person, who has been unconscious or in a coma for one or more days and missed some obligatory fasts, does not need to make up for the fasts of those days.

913. A person who missed some fast(s) due to being drunk, e.g. he did not intend fasting, even if he had fasted for the whole day, his fasting is not valid and its qaḍā’ is obligatory.

914. A person who intends to fast but gets drunk and remains like that for the whole or a part of the day, he must, by obligatory caution, make up for this fast, especially in case of severe drunkenness which causes loss of reason.

915. In the previous two issues, it does not matter whether it is ḥarām for him to consume intoxicating substance or it is not ḥarām due to an illness or as he does not know that it is intoxicating.

916. If a woman misses some fasts due to menstruation or childbirth, she must make up for them after the month of Ramadan.

917. If a person does not fast during the month of Ramadan due to an illness, menstruation, or postpartum bleeding (nifās) and dies before the end of Ramadan, it is not necessary for others to make up these fasts on his/her behalf.

918. A person who has not fasted several days of Ramadan due to an excuse but does not know how many fasts he has missed, then if he does not know its beginning, e.g. he does not know whether he went on a journey on the twenty-fifth of Ramadan, so that he missed six fasts, or it was on the twenty-sixth and he missed five days, he can make up for the smaller number of the days.

But if he knows when it started, for example, he knows that he started his journey on the fifth day of the month, but he does not know whether he returned at night before the tenth and he missed five days or he returned at night before the 11^th and has missed six fasts, in this case, he must fast for the bigger number of days.

919. If someone has missed fasts in several months of Ramadan, then it is correct to take qaḍā’ of each one first, but if the time for qaḍā’ of the last month of Ramadan is too short, such as if he missed five fasts in the last month of Ramadan and after five days next Ramadan starts, in this case, at first he must make up for the fasts of the last Ramadan as qaḍā’ by obligatory caution.

920. A person who makes up for a fast he missed during the last month of Ramadan may break his fast before ẓuhr if there is enough time to observe it before the next Ramadan. However, if there is no enough time, i.e. it remains just several days before the next Ramadan which equal the number of fast he missed during the last Ramadan, he is not to break his fast even before ẓuhr by caution.

921. A person who is making up for a qaḍā’ fast he missed during Ramadan, if he intentionally breaks his fast after ẓuhr, he must give food to ten poor people, and if he cannot, he must fast for three days.

922. If one owes qaḍā’ of several months of Ramadan and he does not specify in his intention which fast he takes, then it is considered as the qaḍā’ of the first year.

923. If somebody does not fast in Ramadan for an excuse (like an illness or a travel) but before the next Ramadan they become able to fast, they should make up for this missed fasts in qaḍā’.

924. If someone does not fast in Ramadan due to being ill and their illness continues till the next Ramadan, they are not required to make up for these missed Ramadan fasts in qaḍā’ but they must give one mudd (750 gm.) food to the needy for each day.

925. If a person does not fast during the month of Ramadan due to an illness, and after the month of Ramadan, his illness is cured, but he immediately faces another excuse and is unable to perform qaḍā’ of the fasts until the next month of Ramadan, he must make up those fasts as qaḍā’ in the following years.

Also, if he has an excuse other than illness during the month of Ramadan and it is resolved after the month of Ramadan, but he cannot fast until the next month of Ramadan due to illness, then he must make up for these fasts.

926. A person who has missed some fasts during the month of Ramadan due to travel, if he continues to travel until the next month of Ramadan, the qaḍā’ of the previous Ramadan will not be waived and he must fulfill it later. By mustaḥabb caution, he is to pay kaffārah of delay as well.

927. If due to physical weakness one is unable to fast in the month of Ramadan nor to make up for it until next Ramadan, the qaḍā’ will not be waived, and he should perform the qaḍā’ whenever he can. Likewise, someone who has not fasted for several years, has repented and decided to make them up is obligated to make up for all the fasts he missed. If he is unable to do so, the qaḍā’ of the fasts remains obligatory for him.

Kaffārah of Delay

It means Kaffārah that becomes obligatory due to delay in performing qaḍā’ of fasting during the month of Ramadan until the arrival of the next month of Ramadan.

928. If, due to an excuse, one does not fast in the month of Ramadan, then the excuse is over but one, till the next Ramadan comes, does not make up for their missed fasts, they should, in addition to making up for the missed fasts in qaḍā’, provide a needy person with 750 gm. food for each day.

929. One must give one mudd (750 gm.) of food for each day as kaffārah of delay to the poor in addition to fasting and kaffārah of breaking one's fast intentionally if they do not fast during Ramadan on purpose nor perform its qaḍā’ before the next Ramadan.

930. Kaffārah for delay is one mudd, i.e. 750 grams of wheat, flour, bread, rice or other food and it is to be given to the poor.

931. If one delays the qaḍā’ of fasting in the month of Ramadan for several years, he must pay the very one mudd of food in addition to the qaḍā’ of fasting, and nothing becomes obligatory for him because of the delay in the following years.

932. A person who has to give one mudd of food for each day, can give kaffārah for several days to a poor person.

933. In case that one does not know that it is a must to observe qaḍā’ of a fast before the next Ramadan, Kaffārah of delay is not waived.

The Rulings on Qaḍā’ of One's Parent's Missed Prayers/Fasts

934. If the father, or the mother by obligatory caution, does not fast because of an excuse — other than travel — and does not make its qaḍā’ either although he/she was able to, it is obligatory for the elder son to perform its qaḍā’, or hire someone else to do so after the death of his parent. However, as to missed fasts due to traveling, it is obligatory for the elder son to perform its qaḍā’ even if they find no opportunity to perform its qaḍā’.

935. By obligatory caution, it is the eldest son's duty to make qaḍā’ of the fasts which his parents did not observe on purpose.

People for Whom Fast Is not Obligatory

954. If a pregnant woman, whose delivery is imminent, fears that fasting will harm her fetus or herself, fasting is not obligatory for her. In the first case (harmful to the fetus), she should pay one mudd of food (wheat, barely, etc.) as fidyah to the needy for each day and make up for it in qaḍā’ after the month of Ramadan as well. In the second case (harmful to herself), she should make up for the missed fasts in qaḍā’ and, according to caution, pay the fidyah as well. In case of a female whose delivery is not imminent, the ruling of paying fidyah is based on obligatory caution.

955. If a breastfeeding female (whether she is the baby's mother or another woman whether hired for this job or not) fears of harm to the baby due to a decrease in the quantity of milk or its drying up caused by fasting, she is not obligated to fast but she should pay fidyah for each day and make up for the missed fasts in qaḍā’ later on. However, if fasting is harmful to the woman herself, her paying fidyah is, by obligatory caution, mandatory.

956. In both previous issues, if she does not make up for the missed fasts by the next Ramadan, then if it is due to carelessness, she should, in addition to making up in qaḍā’, observe kaffārah of delay (i.e. to pay one mudd (about 750 gm.) food for each day to the needy), but if her delay is due to an excuse, there is no need for kaffārah of delay. However, if the excuse is due to fear that fast will harm her baby, she may make up for the missed fasts in qaḍā’ whenever she can, but if it is due to fear of harm to herself, she is not required to make up in qaḍā’ but should pay fidyah for each missed fast.

957. The payment of fidyah or kaffārah is the wife's duty and it is not obligatory for the husband, even if she has not fasted due to pregnancy or breastfeeding. Also, kaffārah or fidyah of a child is not the responsibility of the father. Of course, it is permissible for a husband or father to pay fidyah or kaffārah on behalf of his wife or child.

958. It is not obligatory for an old man and woman to fast if they find it difficult. However, they must pay fidyah, i.e. to give 750 gr. food (such as wheat, barley, or rice) to the poor for each day. If they are not able to fast at all, they must, by obligatory caution, pay fidyah. In both cases, if they can fast after the month of Ramadan, they should make up the missed fasts as a mustaḥabb caution.

959. A person who suffers from a disease that makes him very thirsty and cannot tolerate thirst, or it is difficult for him to tolerate thirst, fasting is not obligatory for him. Of course, in the second case (hardship), he must pay one mudd of food to the poor for each day, and by obligatory caution, he should also give this fidyah in the first case, and if he becomes able to fast after the month of Ramadan, he should observe the qaḍā’ fasts according to the mustaḥabb caution.

960. The amount of fidyah is the same as the amount of kaffārah for the delay, i.e. 750 grams of wheat, flour, bread, rice or other food items. Fidyah should be given to the poor.

Way of Ascertaining the First of a Lunar Month

961. The first of the month is confirmed in five ways:

1. The fact that the moon is seen by the very mukallaf;

2. The testimony of two just people unless a large number of people deny the sighting of the crescent and the probability that these two persons have made a mistake is not strengthened;

3. Being maintained by many people so that it brings about knowledge or certainty;

4. Passage of 30 days from the beginning of the last month;

5. The verdict of the ḥākim of shar‘.

962. Seeing the crescent in the evening proves the arrival of the lunar month, and the night after the sighting of the crescent is considered as the first night of the month.

963. To see the crescent, there is no difference between the armed and the unarmed eye. So, when the moon is seen with a normal eye, it is the first of the month, and similarly if it is seen with glasses, a camera, or telescope, then the first of the month is confirmed, but it is problematic to say the first of the month is proved by seeing the image of the crescent reflected to a computer while it is not known that people call it sighting the crescent.

964. The fact that the moon is small and low, big and high, wide or narrow, etc., is not a shar‘ī reason for the first or second night of the moon, but if the person becomes certain through this method, he must act according to his knowledge in this field.

965. The first of the month is not determined by calendars and scientific calculations of astronomers unless one becomes certain due to their words.

966. If it is proved in a city that it is the first of the month, it is sufficient for other cities that are on the same horizon. It means the places that are the same in terms of the possibility and impossibility of seeing the crescent moon.

967. Mere confirmation of the crescent for the ḥākim of shar‘ is not enough for others to follow him unless he issues a verdict to this effect or they get confident regarding the crescent sighting.

968. If the ḥākim of shar‘ issues a verdict that tomorrow is the first of the month and this decree covers the whole country, by shar‘ his decree is valid for all the cities of that country.

969. If the announcement of the sighting of the crescent moon by a non-Islamic and oppressive or wrongdoing government makes the mukallaf certain that it is the first of the month, it is sufficient.

970. If the moon crescent is not visible in a city, but the radio and television announce the first of the month, if their news makes a person certain or confident about it, it is sufficient and there is no need to investigate.

971. If the first of Ramadan is not confirmed, fasting is not obligatory, but if it is later confirmed that it was the first of the month, then the fast of that day must be made up.

972. If the first of Shawwāl is not confirmed by sighting the crescent even in the neighboring cities with the same horizon, by the testimony of two just people, or by the ruling of the ḥākim of shar‘, then one should fast that day.

973. A person should fast on the day he doubts whether it is the end of Ramadan or the first of Shawwāl, but if it is confirmed during the day that it is the first of Shawwāl, he must break his fast, even if it is close to maghrib.

Types of Fasting

974. There are four types of fasting: obligatory, forbidden, mustaḥabb and makrūh.

975. Obligatory fasts include:

1. Fasting in the holy month of Ramadan;

2. Qaḍā’ fast;

3. Kaffārah fast;

4. Fasting on the third day of i‘tikāf;

5. Fasting instead of sacrifice in Hajj of tamattu‘.

6. A mustaḥabb fast that has become obligatory through nadhr, ‘ahd, or swear;

7. Father’s qaḍā’ fasts, and those of the mother by obligatory caution, which are obligatory for the eldest son.

976. Some of the forbidden fasts are:

1. ‘Īd of Fitṛ fast;

2. ‘Īd of Aḍḥā fast;

3. Fasting on a day when they do not know whether it is the end of Sha‘bān or the first of Ramadan intended as Ramadan’s fast;

4. Mustaḥabb fasting of a wife in case the right of the husband is violated;

5. Fasting of a person for whom fasting is harmful;

6. A traveller's fast, except for cases that are excluded.

977. Fasting is mustaḥabb on all days of the year (except forbidden and mustaḥabb fasts). But fasting on some days is strongly mustaḥabb; including:

1. The first and last Thursday every lunar month and the first Wednesday after the 10th day every lunar month;

2. 13th, 14th and 15th of every lunar month;

3. The months of Rajab and Sha‘bān (all or a part of them, even one day);

4. Birthday of the Holy Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace (17 Rabī‘ al-Awwal);

5. ‘Īd of Mab‘ath (27 Rajab);

6. ‘Īd of al-Ghadīr (18 Dhul Hijjah);

7. Day of Dahwul Arḍ (25 Dhul Qa‘dah).

978. Makrūh fasts are as follows:

1. Mustaḥabb fasting of a guest without the permission of the host or with his prohibition;

2. Fasting on the day of ‘Arafah if it causes weakness that prevents the actions of ‘Arafah.

Conclusion: Fasting Etiquettes and these of the Holy Month of Ramadan

979. When a person starts a mustaḥabb fast, it is not obligatory to complete it and he can break his fast whenever he wants, but if a believer invites him to a meal, it is nice for him to accept the invitation and break his fast.

980. It is mustaḥabb for a fasting person to perform the maghrib prayer before breaking the fast. However, if someone is waiting for him or if he is so hungry that he cannot perform the prayer with concentration, it is better to break the fast first, but if possible, to perform his prayer at its time of virtue.

981. In order to observe the etiquette and respect for the blessed month of Ramadan, it is mustaḥabb for the following people to refrain from the fast invalidators, even if they are not fasting:

1. A traveler who has done a fast invalidator during their trip and reached their watan or the place where they want to stay for ten days before ẓuhr;

2. A traveler who arrives at their watan or a place where they want to stay for ten days after ẓuhr;

3. A patient who breaks his fast and recovers before ẓuhr;

4. A patient who recovers after ẓuhr;

5. A woman who is free from menstruation or childbirth bleeding during the day;

6. An infidel who becomes a Muslim on the day of Ramadan;

7. A child who matures on the day of Ramadan.