بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Fasting During Ramadaan

Islamic legal rules of fasting 11/13/2003 - Religious Education - Article Ref: IC0311-2136
Number of comments: 1 By: Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi IslamiCity* -

Duaa for keeping fast:

Wa bisawmi ghadeen nawaytu min shahri ramadaan

I intent to fast today for the month of Ramadaan

Duaa when breaking fast:

Allahumma Inni laka sumtu wa bika amantu wa ?la rizqika aftartu.

O Allah, I fasted for You and I believe in You and I break my fast with Your sustain

More Ramadaan Duaas:

Ramadaan-Duaas.pdf

What is Sawm (Fasting)?

The Arabic word for fasting is called "sawm" in the Quraan. The word sawm literally means "to abstain". Chapter Maryam of the Quraan says that Mary the mother of Jesus said "I have vowed a "sawm" (fast) for the sake of the Merciful, so today I shall not speak to anyone." [Quraan 19:26]. According to Shariyah, the word sawm means to abstain from all those things that are forbidden during fasting from the break of dawn to the sunset, and to do this with the intention of fasting.

Purpose of Fasting

In chapter 2 verse 183 the Quraan says, "O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those who were before you, in order that you may learn taqwa (piety)".

Taqwa is a very important spiritual and ethical term of the Quraan. It is the sum total of all Islamic spirituality and ethics. It is a quality in a believer's life that keeps him or her aware of God all the time. A person who has taqwa loves to do good and avoid evil for the sake of God. Taqwa is piety, righteousness and consciousness of God. Taqwa requires patience and perseverance. Fasting teaches patience, and with patience one can rise to the high position of taqwa.

The Prophet said that fasting is a shield. It protects a person from sin and lustful desires. When the disciples of Jesus asked him how to cast the evil spirits away, he is reported to have said, "But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting." (Matthew 17:21).

According to Imam Al Ghazali, fasting produces a semblance of divine quality of samadiyyah (freedom from want) in a human being. Imam Ibn Al Qayyim, viewed fasting as a means of releasing the human spirit from the clutches of desire, thus allowing moderation to prevail in the carnal self. Imam Shah Waliullah Dahlawi (d. 1762 C.E.) viewed fasting as a means of weakening the bestial and reinforcing the angelic elements in human beings. Maulana Mawdudi (d. 1979 C.E.) emphasized that fasting for a full month every year trains a person individually, and the Muslim community as a whole, in piety and self restraint.

Fasting Is Obligatory

In the second year of Hijrah, Muslims were commanded to fast in the month of Ramadaan every year as mentioned in the verse above [Al-Baqarah 2:183]. The Quraan further says "The month of Ramadaan is that in which was revealed the Quraan, wherein is guidance for humankind and the clear signs of guidance and distinction. Thus whosoever among you witness the month must fast..." [Al-Baqarah 2:184].

Prophet Muhammad (saw) explained this further in a number of his statements reported in the books of Hadith. It is reported by Imam Al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim on the authority of Ibn Umar that the Messenger of God said, "Islam is built upon five pillars: testifying that there is no god except God and that Muhammad (saw) is the Messenger of God, performing Prayer, paying the zakah, making the pilgrimage to the Sacred House (Hajj), and fasting during the month of Ramadaan."

The entire Muslim world is unanimous in the principal of fasting in the month of Ramadaan and considers it obligatory upon every person who is physicaly capable (mukallaf).

Rules of Fasting

A) Who must fast?

Muslims all over the world wait eagerly for Ramadaan, as it is a time of increased inner peace and well-being.

Fasting in the month of Ramadaan is obligatory upon every adult Muslim, male or female, who has reached puberty, is sane and who is not sick or traveling.

Sickness could be a temporary sickness from which a person expects to be cured soon. Such a person should not fast during the days of his or her sickness, but he or she must fast later after Ramadaan to complete the missed days. Those who are sick with incurable illness and expect no better health are also allowed not to fast but they must pay the fidyah, which is giving a day's meals for each fast missed to a needy person. Instead of food for one day one can also give equivalent amount of money to a needy person. Women in their menses and post-natal bleeding are not allowed to fast, but they must make up the fast later after Ramadaan. If pregnant women and mothers who are nursing babies can also postpone their fasting to a later time when they are able to do so.

A travel according to the Shariah is any journey that takes you away from your city of residence, a minimum of 48 miles or 80 kilometers. The journey must be for a good cause. One must avoid frivolous travel during Ramadaan which causes a person to miss fasting. If possible one should try to change their travel plans during Ramadaan to be able to fast and should not travel unless it is necessary. The traveler who misses the fasts of Ramadaan must make up those missed days later as soon as possible after Ramadaan.

B) Fasting According to the Sunnah

1 - Take sahur (pre-dawn meal). It is Sunnah and there is a great reward and blessing in taking sahur. The best time for sahur is the last half hour before dawn or the time for Fajr prayer.

2 - Take iftar (break-fast) immediately after sunset. Shariah considers sunset when the disk of the sun goes below the horizon and disappears completely.

3 - During the fast, abstain from all false talks and deeds. Do not quarrel, have disputes, indulge in arguments, use bad words, or do anything that is forbidden. You should try to discipline yourself morally and ethically, besides gaining physical training and discipline. You should also not make a show of your fasting by talking too much about it, or by showing dry lips and a hungry stomach, or by showing a bad temper. The fasting person must be a pleasant person with good spirits and good cheer.

4 - During the fast, do acts of charity and goodness to others and increase your worship and reading of the Quraan. Every one should try to read the whole Quraan at least once during the month of Ramadaan.

C) Things That Invalidate Fasting Things

You must avoid doing anything that may render your fast invalid. Things that invalidate the fast and require qadaa' (making up for these days) are the following:

1 - Eating, drinking or smoking deliberately, including taking any non-nourishing items by mouth or nose.

2 - Deliberately causing yourself to vomit.

3 - The beginning of menstrual or post-childbirth bleeding even in the last moment before sunset.

4 - Sexual intercourse or other sexual contact (or masturbation) that results in ejaculation (in men) or vaginal secretions (orgasm) in women.

5 - Eating, drinking, smoking or having sexual intercourse after Fajr (dawn) on the mistaken assumption that it is not Fajr time yet. Similarly, engaging in these acts before Maghrib (sunset) on the mistaken assumption that it is already Maghrib time.

Sexual intercourse during fasting is forbidden. Those who engage in it must make both qadaa' (make up the fasts) and kaffarah (expiation by fasting for 60 days after Ramadaan or by feeding 60 poor people for each day of fast broken in this way). According to Imam Abu Hanifah, eating and/or drinking deliberately during fast also entail the same qadaa' and kaffarah.

D) Things That Do Not Invalidate Fasting

Using a miswak to clean your teeth does not invalidate fasting

During fast, the following things are permissible:

1 - Taking a bath or shower. If water is swallowed involuntarily it will not invalidate the fast. According to most of the jurists, swimming is also allowed in fasting, but one should avoid diving, because that will cause the water to go from the mouth or nose into the stomach.

2 - Using perfumes, wearing contact lenses or using eye drops.

3 - Taking injections or having a blood test.

4 - Using miswak (tooth-stick) or toothbrush (even with tooth paste) and rinsing the mouth or nostrils with water, provided it is not overdone (so as to avoid swallowing water).

5 - Eating, drinking or smoking unintentionally, i.e., forgetting that one was fasting. But one must stop as soon as one remembers and should continue one's fast.

6 - Sleeping during the daytime and having a wet-dream does not break one's fast. Also, if one has intercourse during the night and was not able to make ghusl (bathe) before dawn, he or she can begin fast and make ghusl later. Women whose menstruation stops during the night may begin fasting even if they have not made ghusl yet. In all these cases, bathing (ghusl) is necessary but fast is valid even without bathing.

7 - Light Kissing (NOT Sexual Kissing) between husband and wife is allowed in fasting, BUT one should try to AVOID it so that one may not do anything further that is forbidden during the fast.

E) Requirements for Fasting to Be Valid

There are basically two main components of fasting:

1 - The intention (niyyah) for fasting. One should make a sincere intention to fast for the sake of God every day before dawn. The intention need not be in words, but must be with the sincerity of the heart and mind. Some jurists are of the opinion that the intention can be made once only for the whole month and does not have to be repeated every day. It is, however, better to make intention every day to take full benefit of fasting.

2 - Abstaining from dawn to dusk from everything that invalidates fasting as mentioned above.

Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi is the imam and director of the Islamic Society of Orange County, California, USA and former president of the Islamic Society of North America.

Fasting during Journey or illness in the month of Ramadaan:

(Fasting) for a fixed number of days; but if any of you is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed number (Should be made up) from days later. For those who can do it (With hardship), is a ransom, the feeding of one that is indigent. But he that will give more, of his own free will,- it is better for him. And it is better for you that ye fast, if ye only knew. (Al_Quraan_002-184)

It is suggested that if you are on a Journey which is upto two hours, i.e. 200-KM (in old time around 48-miles) for one way from door to door, you should continue fasting, BUT if your travell time is more than two hours, you should skip the fast and make it up at a later date. Remember, for air travel, even for an hour of air time could be much more than that, usually more than five hours due to the travel time to the airport and the wait at the airport. So most of the air travel you must skip fasting during Ramadaan and make it up at a later date. If one can go for work and come back on the same day and that can be on a regular schedule, he/she should continue fasting, otherwise he/she must skip it and make up for it later.

Delaying Periods (Menstruation) in the Month of Ramadaan:

Be Careful in playing against the laws of Allah. Allah created women with this thing. Don't ever think to do against the will of Allah, otherwise Allah may punish you. Don't trust the scientists, one day they say it is ok and then 20 - 30 years later they say this is the cause of the thing you tried 20-30 years a go. Don't think that your reward will be less because of this, unless you don't makeup the counting of fasting later.

Reciting the Quraan during the Menstruation (Periods):

There is NO harm in a menstruating or post-partum bleeding woman reading the books of supplications that are written for the rites of the pilgrimage. In fact, there is nothing wrong with her reciting the Quraan according to the correct opinion. There is no authentic, clear text prohibiting a menstruating or post-partum bleeding woman from reciting the Quraan. The thing that is narrated is concerned with the sexually defiled person only, as such should not recite the Quraan while he is sexually defiled. This is based on the Hadeeth of 'Alee. (Reference: http://www.fatwa-online.com)

Fasting during Ramadaan on the North or South Poles during their Summer:

Reference: http://www.islamicity.com

Topic : Fasting: Two Poles

First and foremost, we’d like to make it clear that the religion of Islam seeks not to cause any hardship to its adherents or burden them beyond their capabilities. Easiness and facilitation are of the main characteristics of Islam. Almighty Allah says: (Allah would not place a burden on you, but He would purify you and would perfect His grace upon you, that ye may give thanks.) (Al-Ma’idah: 6)

When a person lives in such an area (i.e. near the two poles), he/she should follow the prayer timing and fasting of the nearest country that has a regular schedule or he can pray and fast according to the timings of the cities that are nearest to them in the normal time zone, i.e. below 64 degrees north or above 64 degrees south.

In his well-known book, Fiqh As-Sunnah, Sheikh Sayyed Sabiq states:

Scholars differ about what the Muslims who are in areas where the day is extremely long and the night is short should do. What timings should they follow? Some say they should follow the norms of the areas where the Islamic legislation took place (i.e. Makkah or Madinah). Others say that they should follow the timings of the area that is closest to them which has normal days and nights.

Elaborating more on the issue, Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, former president of the Islamic Society of North America, adds:

At the poles, that is at 90 N and 90 S the sun does not set for six months continuously, with the exception of one day of the first equinox and then remains risen above the horizon for the other six months continuously with the exception of one day of the second equinox.

Even below 90 N down to 60 N and above 90 S up to 60 S the days and nights are abnormally long or short during the summer and winter seasons respectively. At one time, this was a theoretical issue, but now, Alhamdulillah, Islam has reached to these regions and many Muslims are living there.

Muslim jurists considered this situation long time ago. They based their Ijtihad on the verse of the Quraan that says, (Allah does not burden a person beyond his/her capacity.) (Al-Baqarah :286)

There is also a Hadith, reported in the books of Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah, in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, described the situation at the time of the appearance of Dajjal. He said, “When the Dajjal will come to deceive the people, he will remain on the earth for forty days, one of which will be as long as a year, the second as long as a month, the third as long as a week and the remaining days as your normal days.” One of the Companions stood and asked the Messenger of Allah, 'On the day which will be as long as a year, would it be sufficient to offer only five prayers of the day?' The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied, “No, but calculate.”

The aforementioned Hadith gives a principle of determining the times of prayers and fasts in abnormal situations. Thus, according to the Ijtihad based on the above verse of the Qur'an and the Hadith, Muslim jurists have given the name 'abnormal zones' to the areas where the days and nights are unusually long or short.

A conference of Muslims jurists and astronomers was held in Istanbul about 35 years ago. All the jurists gathered there agreed that the areas above 64 degrees latitude in the north and below 64 degrees latitude in the south should be considered 'abnormal zones' whereby people should not follow the movement of the sun, BUT they should follow the movement of the clock for their five daily prayers and fasting. They can pray and fast according to the timings of the cities that are nearest to them in the normal time zone, i.e. below 64 degrees north or above 64 degrees south.

If you are still in need of more information, don't hesitate to contact us. Do keep in touch. May Allah guide us all to the straight path!
Wassalam and Allah Almighty knows best.
Reference:
Islam Online

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