The
fourth of the five principles of Islam is to fast every day in the blessed
month of Ramadân. The fast became fard on the tenth day of the month of Sha’bân
eighteen months after the Hegira and a month before the Ghazâ (Holy War) of
Bedr. Ramadân means to burn. Sins of those who fast and beg Allah for
forgiveness in this month burn and perish.
It is written in the book Riyâd-un-nâsihîn
that Hadrat Abű Hureyra ‘radiy Allâhu anh’ stated in the book Bukhârî: Rasűlullah ’sall-Allâhu alaihi wa
sallam’ declared, “When the month of Ramadân comes
the doors of Paradise are opened and the doors of Hell are closed, and the
devils are tied.” Imâm-ul-aimma Muhammad bin Is’haq bin Huzeyma
writes that Hadrat Selmân-i-Fârisî (radiy Allâhu ’anh) conveyed that Rasűlullah
(sall Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) had declared in his khutba on the last day of
the month of Sha’bân: “O Muslims! Such a great
month is about to overshadow you that one night [Qadr night] in this month is more beneficial than a thousand months.
Allâhu ta’âlâ has commanded fasting every day during this month. Also, it is a
sunna to perform the namâz of tarâwih at nights during this month. Doing a
small favour for Allah’s sake during this month is like doing the fard in other
months. Doing the fard in this month is like doing seventy fards in other
months. This month is the month of patience. The place where the patient person
will go is Paradise. This month is the month of getting along well. There is an
increase in the subsistence of Believers during this month. If a person gives
iftâr to a fasting person in this month his sins will be forgiven. Allâhu ta’âlâ
will manumit him from Hell-fire. And he will be given as many blessings as has
that fasting person.” The Sahâba said, “O Rasűlallah! Each of us is
not so rich as to give the iftâr to a fasting person or to give him a whole
meal. The Messenger (’alaihi-s-salâm) declared; “The
blessings will be given even to a person who gives a date as the iftâr or who
provides a little water to break the fast or who offers a little milk. This
month is such a month that it has compassion in its early days, pardon and
forgiveness in the middle, and liberation from Hell in the latter days. Allâhu
ta’âlâ will forgive and rescue from Hell-fire those [patrons,
chiefs, commanders and directors] who facilitate
the duties of [workers, civil servants, soldiers and students]. Do four things very often in this month! Two of them Allâhu
ta’âlâ loves very much. They are to say the Kalima-i-Shahâda and to say
the istighfâr. And the other
two you have to do at all times. They are to ask for Paradise from Allâhu
ta’âlâ and to trust yourself to Allâhu ta’âlâ to be protected from Hell. A
person who gives water to a fasting person during this month will never be in
need of water on the Rising Day.”
A hadîth which exists in Sahîh-i-Bukhârî
declares, “If a person knows it as fard and as a
duty to fast in the month of Ramadân and if he expects its thawâb from Allâhu
ta’âlâ, his past sins are pardonned.” This means to say that it is
necessary to believe that fasting is Allah’s command and to expect blessings
for it. It is a condition not to complain that the days are long or that it is
difficult to fast. One should deem it good luck and a great fortune to fast
with difficulty among people who do not fast.
It is declared in a hadîth, which is quoted from Jâbir ibn Abdullah
’radiy-allâhu ta’âlâ anh’ by Abdul’azîm Munzirî, who was a hâfiz [savant of
hadîth], in his book Etterghîb wetterhîb,
and by hâfiz Ahmad Bayhakî in his book Sunan: “In
Ramadân-i-sherîf Allâhu ta’âlâ bestows five gifts on my Umma, which He has not
given to any other prophet:
1 - The first night of Ramadân Allâhu
ta’âlâ regards the Believers with compassion. He never torments a born slave of
His whom He regards with compassion.
2 - At the time of iftâr the fasting
person’s breath smells to Allâhu ta’âlâ more fragrant than any scent.
3 - During Ramadân angels pray day and
night so that those who fast will be forgiven for their sins.
4 - In Ramadân Allâhu ta’âlâ allots a
place in Paradise to give to those who fast.
5 - On the last day of Ramadân-i-sherîf
He forgives the sins of all the Believers who have fasted.”
Hadrat
Imâm-i-Rabbânî ’quddisa sirruh’ wrote in the forty-fifth letter of the first
volume, “The thawâb given for all nâfila worships, such as supererogatory
namâz, dhikr, and alms that are performed during the month of Ramadân-i-sherîf,
is like that which is given for the fard worships performed during other
months. One fard performed in this month is like seventy fard performed in
other months. A person who serves (the meal called) iftâr to a fasting person
will be forgiven his sins. He will be freed from Hell. Also, he will be given
as many blessings as the fasting person is given, while the blessings of the
fasting person
will not decrease at all. Those commanders
who provide facilities for people under their command will be forgiven their
sins. They will be freed from Hell. During the month of Ramadân-i-sherîf
Rasűlullah would manumit slaves and give whatever he was asked for. Those who
perform worships and good deeds during this month are given the blessings for
performing them all the year round. He who disrespects this month and commits
sins in it spends the whole year committing sins. One must deem this month a
good opportunity. One must perform as many worships as one can. One must
perform the deeds that Allâhu ta’âlâ likes. One must take this month as an
opportunity to earn the Hereafter. The Qur’ân was revealed during Ramadân. The
night of Qadr[1] is in
this month. It is sunna to make the iftâr [to break fast] with dates in
Ramadân-i-sherîf. Some important sunnats during Ramadân are to say the prayer (Dhehabazzama’ wabtelletil urűk wa thaba-tal-ajr inshâ-Allâhu
ta’âlâ) when making the iftâr [as noted in the Shalbî annotation to Tabyîn], to perform the namâz of tarâwîh, and to
read the entire Qur’ân.”
1 -
Niyya (to intend);
2 - To
know the earliest time of the niyya, as well as its latest time;
3 - To fend off the things that will break the fast starting from dawn
(fajr sâdiq) up to sunset, [that is, within the shar’î day][2] .
1 -
The fasts that are fard. Fard fasts also have two kinds: the one which is
performed at a certain time, fasting during Ramadân-i-sherîf.
2 -
The fast that is fard and yet which is not performed at a certain time.
Examples of this are the fasts of qadâ and kaffârat. But the fast of kaffârat
is fard-i-amalî. That is, he who denies it does not become a disbeliever.
3 -
The fast that is wâjib and which is performed at a certain
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[1] See ‘Sacred Nights’ in the second fascicle of Endless Bliss.
[2] The word ‘shar’î’ is an adjective. It means ‘that which is prescribed by the Islamic Sharî’at (canon law)’.
time, too, such as vowing to fast on a
certain day or on certain days.
4 - The fast which is performed at haphazard times[1] .
5 -
The fast that is sunna, e.g. fasting on the ninth and tenth days of Muharram.
6 -
The fast that is mustahab, examples of which are fasting on the thirteenth,
fourteenth and fifteenth days of every Arabic month, fasting only on Fridays,
fasting on the day of ’Arafa, which is the day previous to the ’Iyd of Qurbân
(Ad’ha). It is also said (by some savants) that it is makrűh to fast only on
Fridays. A person who wants to fast on Friday had better fast on Thursday and
Saturday, too. For it is better not to do something which is said to be sunnat
or makrűh.
7 - The
fast that is harâm. It is harâm to fast on the first day of the ’Iyd of Fitra
and on any of all four days of the ’Iyd of Qurbân.
8 -
The fast that is makrűh: to fast only on the tenth day of Muharram, only on
Saturdays, on the days of Nawruz and Mihrijan, [which are the twentieth days of
March and September], to fast every day throughout the year, and to fast
without talking at all.
In a hadîth-i-sherîf quoted in Marâqil-falâh, it is declared, “When you see the Moon start fasting! When you see her again,
stop fasting.” According to this order, the month of Ramadân begins
when the waxing moon (the new crescent) is first sighted. In Ibnî Âbidîn’s discussion of the qibla and in the
books Ashî’at-ul-lama’ât and Ni’mat-i islâm, the authors (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ
’alaihim ajma’în) note that starting to fast by means of a calendar and
calculation before seeing the new crescent is not permissible. It is
wâjib-i-kifâya for every Muslim to look for the new crescent on the thirtieth
of the month of Sha’bân after the sunset and to go to the Qâdi and inform him
as soon as he sees the new moon.
[Islamic knowledge consists of two parts: religious knowledge (’Ulűm-i-dîniyya) and scientific knowledge (’Ulűm-i-hikamiyya). The source of religious knowledge is adilla-i shar’iyya-i erbaa. This knowledge has been handed down in its complete and perfect form from the original source. It is beyond the capacity and scope of human intelligence. Calculation and other rational theories are not valid in this respect. That is to say, this
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[1] It goes without saying that they should not be times during which Islam prohibits fasting.
transferred knowledge cannot be refuted or
changed through one’s mind or by calculation. Those who try to change this
information through mental exercises are called philosophers. Philosophy has no
place in religious knowledge. ’Ulűm-i hikamiyya means scientific knowledge. The
basis of scientific knowledge is calculation and experimentation. Rasűlullah
(sallallâhu alaihi wa sallam) advised us not to try to change religious
knowledge through calculation and experiment; on the other hand, he advised us
to use calculation and experimentation in scientific research and to learn
science from all sorts of sources, even if they are disbelievers.]
Scholars of the four Madhhabs unanimously said that fasting starts at
the beginning of whiteness at one point of the horizon, which is called fajr-i
sâdiq. It is said in the book Multaqâ,
“Fasting is not to eat, drink or have sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset.
It is fard to intend with the heart for the fast of Ramadân within the period
from the previous day’s sunset until the time of dahwa-i
kubrâ on the day when you will fast. So is the time of niyya for the
fast which is vowed for a certain day and for the supererogatory fast. It is
necessary to intend for each individual day. When intending to fast in Ramadân,
it is permissible also to intend to fast only or for the supererogatory fast
without mentioning the name Ramadân. The time of dahwa-i-kubrâ is the middle of
the duration of the fast, that is, of the Islamic daytime; hence, it is before
noon. The interval between these two times is equal to half the time interval
between the time of sunrise and the time of fajr, or imsâk, that is, as many
minutes as half the time called Hissa-i-fajr.
[Ba’sed on the time called Adhânî (or Azânî), Dahwa-i-kubrâ is Fajr+(24-Fajr)÷2=Fajr+12-Fajr÷2=12+Fajr÷2.
In other words, half the Fajr time from
For it
to be Ramadân, the new moon must be observed and seen in the sky immediately
after sunset on the twenty-ninth of Sha’bân or, if it cannot be seen, the
thirtieth day of Sha’bân must be completed. It is fasted until the time of the
noon prayer on the
thirtieth day of Sha’bân, and then the
fast is broken if the day is not announced to be Ramadân. It is makrűh tahrîmî
not to break it and to go on fasting. If one begins fasting without observing
the new moon indicating the beginning of Ramadân and then if the new moon is
observed (immediately after sunset) on the twenty-ninth day, which will mean
(that the following day is the beginning of the following month, Shawwâl, the
first day of which is at the same time the first day of) ’Iyd, qadâ for one day
is performed, (that is, one fasts one day again), after the ’Iyd, if the month
of Sha’bân is known to have begun upon the observation of the new moon
(immediately after sunset on the last day of Rajab, the Arabic month previous
to Sha’bân). On the other hand, it is written in (the celebrated books) Hindiyya and Qâdihân
that, if the month of Sha’bân is not known to have begun upon the observation
of the new moon, one makes qadâ for two days, (that is, one fasts for two days
with the intention of qadâ as if one missed two days of fasting during the past
month of Ramadân). In cloudy weather when a just Muslim woman or man says she
or he has seen the new moon, and in clear weather when a lot of people say that
they have seen it, the Qâdî, that is, the judge who executes the Sharî’a,
announces that it is Ramadân. At places without a Qâdî, Ramadân begins when a
just person says he has seen the new moon. It is determined to be the ’Iyd when
two just persons say they have seen (the new moon).
Just means (one) who does not commit grave sins and who has not made
it a habit to commit venial sins. [It is a grave sin to give up namâz (salât).
See chapter
[It is written in the hundred and thirty-ninth page of Hadîqa, “Holders of bid’at, that is, all the
seventy-two groups who have deviated from the Ahl-as-sunna, are not just, even
though they are Ahl-i-qibla and do all
kinds of worship. For they have either become mulhids and lost their îmân, or
they are holders of bid’at and they vituperate the (true Muslims who are
called) the Ahl as-sunna(t), which is a grave sin, too.” The book Durrulmukhtâr, in advising us on how to be a
witness and how to give our testimony, says, “To speak ill of any Muslim is a
sin. It destroys the justice. Such a testimony is not to be accepted.”
Therefore, when determining the times for Ramadân, ’Iyd, hajj, iftâr, and
namâz,
or when seeking any religious knowledge
one should not accept the testimony of the lâ-madhhabîs.]
When
the new moon is seen in a city on the thirtieth night of Sha’bân, it is
necessary to begin the fast all over the world. The new moon seen during the
day is the new moon of the following night.
[Also, a Muslim who goes to one of the poles or to the moon must fast
there during the day if he does not intend to be safarî[1] . On days longer than twenty-four hours he begins
the fast by time and breaks it by time. He adapts himself to the time followed
by the Muslims in a city where the days are not so long. If he does not fast he
makes qadâ of it when he goes to a city where the days are not long.] The first
day of Ramadân (determined and thereby the fast is) started upon seeing the new
moon can be a day after that which is estimated by calculation. But it cannot
be the day before. The case is the same with the day of ’Arafa, during which we stay for the waqfa at
’Arafât[2] . It is said on the 283rd page of the
book, Bahr, “If a captive who is in a
disbelievers’ country does not know the correct time of Ramadân, he makes an
enquiry and fasts for a month whenever he guesses it is the month of Ramadân.
Later on, when he is informed about the correct time, he will make qadâ of the
days he fasted before Ramadân. If he started his fast after the correct day,
yet made his intention before sunrise (every day he fasted), all the days he
fasted are counted as qadâ. If a day he fasted coincided with the first day of
Iyd-i Fitr, he will make an additional qadâ for that day.” In those places where
the Ramadân or ’Iyd are started by relying upon calendars instead of by
watching for the new moon in the sky, the fasting and ’Iyd may have started a
day before or after the correct time. Even if the fast’s first and last days
coincided with the correct time of Ramadân, it would be questionable whether
they were Ramadân days or not. Ibni Âbidîn
’rahmat-ullâhi aleyh’ says in the chapter discussing Ramadân, “Fasting is
tahrîmâ makrűh on days that are not known for certain that they are the correct
days of Ramadân. It is not an excuse to be unaware of worships in an Islamic
country.” Therefore, in places where Ramadân starts by relying upon a calendar
or in those countries which are led by lâ-madhhabîs, it will be necessary to
fast two additional days of
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[1] See the fifteenth chapter in the fourth fascicle of Endless Bliss for safarî.
[2] These will be explained in the subject of Hajj.
qadâ.
It is written in the book Majmuâ-i Zuhdiyya,
“A person who sees the new moon of the month of Shawwâl cannot break his fast.
In cloudy weather, it is necessary for two men or one man and two women to give
the testimony of having seen the new moon of Shawwâl. If the sky is clear, it
is necessary for many people to witness the moons of Ramadân and Shawwâl.” It
is stated in Qâdihân, “If the new moon
sets after sunset, it belongs to the second night (of the new month); if it
sets before sunset it belongs to the first night.
In
order to get ready for the fast of Ramadân-i-sherîf, it is necessary to stop
fasting by the fifteenth of Sha’bân and to strengthen the body by eating strong
and delicious food, and thus to prepare it to do the fard. Workers, soldiers and
students who have the habit of performing the fasts of sunna after the
fifteenth of Sha’bân must perform them in their leisure time after Ramadân. It
is also sunna to postpone the sunna in order to do the fard.
It is sunna to make haste for the iftâr and to have the sahűr late
providing that it is before the fajr dawns. Rasűlullah (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam) was very solicitous about these two sunnats. It is written in Durer: “The meal eaten at the time of seher is
called sahűr. The time of seher is the final one-sixth of the night, [i.e., (of
the time) from shar’î sunset to the time of imsâk.]” It has been made a sunna
to make haste for the iftâr and to have the sahűr late perhaps because it shows
that man is weak and needy. As a matter of fact, worships are intended for
showing weakness and need.
It is said in the book Riyâd-un-nasihîn,
“An âyat-i-kerîma in the Baqara sűra purports: ‘Eat
and drink until you are able to distinguish a white thread from a black
thread.’ Later, the word fajrin
was added to indicate that these threads represent the daylight and the
darkness of night. It was realized that fasting begins when the whiteness of
the day can be distinguished from the blackness of the night like threads.” It
is said in the books Majmâ-ul Anhur and Hindiyya: “According to the majority of Hanafî
savants, when the whiteness appears on any place on the horizon, imsâk time
begins and fasting should begin. [Six to ten] minutes after imsâk time, when the whiteness has spread over
the horizon like a thread, the time of morning prayer starts. It would be
prudent to act accordingly. [That is, it would be better and more cautious].
The fasting and prayer of anyone who follows this policy will be valid
according to all the savants. Yet if he starts
fasting after the secondly-stated imsâk
time, (i.e. six to ten minutes later,) it will be questionable. Imsâk time can
be determined by astronomic calculation and written in calendars. But nowadays,
in some calendars, the second time (10 minutes after imsâk time) or even the
time when the redness of the sun is spread over the horizon, is being written
as the beginning of the fast. If anyone follows these new calendars, their fast
will be incorrect and invalid. Or, at best, the validity of his fasting will be
questionable. The difference between these two times (the beginning of the fast
and morning prayer) is about 10 minutes and is called “Precaution time.” It is not correct to describe
that time as “tamkîn.” The author of the book, Bahr-ur-râiq
informs us that it would be makrűh to delay the fasting time until the
questionable time. Above all, the fastings that begin after the appearance of
redness will not be valid at all. The first calendar in the Ottomon State was
written in 987 [1528 A.D.].
Shernblâlî (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’aleyh), wrote in the book Nűr-ul-îdhâh. “It is mustahab to have the iftâr
early on cloudless nights.” While explaining the book, he wrote, “On cloudy
nights one must be careful in order to protect one’s fast from being broken,
[that is, one must delay the iftâr a little]. One who eats the iftâr before the
stars are seen has done it early enough.” Tahtâwî says in his explanation of
the book, “It is mustahab to break fast before performing the evening prayer.
As written in the book Bahr [and also in
Ibnî Âbidîn], to make haste for the
iftâr means to have the iftâr before the stars are seen.” Also it is mustahab
to perform the evening prayer at that time, that is, to perform it early. When
it is well understood that the sun has set, first the iftâr is eaten with
dates, water, olives or salt. That is, the fast is broken. Then the evening
prayer is performed in jamâ’at in a mosque or at home. Then the supper is had.
Because it will take a long time to eat the food at the table, especially
during Ramadân, the iftâr must be made with a little food and the supper must
be had after the evening prayer so that the evening prayer will be performed
early and the meal will be eaten with ease and without haste. Thus, the fast
will be broken early and the prayer will be performed early.
Where
the terrain is level, such as seas and plains, or at any point where there is
no barrier such as hills and buildings on the visible horizon, the sunset
occurs when the sun’s upper edge disappears below the visible horizon [not true
horizon]. At that time the sun will still illuminate the hills on the eastern
side. For
someone who is not able to see the sunset
on the visible horizon line, the sunset time is shar’î sunset, which is the
sun’s disappearance below the shar’î horizon, at which time the sun no longer
illuminates the mountains and clouds on the east side. Its light decreases and
the east side gets darker. On hilly or mountainous terrain, it is not
sufficient for the sun to disappear behind the hills and buildings, but it is
also necessary for the light to go dim everywhere, and for a darkening of the
sky on the east side to occur. On calendars where the times of shar’î sunset
are written, it is necessary for those who cannot see the visible horizon to
perform iftâr in accordance with the calendar. Ibni
Âbidîn, while discussing the mustahabs of fasting, says that,
“People living in low areas should have iftâr when they see the sunset. Those
who live in higher elevations cannot have the iftâr at the same time with them
unless they see the sunset themselves.” He informs us that the hadîth-i-sherîf “Iftâr is
started when the night starts from there,” which he quotes during
the course of his expatiation on fast, means to have the iftâr when it starts
to get dark on the east side. [The beginning of the dark means the disappearing
of light even in the highest areas.]
It is
mustahab to have the iftâr before performing the evening prayer. However, the
mustahab must be done without in order to save a worship from the danger of
coming to naught. One should first perform the evening prayer and then have the
iftâr. Thus, the iftâr will still be had before the stars are seen. That is,
one will have made haste and one’s fast will escape the danger of becoming null
and void. It is possible to perform the maghrîb salât again before its time is
over. The mistake’s being on the part of the calendar, clock, candle, gun or
adhân does not save one’s fast from being ruined.
Ibni Âbidîn says in the section about prayer times,
“Starting the iftâr requires two just Muslims’ reporting that the sun has set.
Even one Muslim will do.” [As seen above, the person who prepares the calendar,
the person who fires the iftâr cannon and the person who calls the adhan should
all be dependable people].
WHAT BREAKS THE FAST - In the month of Ramadân, while one knows
that one is fasting and while one has intended before the dawning of the
previous fajr for the fast, eating or drinking something alimentary, that is,
putting some nutritious, medicinal, narcotic or intoxicant substance into the
stomach through the mouth, or having or being made to have sexual
intercourse breaks the fast and
necessitates qadâ and kaffârat[1] .
According to this definition, smoking breaks the fast and necessitates both
qadâ and kaffârat. For, the solid and liquid motes in the smoke go into the
stomach together with the saliva. After such things as cupping and backbiting,
which are certainly known not to break the fast, if one eats something
consciously because one thinks that one’s fast has already been broken, one’s
fast will be broken this time and qadâ and kaffârat will be necessary. If a
person who has made his niyya after the dawn in Ramadân does something to break
his fast before dahwa, both qadâ and kaffârat are necessary according to the
two imâms. For he misses the opportunity to fast while it is present. But
according to Imâm-i-a’zam only qadâ is necessary. If one eats and drinks after
the dahwa time, kaffârat is not necessary according to all three imâms. The
penalty of kaffârat is the recompense for desecrating the honour and dignity of
the blessed month of Ramadân. It is the punishment for intentionally breaking
the fast of Ramadân which is sahîh according to all four Madhâhib. For this
reason, it being a condition to make the niyya before dawn in Shafi’î Madhhab,
if a person in Hanafî Madhhab purposely breaks during the day the fast for
which he did not make niyya before dawn, or if he is forced to break it or has
to break it because of a good excuse (though he may have made niyya before
dawn), he does not make kaffârat. When one breaks one’s fast of qadâ or vowed
fast or supererogatory fast, one does not make kaffârat. If a person who did
something which necessitates only qadâ on one day of Ramadân does the same thing
purposely on another day, it is necessary for him to make kaffârat, too.
If one breaks it by mistake, for example, if some water escapes down one’s throat while making ablution, if one is forced to break it, if one administers an enema, if one sniffs up fluid medicine, lotion, smoke, [the smoke of a cigarette smoked by someone else], or the smoke of aloes wood fumigated with amber, into one’s nose or drops medicine into one’s ear, if the medicine put on the boil on one’s skin penetrates in, [if one injects medicine by syringe], if one swallows something not medicinal or nutritious, such as a piece of paper, stone or metal, if one vomits a mouthful by forcing oneself to, if one with a bleeding tooth swallows only the blood or the blood which is fifty per cent mixed with saliva, if one eats not knowing that the dawn has broken or breaks the fast
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[1] Kaffârat for the fast will be explained a few pages ahead.
thinking that the sun has set, if one goes
on eating thinking that one’s fast is broken because one has forgotten one’s
fast and begun eating, if they pour water into one’s mouth or have sexual
intercourse with one while one is asleep, if one fasts without intending or
does not intend before dawn in Ramadân and then gives up the fast after dahwa
though one intended after the dawn; the fast is broken in any of these cases
and it is necessary to make only a day-for-day qadâ after the ’Iyd. Yet
kaffârat is not necessary. If rain or snow goes down one’s throat it breaks
both the fast and the namâz. It is necessary to make qadâ. If one becomes junub
by embracing, hugging and kissing, one’s fast breaks and qadâ becomes
necessary. But it does not break if one does not become junub. It is said by
the authors (rahmatullâhi ’alaihim ajma’în) of the books Hindiyya, Bahr and Durr-ul-Mukhtâr
that only qadâ is necessary when one becomes junub by manual masturbation. If
one swallows something that has remained between one’s teeth from the previous
night, it breaks the fast if it is bigger than a chick-pea and qadâ becomes
necessary. But it does not break the fast if it is smaller than a chick-pea. If
a person who has forgotten his fast and eaten something eats or drinks
something again after remembering that he is fasting though he knows that
forgetting and eating will not break his fast, his fast breaks and it becomes
necessary to make both qadâ and kaffârat.
It is written in Multaqa and in
all other books that, “If the medicine put on a boil on one’s head or body
penetrates into one’s brain or alimentary canal, one’s fast breaks and only
qadâ becomes necessary.” It is written in the explanation of Multaqa, “Imâm-i-a’zam says that a fast breaks
when food penetrates through the boil. But the two imâms say that it does not
break because the fast breaks only when food goes in through the natural holes
of one’s body.” Tahtâwî explains this very well in his explanation of Marâqilfalâh. He says, “If it is known that the
liquid or solid medicine put on the boil on one’s head or body has penetrated
into one’s brain or alimentary canal, one’s fast breaks. If it is not known
well that it has penetrated in, if the medicine is liquid one’s fast breaks
according to Imâm-i-a’zam. But the two imâms said that it does not break if it
is not known for certain
that the medicine has penetrated in. All
three imâms agreed that the fast does not break if the medicine which is not
known for certain to have penetrated in is solid.” Hence it is understood that
all three imâms said that the fast breaks when it is known for certain that the
medicine has penetrated in, whether it is liquid or solid. This comes to mean
that any inoculation or medical injection done with a syringe under the skin or
in the muscles of one’s arms, legs or any other part breaks the fast.
WHAT DOES NOT BREAK THE FAST - In Ramadân-i-sherîf or while fasting for
qadâ or kaffârat or while performing vowed or supererogatory fast, if one
forgets that one is fasting and eats, drinks or has sexual intercourse, or has
a nocturnal emission while asleep or emits semen involuntarily by looking [at
something sexy] while awake, if one applies tincture of iodine or some ointment
or kohl [even if their tint or smell is noticed in one’s saliva or urine], or
if one kisses lustfully, backbites, applies cupping, vomits a mouthful
involuntarily or vomits a little voluntarily, or if water goes into one’s ear
or dust, smoke or a fly goes into one’s throat through one’s mouth or nose
involuntarily, [or if one is given artificial air with an oxygen tube, or if
one cannot prevent the smoke of others’ cigarettes from going into one’s mouth
and nose], or if after rinsing one’s mouth one swallows the wetness remaining
in one’s mouth together with one’s saliva, or if one puts some medicine in
one’s eye or tooth cavity even if one feels its taste in one’s throat; the fast
does not break in any of these cases.
[The author of the book Bahr-ur râiq,
(rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’aleyh) says, “In some cases the mouth is thought of as an
internal part of the body. Hence, if a fasting person swallows his saliva, his
fast will not break. It is like something dirty inside the body passing from
stomach to intestines. Bleeding from an injury in the mouth, from taking a
tooth out, or at the point where an injection was made, or blood coming from
the stomach to the mouth doesn’t break a fast or an ablution. When one spits
out or swallows this blood, if the saliva is greater than the blood, that is,
if it is yellow in colour, they are still not broken. It is the same when other
things come to the mouth from the stomach, in which case neither the ablution
nor the fast is broken. If a mouthful (comes to the mouth and) goes out of the
mouth, both are broken. The inside of the mouth is sometimes considered to be
an outer part of the body. The fast is not broken when water is taken into the
mounth.” The same is noted in Jawhara,
too. Hence, it is seen that, when a tooth is extracted, if there is much
bleeding, the fast is not broken when one spits it out. When one is not
fasting, one’s ablution is not broken when one swallows it. Neither of the two
is broken if the blood is less than the amount of saliva.
It is stated in Fatâwâ-yi-Hindiyya:
“Administering clyster (enema) or dropping medicine into the ear-hole will
break one’s fast, yet it will not necessitate kaffârat. Injecting water or oil
into the penis will not break one’s fast even if the liquid reaches the
bladder. However, liquid injected into the female pudendum will break a woman’s
fast. Inserting one’s wet or ointed finger into one’s rectum or vagina will
break one’s fast. Dry cotton (inserted into the rectum or vagina) will not break
it. Water which one inadvertently lets go into one’s rectum when cleaning
oneself after defecation will break one’s fast.”]
Such acts as tasting the food (while preparing it) without swallowing
it, chewing gum-mastic, hugging and kissing despite the danger of losing one’s
canonical cleanness, having a bath for refreshment will not break one’s fast,
yet they are tanzîhî makrűh[1] .
Using kohl (for one’s eyes) or cosmetics for one’s moustache, smelling flowers,
musks or lotions will not break one’s fast; nor are they makrűh. When intended
for ornamentation, things such as kohl (on the eyes) and cosmetics (on one’s
moustache) and flowers attached to the collar or carried in one’s hand are
makrűh. Smelling dusty or smoky things or chewing artificial gums will break
one’s fast. Using (the stick tooth-brush called) miswâk or cupping or bleeding
are not makrűh.
It is mustahab to have the sahűr late and to make haste for the iftâr. Ibni Âbidîn says, “This is intended not to delay
the iftâr until the stars are seen. In cloudy weather, even if the adhân is
called and the gun is fired, one should not break fast until one is certain
that the sun has set.” It is commanded in the 187th âyat of the Sűra Baqara
that fasting starts as true dawn breaks. This is a command of Allah and cannot
be changed.
An ill person does not fast if his illness will become worse; a pregnant woman, a woman with a suckling and a soldier in war does not fast when they are weak. They make qadâ of fast when they get well. A worker who knows that he will become ill while
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[1] Acts which our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ disliked, abstained from or dissuaded from are called makrűh. These acts are not clearly prohibited in Qur’ân al-kerîm. However, The Messenger of Allah avoided some of them more strictly than he did the others. The scholars of Ahl as-sunna — may Allâhu ta’âlâ reward those great people plentifully — separated these acts from the others and termed them ‘tahrîmî’ on account of the danger that these acts may be harâm. And they termed the other acts of makrűh ‘tanzîhî’.
working to make his living is not
permitted to break his fast before getting ill. A person who sets out with the
intention of going three-days’ way [104 kilometres], becomes a musâfir. The
musâfir may break his fast the following day, and makes qadâ after Ramadân, yet
he had better fast if it will not harm him. No need of kaffârat for breaking
the fast while travelling or in places where one intends to stay less than
fifteen days. When his journey is over and he comes back home or when he
decides to stay for fifteen days in the place he has gone to, he makes qadâ of
the days he did not fast. Those who are not ill and those who are not musâfirs
must fast even if they are workers, soldiers or students. Its sin will be grave
if they do not fast. And they will have to make qadâ for it. If they break the
fast although they have made niyya, they will have to make kaffârat, too. The
author of Behjet-ul-fatâwâ,
(rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ aleyh) says, “When Ramadân-i-sherîf coincides with one of
the summer months a liar may masquerade as a man of religion and hinder
youngsters, students, and workers from fasting by saying, ’It is permissible
for you not to make the niyya and not to fast now; you may make qadâ when the
days are shorter during winter. If you eat and drink by not intending for the
fast in Ramadân, kaffârat is not necessary.’ He will be punished severely. He
will be prevented from saying so.”
Ibni Âbidîn says, “If an ill person is seriously
worried that his illness may become worse, or that his recovering may be slowed
or he may have a severe pain, or if a hospital attendant fears that he himself
may become ill (in case he fasts) and (as a result) his patients may all die,
these people do not fast and make qadâ later. If a healthy person strongly
believes that he would become ill, or a public servant who performs manual
labor in adverse conditions, i.e. cleaning the river, worries about becoming
seriously ill due to the effect of very cold or hot weather, or if a woman [who
works to support herself and who lives alone and gets no financial support from
anywhere] strongly believes that she would become ill if she fasted while
performing strenuous physical labor, such as a laundry washer or housemaid, it
is permissible not to fast or break the fast intended and make qadâ for it. A
strong belief means to notice the symptoms of death based on one’s own personal
experience or the information given by a Muslim expert physician (Tabîb-i
Muslim-i hâziq). Expert (hâziq) means specialist in a certain field of illness.
It is permissible to be examined and treated by a physician who is known as a
kâfir (disbeliever) or fâsiq (one who
commits sins),
but worships cannot be given up with their
advice. If one breaks one’s fast by relying upon their advice, then kaffârat
will be necessary. The author says under the topic of Ikrâh (duress) that to
lose an organ or limb, or to lose one’s entire property, or to suffer a violent
or torturous imprisonment or beating may result in death.” It is written in the
book Imâd-ul Islâm “If one cannot find a
Muslim expert physician and has no experience oneself one should first swallow
a small piece of paper or swallow a grain of rice without any water, then eat
some food, and then take the medicine. This procedure will free one from
kaffârat.” In the book Bahrurrâiq is
written, “Anyone who is bitten by a venomous animal, breaks the fast in order
to take an antidote and after Ramadân makes qadâ.” Ibnî Âbidin says at the end
of his discourse on the acts that annul fast, “Anyone who needs a means of
subsistence and believes that he will possibly become ill if he works, breaks
the fast. If he is an employee on a contractual basis and his employer does not
grant him a leave of absence during the month of Ramadân, and if he and his
family have the means of subsistence, he does not break the fast. For, begging
is harâm for such a person. If he does not own his and his family’s means of
subsistence, it is necessary to find an easier job. If he cannot find an easier
job, it is permissible to break the fast and continue to work. Likewise, if the
Ramadân fasting harms someone who mows the crop, i.e. if he will not be able to
mow the crop and the crop will be destroyed or stolen because of fasting, [or
it is certain that the building will be destroyed by rain if the construction
cannot be finished on time], if it is impossible to find someone to work for
pay, it is permissible to break the fast and do the work. After finishing the
work he fasts and makes qadâ, after Ramadân, of the days (he did not fast). It
will not be a sin. Anyone who will certainly become ill or die from thirst (in
case he goes on fasting) may break the fast, and makes qadâ. In this case he
does not make kaffârat.
QADÂ FOR THE FAST - It means to fast one day for one day,
which can be performed on different days as well as on successive days. If
another Ramadân intervenes while one is fasting intermittently, one fasts for
the Ramadân first. A person who is so old that he will not be able to perform
the fast of Ramadân or his fasts of qadâ till his death, and an ill person
whose recovery is beyond hope, must eat secretly. If he is rich, for each day
he gives one fitra, that is, five hundred and twenty dirhams [seventeen hundred
and fifty grams] of wheat or flour or
its equivalent in gold or silver money to
one or more poor people. The total amount may also be given to one poor person
all at once at the beginning or end of Ramadân. If he recovers after giving the
fidya he performs his fasts of Ramadân as well as his fasts of qadâ. If he dies
without giving the fidya, he wills (before dying) for isqât. If he is poor, he
does not give the fidya. He prays. If an old or ill person of this kind cannot
fast in hot or cold season, he makes qadâ in any season suitable for him. A
person who cannot perform the salât standing as he fasts, fasts and performs
the salât sitting. If a person breaks the fast or if a child becomes pubert or
if a disbeliever becomes a Muslim or if a musâfir comes back to the city where
his home is or if a woman becomes pure (of menstruation); they must abstain
(from eating, etc.) as if they were fasting. The musâfir and the woman make
qadâ of that day later.
KAFFÂRAT FOR THE (BROKEN) FAST - A slave is manumited for the kaffârat of
a fast. He who cannot manumit a slave fasts successively for sixty days. After
sixty days, he makes qadâ for each day which he did not fast.
A
person who has debts of kaffârat for several past Ramadâns or who has had two
days each requiring a kaffârat for the same Ramadân makes only one kaffârat for
both if he has not made kaffârat for the first one. But if he has made the
first kaffârat he makes the second one, too.
If the fast of kaffârat is broken for excusable reasons such as illness
and travel or because it is intervened by days of ’Iyd or by Ramadân, it is
necessary to fast for sixty days anew. If one does not break it on days of
’Iyd, one still has to begin anew. If a woman breaks it because of menstruation
or lochia, she does not begin it anew. She completes it to sixty when she
becomes pure. Yet if one of the same reasons, (i.e. menstruation or lochia),
interrupts a woman’s fast of kaffârat for a (broken) oath, which consists of
fasting for three successive days, she has to fast for three successive days
anew. One must begin one’s fast of kaffârat at such a time that it should not
coincide with Ramadân or with any ’Iyd. If one begins one’s fast of kaffârat on
the first day of Rajab and if the sixty days are not completed by the last day
of Sha’bân, one intends for going on a journey of three days’ distance and
leaves one’s town. One intends for the fast of kaffârat on the first day of
Ramadân [Eshbah]. For it is not fard for
a musâfir to perform the fast of Ramadân; he is permitted to
If a person is continuously ill or too old to fast for sixty days, he
feeds sixty poor people one day. (To do this) it is necessary to give two
complete meals to sixty hungry poor people in one day. It is not necessary for
all of them to eat on the same day. It is also permissible to give two complete
meals per day to one poor person for sixty days, or one complete meal per day
for one hundred and twenty days. Or, he gives possession of half a sâ’ [one
thousand seven hundred and fifty grams] of wheat or flour, or one sâ’ of
barley, raisins, or dates to each one of the sixty poor people. It is also
permissible to give the equivalent of the same in bread or other property or
gold or silver to each of the sixty poor people, or to give the same amount to
one poor person for sixty sucessive days. It is written in Badâyi’ that also fulűs (paper money) may be
given to the poor to feed himself instead of meals. If he gives the sixty days’
food altogether to one poor person in one day, he will have given that of one
day. If he feeds a hundred and twenty poor people once, he will have to feed
half of them once more. If he feeds sixty poor people in the morning and sixty
other poor people in the evening, he will have to feed those whom he has fed in
the morning once more in the evening or those whom he has fed in the evening
once more in the morning. Or he gives the material equivalent of one sadaqa
fitr to each one of the sixty poor. If he gives twice the amount [one sâ’] of
wheat to each of the sixty poor people for two kaffârats, he will have paid one
kaffârat. It is not permissible for one who can buy a slave to fast (instead of
buying the slave) and for one who can fast to feed the poor (instead of
fasting). If the ill or old person is poor, he feeds the poor when he becomes
rich. It is necessary to make a niyyat (intend formally) for kaffârat.
People
who have an excuse must eat secretly on the days when they cannot fast. Those
who purposely do not observe the fast and eat in the presence of Muslims at
public places and those who mislead fasting people and prevent their fast lose
their îmân. It is sinful to run places for eating and drinking, such as
restaurants, cafeterias, casinos and buffets during the days of Ramadân. What
they earn from those who do not observe the fast is halâl, but abominable and
harmful. They must be opened after the iftâr.