SAEDNEWS: Fasting means refraining from the things God has forbidden, from dawn until sunset, in obedience to His command. Through this act of worship, believers seek to draw closer and closer to God.
According to Saednews, Fasting, or Sawm, in Islam means that a person abstains throughout the day—from the call to prayer at dawn until the call to prayer at sunset—from things that invalidate the fast, such as eating and drinking, with the intention of obeying the command of God.
Fasting is one of the religious practices of Islam. It is observed for several purposes, including drawing closer to Almighty God, preparing for religious observances, expiating violations of religious laws, and purifying the body in preparation for spiritual awareness.
One of the most important benefits of fasting is that it encourages a person to create physical and psychological conditions characterized by self-discipline and asceticism. This can serve as a means of establishing a stronger relationship between a person and God. By giving greater importance to spiritual needs, fasting can help reduce attachment to material desires.
Among the important values of fasting are strengthening willpower and self-control, as well as developing compassion toward people in need.
Fasting is one of the pillars of Islam, and fasting during the month of Ramadan is obligatory for Muslims who are sane, mature, and physically capable of fasting. The strong belief that Ramadan provides an opportunity for spiritual purification and the forgiveness of sins has led Muslims to observe the rules of fasting with great care.
1. Meaning of Fasting
According to Islamic law, fasting means that a person refrains throughout the entire day—from true dawn until sunset—from eating, drinking, and other things that will be explained in detail, with the intention of obeying the command of God.
(Questions submitted to the Office of the Religious Authority, Fasting, Rule 1)
There is no difference between moonlit and non-moonlit nights regarding the time of true dawn, which is the time when abstention for fasting becomes obligatory.
Believers are advised, as a precaution, to begin abstaining from food and drink at the same time as the morning call to prayer is broadcast through the media.
If a fasting person is certain that the call to prayer began after the legally prescribed time had entered, it is permissible for them to break their fast as soon as the call begins; there is no need to wait until the call to prayer has finished.
The legally recognized time for beginning the fast is true dawn (Fajr al-Sadiq), not false dawn. Determining when true dawn occurs is the responsibility of the individual.
2. Types of Fasting
From one perspective, fasting can be divided into four categories:
Obligatory fasting — such as fasting during the month of Ramadan.
Recommended fasting — such as fasting during the months of Rajab and Sha'ban.
Disliked fasting — such as fasting on the Day of Ashura.
Forbidden fasting — such as fasting on Eid al-Fitr (the first day of Shawwal) and Eid al-Adha (the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah).
(Islamic rulings, Questions 731, 751, 755, and 757; Questions submitted to the Office of the Religious Authority, Fasting, Rule 2)
If doctors advise a patient not to fast because fasting may be harmful, their advice is considered authoritative when it provides reasonable certainty or creates a genuine fear of harm. Otherwise, the doctor's opinion by itself is not necessarily decisive.
The criterion for determining whether fasting causes or worsens an illness, or whether a person is unable to fast, is the fasting person's own assessment of their condition. Therefore, if a doctor says that fasting is harmful but the person has learned through experience that it does not harm them, they should fast. Conversely, if a doctor says that fasting is not harmful but the person knows, based on their own experience, that fasting would harm them or reasonably fears harm, they should not fast.
A person for whom fasting is harmful, or who has a reasonable fear that fasting will cause harm, should not fast. If such a person nevertheless fasts, the fast is invalid and it is religiously forbidden for them to do so. This knowledge or fear may come from personal experience, the advice of a trustworthy physician, or another rational source.
If a person believed that fasting would not harm them and therefore fasted, but later discovered that fasting had been harmful, they must make up that fast.
If pregnant or breastfeeding women fear that fasting may harm themselves or their child, they must break their fast. They are also required to make up the missed fasts later.
3. Obligatory Fasts
The obligatory fasts include:
Fasting during the month of Ramadan.
Making up missed Ramadan fasts (Qada).
Fasting as expiation (Kaffarah).
Making up the missed fasts of one's father or mother, where applicable.
A recommended fast that becomes obligatory because of a vow, covenant, or oath.
Fasting on the third day of a period of I'tikaf.
Fasting in place of the sacrificial offering during Hajj al-Tamattu'. If a pilgrim is unable to provide the required sacrifice and cannot borrow the necessary funds, they must fast for ten days instead: three days during the pilgrimage and seven days after returning home.
4. Conditions That Make Fasting Obligatory
The conditions under which fasting becomes obligatory include:
Reaching religious maturity.
Being sane.
Having the physical ability to fast.
Being conscious and not unconscious.
Not being a traveler under the applicable rules of Islamic law.
Not being menstruating or experiencing post-childbirth bleeding.
Fasting not being harmful.
Fasting not causing excessive hardship.
Therefore, fasting is not obligatory for a child who has not reached religious maturity, a mentally incapacitated person, an unconscious person, someone who is physically unable to fast, a qualifying traveler, a menstruating woman, a woman experiencing post-childbirth bleeding, or someone for whom fasting would cause harm or excessive hardship.
A person should not break their fast merely because they feel physically weak. However, if the weakness becomes so severe that continuing the fast is extremely difficult, they may break the fast.
Likewise, if fasting would cause harm or there is a reasonable fear of harm, the person may refrain from fasting.
Therefore, girls who have reached religious maturity—which, according to the commonly held view, occurs upon completing nine lunar years—are required to fast. They may not abandon fasting merely because it is difficult or because they experience ordinary physical weakness. However, if fasting would cause them harm or continuing it would involve severe hardship, they may break their fast.
5. Conditions for a Valid Fast
For a fast to be valid, the following conditions generally apply:
Islam.
Faith.
Sanity.
Not being menstruating or experiencing post-childbirth bleeding.
Not having an obligatory fast that takes precedence, in the case of someone intending to perform a recommended fast.
Fasting not being harmful.
Avoiding all acts that invalidate the fast.
Being conscious.
Having the intention to fast.
A fast performed by a non-Muslim, a person who does not meet the required faith conditions, a mentally incapacitated person, an unconscious person, a qualifying traveler, a menstruating woman, or a woman experiencing post-childbirth bleeding is invalid. A fast that is harmful to the person is also invalid. Likewise, a fast is invalid if the person did not form the required intention or deliberately committed one of the acts that invalidate fasting.
A recommended fast is also not valid for a person who has an outstanding obligatory fast, according to these rulings.
6. Intention for Fasting
1. Meaning and Necessity of Intention
Like all other acts of worship, fasting must be accompanied by an intention (niyyah).
This means that a person abstains from eating, drinking, and other things that invalidate the fast because of God's command. Having this intention in one's heart is sufficient; it is not necessary to verbalize it.
2. When the Intention Must Be Made
Since fasting begins at true dawn, the intention should not be delayed beyond that time. It is preferable to make the intention before dawn arrives.
For a recommended fast, the intention may be made from the beginning of the night until a time before sunset when there is still enough time to form the intention, provided that no act invalidating the fast has already been committed.
For a specific obligatory fast, such as Ramadan, the intention is valid if made before dawn.
If a person deliberately fails to make the intention before dawn, an intention made before noon is not valid according to these rulings. If the failure resulted from forgetfulness or ignorance, the person should, as a precaution, make the intention and fast for the remainder of the day, and later make up that day's fast.
An intention made after noon is not sufficient.
For a non-specific obligatory fast, such as making up a missed Ramadan fast, the intention is valid if made before noon, provided that no act invalidating the fast has occurred. An intention made after noon is not valid.
A person performing a recommended fast may make the intention at any point during the day, provided that they have not committed an act that invalidates the fast before forming the intention.
If a person deliberately fails to make the intention to fast at the time of the morning call to prayer during Ramadan and later forms the intention during the day, the fast is invalid. Nevertheless, they must refrain from all acts that invalidate fasting until sunset and must make up the fast after Ramadan.
If a person fails to make the intention because of forgetfulness or ignorance and realizes this during the day, the ruling depends on whether they have already committed an act that invalidates fasting and on whether it is before or after noon.
If they had already committed an invalidating act, the fast is invalid, but they should refrain from such acts for the remainder of the day.
If they had not committed an invalidating act and realize the situation before noon, they should, as a precaution, form the intention, continue fasting, and later make up the day.
If they realize it after noon, the fast is considered invalid under these rulings.
For an obligatory fast outside Ramadan, such as a compensatory or expiatory fast, if the person has not formed the intention until close to noon, they may still form the intention and the fast is valid, provided they have not done anything that invalidates fasting.
A person who is required to make up missed Ramadan fasts may not perform a recommended fast instead. Even if they form the intention for a recommended fast after the time for intending an obligatory fast has passed, the recommended fast is not valid.
If they forget and begin a recommended fast, then remember during the day, the recommended fast becomes invalid. If they remember before noon, they may change the intention to making up a missed Ramadan fast, and the fast will be valid as Qada.
A person who has missed Ramadan fasts and performs a recommended fast does not have that fast automatically counted as a Qada fast.
If someone does not know whether they have an outstanding Qada fast, they may fast with the intention of performing whatever fast they are religiously required to perform—whether Qada or recommended. If it later becomes clear that they actually had an outstanding Qada fast, the fast counts as Qada.
If a sick person's condition improves during the day, they are not required to begin fasting at that point.
However, if they recover before noon and have not done anything that invalidates fasting, it is recommended as a precaution that they form the intention and continue fasting. They must nevertheless make up that day after Ramadan.
3. Continuity of the Intention
The intention to fast must continue throughout the day.
If a person decides during the day to stop fasting and no longer intends to continue, the fast becomes invalid. Forming the intention again later does not restore the validity of that fast.
If a person becomes undecided about whether to continue fasting but has not actually decided to break the fast, the recommended precaution is to complete the fast and later make it up.
If a person decides to perform an act that would invalidate the fast but has not yet actually done so, the recommended precaution is also to complete the fast and later make it up.
4. The Day of Doubt
The final day of Sha'ban, when a person does not know whether it is the last day of Sha'ban or the first day of Ramadan, is known as the Day of Doubt (Yawm al-Shakk).
If a person wishes to fast on this day, they may not make the intention specifically for Ramadan. Instead, they should intend a recommended fast or a Qada fast from an earlier obligation.
If it later becomes clear that the day was actually the first day of Ramadan, the fast counts as the Ramadan fast and does not need to be repeated.
If the person discovers during the day that it is Ramadan, they should immediately form the intention to fast for Ramadan.
These rules concerning the Day of Doubt apply to specific obligatory fasts such as Ramadan, specific vowed fasts, and similar cases. For recommended fasts and non-specific obligatory fasts, if a person decides to stop fasting but does not perform an act that invalidates the fast, they may renew their intention before noon—or, in the case of a recommended fast, before sunset—and the fast remains valid.
The acts that invalidate fasting are known as Mufattirat. They include:
Eating or drinking.
Deliberately vomiting.
Allowing thick dust to reach the throat, as a precaution.
Sexual intercourse.
Remaining in a state of Janabah, menstruation, or post-childbirth bleeding until the morning call to prayer.
Deliberately attributing a false statement to God, the Prophets, or the Infallible Imams, as a precaution.
Deliberately submerging the entire head in water, as a precaution.
Administering a liquid enema.
Masturbation.
If a fasting person deliberately and voluntarily performs an act that invalidates the fast, the fast becomes invalid.
However, if an act occurs unintentionally—for example, if the person accidentally falls into water, eats or drinks because they forgot they were fasting, or something is forcibly poured into their throat—the fast is not invalidated.
This principle applies regardless of the type of fast, whether it is obligatory, recommended, a Ramadan fast, or another type.
If a fasting person is uncertain whether they have committed an act that invalidates the fast—for example, whether they swallowed water that they had put into their mouth, or whether thick dust that entered their mouth was swallowed—the fast remains valid.
If another person forces a fasting person to commit an invalidating act—for example, threatening serious financial or physical harm unless the person eats—the fast becomes invalid.
If a fasting person unintentionally commits an act that invalidates fasting and then, mistakenly believing that their fast has already become invalid, deliberately commits the same or another invalidating act, the fast becomes invalid.
Expiation for Deliberately Breaking a Ramadan Fast
If a fasting person deliberately, voluntarily, and without a valid religious excuse commits an act that invalidates the fast during Ramadan, the fast becomes invalid and they must make it up. In addition, Kaffarah (expiation) becomes obligatory, regardless of whether they knew beforehand that Kaffarah would be required.
If a person commits an act that invalidates fasting because they were unaware of the relevant religious ruling—for example, they did not know that submerging their head in water invalidates the fast—the fast becomes invalid and they must make it up, but Kaffarah is not required.
If a person has an excuse that makes them believe fasting may not be obligatory and therefore does not fast, but later discovers that fasting was in fact obligatory, they must both make up the fast and pay Kaffarah.
Simply suspecting that Ramadan fasting may not be obligatory is not sufficient justification for breaking the fast.
However, if the person broke the fast because of a reasonable fear of harm, Kaffarah is not required, although the missed fast must still be made up.
If a person has a legitimate reason that makes breaking the fast permissible or obligatory—for example, if they are forced to commit an act that invalidates fasting, or if they must enter water to save a drowning person—Kaffarah is not required. However, they must make up the missed fast.
If a fasting person has sexual intercourse with their spouse during Ramadan and the spouse is also fasting and willingly consents, the ruling of deliberately breaking the fast applies to both.
Both spouses must make up the fast and both must pay Kaffarah.
If a fasting person breaks their fast based on the statement of someone who says that sunset has occurred, while the fasting person has no reason to rely on that person's statement, and later discovers that sunset had not actually occurred, they must make up the fast and pay Kaffarah.
If something from inside the fasting person's body returns to their mouth, they must not deliberately swallow it again.
If they deliberately swallow it, both Qada and Kaffarah become obligatory.
Amount and Forms of Kaffarah
For deliberately breaking a Ramadan fast, Islamic law specifies one of the following three forms of expiation:
Feeding sixty poor people.
Fasting for two months (sixty days).
Freeing a slave.
These rulings are based on the cited Islamic legal responses and guidance referenced in the original text.
