What does fasting mean? Explain the benefits of fasting. For whom is fasting a fardh? Memorize the dua of iftar. When and how is the niyyah for fasting performed? How many types of fasting are there? What are the excuses allowing a person not to fast during Ramadan? What does fidya mean, who is required to pay the fidya? What does qada and expiation mean? What are the things that invalidate the fast and require one to perform both qada and expiation? What are the things that invalidate the fast but only require qada?
Topics:
- The importance and benefits of fasting
- For whom is Ramadan fasting a fardh?
- The virtues of suhur, iftar and iftar dua
- When and how is the niyyah stated for fasting?
- The types of fasting
- Excuses allowing a personnot to fast during Ramadan and fidya
- Rulings for not fasting during Ramadan without an excuse
- Things that require qada and penance for invalidating the fast
- Things that do not invalidate fasting
- Things that are makruh for people who are fasting
- Things that are not makruh for people who are fasting
THE IMPORTANCE OF FASTING
The third of the five conditions of Islam is to fast during the month of Ramadan.
The Ramadan fast became fardh in the second year of the Hijrah.
Fasting starts from the beginning of dawn until sunset during which one cannot eat, drink or engage in any kind of sexual relations.
Some years, the month of Ramadan lasts 29 days, and some years it lasts 30 days. The fasting is complete even when Ramadan lasts 29 days. Because, what is fardh is to fast the whole month. Our Prophet observed nine Ramadans in his life. Of these, four were 29 days and five were 30 days.
The month of Ramadan is a blessed month and is holy for Muslims. The religion of Islam was sent down in this month, and our supreme book, the holy Qur’an, enlightening the world, began to be revealed during this month. The night of Qadr, which is more auspicious than a thousand months, is within this month. The fasting that cleanses our soul and body is performed during this month.
Allah the Almighty commands: “O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you. Maybe you will avoid and abstain.” [60]
Fasting is a type of worship that prevents us from committing sins in this world, protects us from the hellfire in the Hereafter and is a means for our sins to be forgiven. Our beloved Prophet gives the following good news: “Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith expecting reward from Allah, Allah forgives all his past sins.” [61]
THE BENEFITS OF FASTING
- a) Fasting improves our morality:
Fasting always reminds us of Allah and strenghtens the feelings of responsibility. It cleanses our hearts from negative feelings and protects us from doing evil to the people. By providing us with the best moral codes, fasting can turn us into exceptional people. Fasting protects the eyes from looking at what is haram, the tongue from lies and nasty words, the ears from listening to haram, the stomach from eating haram, and the hands from carrying out bad deeds and the feet from going to bad places.
The wisdom behind fasting as a fardh is to perform our duty of servitude to Allah and abstain from bad things.
- b) Fasting strenghren the emotions of mercy and empathy:
A wealthy person who is not aware of what hunger is cannot understand how the poor suffer from hunger and difficulty. However, if this person fasts, he/she can understand the meaning of hunger and empathize with the poor’s problems. As a result, they reach out to needy people and resolve their problems.
- c) Fasting teaches people the value of blessings (ni’mah):
A person can only understand the true value of the blessings that he/she possesses when they lose them. By then, however, it is too late. The value of blessings can be better understood when a person abstains from them for a period by fasting. This understanding teaches people how to better protect their blessings and how to give thanks to Allah for them.
- d) Fasting makes a person healthier:
On this topic, our beloved Prophet commands: “Fast and you will find health.” [62] After working for eleven months, the digestive system rests thanks to fasting. It then continues its functions as revitalized after Ramadan. Scientists point out several benefits of fasting for our body. The Nobel Prize winner for medicine, the famous French scientist Doctor Aleksi Karel, states as the following on fasting: “During fasting, the body uses stored nutrition which is replaced by new nutrition. Thus, the body is regenerated. From a health perspective, fasting is very beneficial for our body.” [63]
- e) Fasting teaches people patience:
A person who gets used to fasting perseveres with the difficulties that he/she faces in life. He/she can stand up to adversaries and understands how to endure the difficulties that may arise as a result of their stance.
FOR WHOM IS RAMADAN FASTING FARDH?
The following conditions must be fulfilled for fasting to be a fardh:
1) To be Muslim,
2) To be sane,
3) To have reached puberty.
It is fardh for every sane male and female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to fast during the month of Ramadan. This is an strict command by Allah. It is not a fardh for those children who have not yet reached puberty to fast. However, it is good for children to get accustomed to fasting gradually.
Women who are on their postpartum period or monthly periods cannot fast or perform prayer. When these conditions are not present, they are able to fast to make up for what was previously missed as qada. However, it is not required that the prayers that they missed be performed.
THE VIRTUE OF SUHUR AND IFTAR
It is mustahab to get up and eat at suhur. Our beloved Prophet stated: “Eat food at suhur because there is blessing in the food at suhur.”[64] The food at suhur provides strength for the fast. The time of suhur is one of the times that duas are accepted. A person who wakes up at suhur to fast should make dua for what they wish and should ask Allah to forgive their sins.
A person who completes the worship of fasting until the time of iftar feels great happiness and joy. They will taste the greatest joy and reward for the fasting performed on the day of judgment in the presence of Allah.
Our Prophet commands the following: “There are two joys for a person who fasts: One is at the time of iftar and the other is the time when they meet Allah.”[65] Our Prophet informed us that the duas made at the time of iftar will not be refused and will be accepted by Allah.
The Dua of Iftar:
It is sunnah to recite this dua at the time of iftar:
“Allahumma laka sumtu wa bika amantu wa `alayka tawakkaltu wa `ala rizqika aftartu Wa sawmal ghadi min shahri Ramadana nawaitu, faghfirli ma kaddamtu wa ma ahhartu.”
Meaning: “O Allah, I have fasted for You, believed in You, placed my trust in You, and broken my fast on your consent. I intend to fast tomorrow for the month of Ramadan. And forgive my past and future sins!”
WHEN AND HOW IS THE NIYYAH STATED FOR FASTING?
It is a requirement to state the niyyah for a fast to be valid. A fast without niyyah is not acceptable.
The niyyah for the Ramadan fast can be stated from maghrib time to the following mid-morning:
Normally, the niyyah for fasting is stated after the meal at suhur is eaten. However, a person who awakens after dawn and misses suhur can state his/her niyyah until mid-morning even though the sun has risen, as long as that person did nothing to invalidate the fast after dawn.
A person who does not want to wake up for suhur can make the niyyah for the following day’s fast after maghrib. They are not required to wake up and make the niyyah again. A person who awakens for suhur and forgets to make niyyah can still make the niyyah when they remember until mid-morning. Those who make the niyyah late like this do not lose anything from their fast. The niyyah for fasting cannot be made after mid-morning. When making qada for the missed fasts of Ramadan, the niyyah must be made from the evening. The expiation (kaffarah) fasting is also like this. The niyyah for these fasts cannot be made after dawn.
The niyyah is made by heart. If a person decides by heart to fast tomorrow, that person has made niyyah. It is also a niyyah if a person wakes up for suhur with the thought of fasting. It is enough to make the niyyah to fast by one’s heart. However, it is better to make the niyyah by tongue as well as by heart. For this reason, a person who is going to fast should make the niyyah both with by heart and verbally by stating: “I intend to fast tomorrow to fulfill the obligation of fasting Ramadan this year.”
THE TYPES OF FASTING
There are six types of fasting:
1) Fasting that is fardh: The Ramadan fasts, the qada fasts and expiation fasts are fardh.
2) Fasting that is wajib: The nazhr (vow) fasts and spoiled nafilah fasts are wajib.
3) Fasting that is sunnah: It is sunnah to fast on the ninth and tenth day or the tenth and eleventh day of the month of Muharram.
4) Fasting that is mustahab: It is mustahab to fast on the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth days of the Islamic lunar month, on Mondays and Thursdays and for six days in the month of Shawwal after Ramadan.
5) Fasting that is makruh: It is makruh to fast only on the tenth day of the month of Muharram or to fast only on jumu’ahs or Saturdays.
6) Fasting that is haram: It is haram to fast on the first day of Eid al-Fitr and on the four days of Eid al-Adha. This is because the days of Eid are feast days provided by Allah to His servants. It is not appropriate to abstain from Allah’s feast.
EXCUSES ALLOWING A PERSON NOT TO FAST DURING RAMADAN
It is a sin not to fast during the month of Ramadan without an excuse and requires punishment. However, a person does not have to fast or can break the fast under one of the following conditions:
1) Sickness: A sick person does not have to fast if they are afraid that their sickness will exacerbate. When the sick person is better, the missed fasts can be performed by qada.
2) Traveling: A person traveling in excess of ninety kilometers during the month of Ramadan does not have to fast. They can perform qada of the Ramadan fast when their travels have been completed. It is however, better for the traveler to fast if fasting will not be too difficult.
3) Difficult times: A person can spoil their fast if there is a danger to a person’s life or life-threatening situation. The broken fast can be performed later.
4) To be pregnant or breast-feeding: A woman who is pregnant or is breast-feeding does not have to fast if she is afraid of harming herself or her child. They can perform the qada of the missed fasts after the pregnancy and breast-feeding are over.
5) Severe hunger or thirst: A person can break their fast if they believe that hunger or thirst will spoil their mind or that their body will suffer severe harm. Later, the fasts that were missed can be performed by qada.
6) Old age and weakness: A person does not have to fast if their body deteriorates from day by day or if they cannot endure it due to old age. As they cannot perform qada later on, they need to pay a fidya for each day missed.
FIDYA
A weak person or a person of old age who cannot fast and who does not have any hope of getting better can pay fidya for each missed day of fasting during Ramadan. The amount of fidya is equivalent to the sadaqah al-fitr. This fidya can be paid at the beginning, during or end of Ramadan.
The fidya can be paid altogether to one poor person or separately to several poor people. If the people cannot effort to pay the fidya, they can seek forgiveness from Allah. Old people who do not have the strength to fast or the sick who have no hope of getting better in the future must perform the qada of fasting if they are able to fast later. The fidya previously paid is not accepted and will be counted as a nafilah donation.
RULINGS FOR NOT FASTING DURING RAMADAN WITHOUT AN EXCUSE
Fasting during the month of Ramadan is a fardh (strict obligation)ordered by Allah. Muslims must fulfil the requirements of this command. A Muslim who does not make the niyyah to fast and eats or drinks without an excuse during the month of Ramadan must only perform the qada of fasting for each missed day. A penance is not required. Because penance is for spoiling the fast, not for not fasting.
A person who does not fast during Ramadan without an excuse commits sin and is then becomes accountable towards Allah. Therefore, they must repent and seek Allah’s forgiveness and perform the qada fast immediately.
THINGS THAT REQUIRE BOTH QADA AND PENANCE FOR INVALIDATING THE FAST
Whilst fasting, to consciously and intentionally:
1) Eat or drink (either food or medicine),
2) Have sexual relations,
3) Smoke.
Qada: To fast for each day the fast is invalidated.
Penance: To fast for two months or sixty consecutive days for invalidating one day of fast.
The fast of a person who makes a niyyah, commences to fast during the month of Ramadan and invalidates this fast deliberately without an excuse by eating, drinking or having sexual relations is invalidated. This invalidated fast must be replaced by qada and a penance is also required as the fast was invalidated deliberately and without an excuse.
The penalty of deliberately invalidating a commenced fast is penance in this world. If the penance fast is paused for any reason or is lacking, it must be performed again from the start for sixty days without a break. Women whose penance fast is interrupted by their period do not fast on those days. They continue and complete their penance fast of sixty days consecutively when their period has finished.
THINGS THAT ONLY REQUIRE QADA FOR INVALIDATING THE FAST
1) To swallow things that are not usually eaten and that are not used medicinally (such as dirt, paper and cotton),
2) To inhale medicine through the nose,
3) To drop oil into the ear,
4) To drink water up to throat through the mouth or nose accidentally whilst performing wudu,
5) To swallow the saliva in which colored something of a piece of string taken into mouth mixes with the saliva,
6) To forcefully invalidate the fast,
7) For someone else to pour water down one’s throat whilst sleeping,
8) To vomit at least a mouthful (voluntarily),
9) To break the fast prior to sunset due to the assumption of that the sun had already set,
10) To eat after the time of dawn assuming that the time had not yet come.
THINGS THAT DO NOT INVALIDATE FASTING
1) To eat or drink forgetfully whilst fasting (If you realize that you are fasting whilst you are eating or drinking, you should immediately wash out your mouth after remembering. The fast is not invalidated even if food goes down your throat.)
2) To let water in the ear,
3) To drop medication into the eyes,
4) To have bath in the morning when it was required to at night,
5) To vomit involuntarily,
6) To have a wet dream (to be unclean Islamically where ablution is required),
7) To give blood,
8) To swallow dust or smoke unintentionally,
9) To swallow one’s own saliva.
THINGS THAT ARE MAKRUH WHILST FASTING
1) To taste something without swallowing it (e.g. if a husband causes problems because of excessive salt in the food prepared by his wife, then his wife can taste the food without swallowing it),
2) To gather the saliva in the mouth and to swallow it (if the saliva is swallowed after it is spit out, then, the fast will be invalidated),
3) To donate blood if it will make one weak and to be involved in heavy work.
THINGS THAT ARE NOT MAKRUH WHILST FASTING
1) To smell things such as rose or musk,
2) To brush the teeth,
3) To rinse the mouth,
4) To sniff water up into the nose,
5) To wash or bath.
QUESTIONS
1) What does fasting mean?
2) Explain the benefits of fasting.
3) For whom is fasting a fardh?
4) Memorize the dua of iftar.
5) When and how is the niyyah for fasting performed?
6) How many types of fasting are there?
7) What are the excuses allowing a person not to fast during Ramadan?
8) What does fidya mean, who is required to pay the fidya?
9) What does qada and expiation mean?
10) What are the things that invalidate the fast and require one to perform both qada and expiation?
11) What are the things that invalidate the fast but only require qada?
12) What are things that do not invalidate the fast?
13) What are the things that are makruh and not makruh for the person fasting?
Footnote:
[60] Baqarah, 2/183
[61] Riyadh us Salihen, vol. 2, p. 489
[62] Keşfu’l-Hafa, vol. 2, p. 33.
[63] Life Encyclopedia, Fasting clause.
[64] Riyadh us Salihen, vol. 2, p. 495
[65] Et-Terğib ve’t-Terhib, vol. 2, p. 81
Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, Basics of Islam, Seyfettin Yazıcı
What To Know About Prayer (Salah) – 2
