In The Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
CONTENTS:
1. TYPES OF FASTS
2. MAKRUH ACTS WHILE IN THE STATE OF FASTING
3. THINGS THAT BREAK THE FAST
4. THINGS THAT INVALIDATE ONE'S FAST NECESSITATING QADAA'
5. THINGS THAT MAKE BOTH QADA' AND KAFFAARAH WAJIB
6. THINGS THAT DO NOT BREAK THE FAST
7. PEOPLE EXEMPTED FROM FASTING
8. FIDYAH (COMPENSATION) FOR FAST
9. FASTING OF CHILDREN
1. TYPES OF FASTS
There are eight types of Fasts . They are as follows:
1. Fard Mu-`ayyan: Fasting for the whole month of Ramadhan each year.
2. Fard Ghayr Mu-`ayyan: The duty upon one to keep Qada' of a fast missed in the month of Ramadhan. (regardless of why it was missed).
3. Wajib Mu-`ayyan: To self impose or vow to keep a fast on a specific date upon the fulfilment of some wish or desire, e.g. for passing exams, or gaining employment etc. If the wish were to materialise then fasting on the specified dates becomes necessary.
4. Wajib Ghayr Mu-`ayyan: As Wajib Mu-`yyan but without specifying a date. The punishments (Kaffaarah) for breaking ones fast and for breaking one's Qasm (oath) also fall under this category. It is Wajib to complete these fasts, preferably, as soon as possible.
5. Sunnah: Those fasts which Rasoolullah (SAW) kept and encouraged others to keep, e.g. fasting on the 9th and 10th (or 10th and 11th) of Muharram, and the 9th of Dhul Hijjah (if not in Hajj), etc.
6. Mustahabb: All fasts besides Fard, Wajib and Sunnah are Mustahabb, eg. fasting on Mondays and Thursdays, or the days of the full moon (Ayyam al-Beedh), etc.
7. Makruh: Fasting only on the 10th of Muharram or fasting only on Saturdays is Makruh. This is because these are the days the Ahlul Kitaab fasted. If one wishes to fast on these days then one should perform an additional fast either before or after them. Additionally, continuous fasting for long periods is also Makruh.
8. Haraam: It is Haraam to fast on five days during the year. These are `Eid al-Fitr, `Eid al-Adha and the three days after `Eid al-Adha.
2. MAKRUH ACTS WHILE IN THE STATE OF FASTING
The following acts do not break the fast but are disliked (lessen/annul the benefits of the fast) while in the state of fasting.
1. To chew rubber, plastic or other inedible items.
2. To taste any article of food or drink and spit it out. If one has to prepare food (whether for home or catering) it is Makruh to taste the food. If it passes the throat the fast breaks.
3. To collect one's saliva in the mouth and then to swallow it, trying to quench thirst.
4. To delay a bath that has become Fard knowingly until after as-Subh as-Sadiq.
5. To use toothpaste/powder to clean one's teeth. If, however, any foreign substance passes the throat the fast will break, and Qada’ will be necessary. It is permitted to use a Miswak.
6. To complain of hunger and thirst.
7. To quarrel, argue, use filthy or indecent words.
8. To backbite, lie and swear etc. are sinful acts even when one is not fasting. Therefore they become more serious when fasting.
9. To force oneself to vomit. If, however, a large amount (i.e. what cannot be contained in the mouth) is vomited after forcing oneself then the fast will break and Qada’ will be necessary.
3. THINGS THAT BREAK THE FAST
Things that break one's fast are of two kinds. Some only make Qadaa' necessary, whilst others make both Qadaa' and Kaffaarah compulsory.
(a) Qadaa': To keep one fast as requital.
(b) Kaffaarah: To fast for sixty consecutive days, as a penalty.
4. THINGS THAT INVALIDATE ONE'S FAST NECESSITATING QADAA'
1. Anything put by force into the mouth, and swallowed by a fasting person.
2. Water going down the throat whilst gargling, (whilst being conscious of one's fast).
3. To vomit a mouthful intentionally or to return vomit down the throat.
4. Swallowing intentionally a pebble, piece of paper or any item that is not used as food or medicine.
5. Swallowing something edible, equal to or bigger than a grain in size which was stuck between the teeth. However, if it is first taken out of the mouth and then swallowed, it will break the fast regardless of the size.
6. Inhaling snuff into the nostrils.
7. Swallowing the blood from the gums if the colour of the blood is more than the saliva with which it is mixed.
8. To eat and drink, forgetting that one is fasting (or do anything that through rational thought, one may think that the fast has broken) and thereafter thinking that the fast is broken, to eat and drink again.
9. To eat and drink after as-Subh as-Sadiq or to break the fast before sunset due to a cloudy sky or a faulty watch, etc and then realising one's fault.
10. It is necessary to keep Qada' of a nafl fast which was broken before completing it.
11. To orally take any necessary medication.
Note: If one suffers from any illness that requires daily usage of medicines, they should consult a doctor to see if they can be taken outside of the times of fasting or if there are any alternative methods besides ingestion that the particular medicine can be used. E.g. Asthma sufferers may be able to use the facial apparatus that allow them to inhale the medicine which does not break the fast as the pump’s oral usage may do, if it leaves anything that can be tasted in the
mouth. Insulin may be available for some to take via injection, etc.
5. THINGS THAT MAKE BOTH QADAA' AND KAFFAARAH WAAJIB
1. Eating, drinking, sexual intercourse or breaking the fast in any other manner, without a valid reason, will make both Qada' and Kaffaarah necessary.
2. Applying Kohl on the eyes or rubbing oil on the head (or do anything that rational thought would not prove the fast as being broken) and then, thinking that the fast is broken, to eat and drink intentionally.
3. To ingest any kind of medicine intentionally, without need.
Note: Any fast other than the fast of Ramadhan, whether broken intentionally or with a good valid reason, makes only Qada' Wajib.
There is no Kaffaarah for breaking any fast besides that of Ramadhan.
Note: If a person is unable to keep the 60 consecutive fasts of Kaffaarah, for some valid reason, e.g. continuous sickness, e.g. severe diabetes etc, then one may choose from one of the following four options:
1. Feed sixty poor people to their fill for one day (two meals); or
2. Feed one poor person for sixty days (two meals a day); or
3. Give 60 poor persons 3.5 lbs. (approx. 1.6 kg.) of wheat or its value in cash or food;
4. Give to one poor person not less than 3.5 lbs. of wheat, rice or food grains, etc. or its value in cash for sixty days. (It cannot be given all at once)
Note: If in the sixty fasts of Kaffaarah, one is missed or broken, then kaffaarah must be restarted
6. THINGS THAT DO NOT BREAK THE FAST
1. To eat or drink something unintentionally (not remembering that one is fasting).
2. A mosquito, fly or any other object going down the throat unintentionally.
3. Water entering the ears.
4. Dust or dirt going down the throat, while breathing.
5. Swallowing one's own saliva, (provided it had not left the mouth).
6. Taking an injection.
7. Applying of Kohl to the eyes.
8. Taking a bath to keep cool or any other reason.
9. Rubbing oil onto the body or hair.
10. To vomit unintentionally.
11. Applying smokeless perfume. (It is not appropriate to inhale the smoke of Bukhoor (lobaan) or incense sticks whilst fasting. And it is not permitted to smoke cigarettes or inhale its smoke.)
12. Brushing the teeth.
13. A dream which makes Ghusl necessary does not break the fast.
7. PEOPLE EXEMPTED FROM FASTING
1. Sick people when their health is likely to be affected by fasting. They should make up the loss, a fast for a fast, when they recover after Ramadhan.
2. A Musafir, (one who is undertaking a journey of more than 77km (48 miles) and does not intend staying more than 14 days at his destination). However, it is better for him to fast in Ramadhan than keep Qada' later, provided the journey is not a tiresome one.
3. If it is feared that hunger or thirst will lead to death, it is permitted to break one's fast.
4. A woman who is a Haa’idh (experiencing menses), or a Nufasaa’ (experiencing post natal bleeding) is ordered not to fast during her days of bleeding, but instead she is ordered to keep their Qadaa’ after Ramadhan.
5. A woman who is pregnant and fears that her fasting may be harmful for herself or her unborn child may avoid keeping fasts until after Ramadhan.
8. FIDYAH (COMPENSATION) FOR FAST
1. A very old person who does not have the strength to fast or a very sick or diseased person who has no hope of recovering after Ramadhan, should give Fidyah for each fast missed in Ramadhan.
2. The Fidyah for a fast is similar to that of a missed Fard or Wajib Salah, i.e:
i) To give 3.5lbs = approx. 1.6 kg of wheat
Or 7lbs = approx. 3.2 kg of barley.
ii) Or the equivalent of the above in cash or kind.
If, however, an old or sick person gains strength or recovers after Ramadhan, he must keep the missed number of fasts and whatever was given as Fidyah will be a reward for him from Allah (SWT).
3. No one is allowed to fast on behalf of another person, even if the person, on whose behalf one fasts, be sick or dying.
9. FASTING OF CHILDREN
1. When young children become capable of fasting (normally, 7+ years) they should be encouraged with love and affection to fast. Remember that there is no Qada' if the child breaks the fast.
2. By the age of ten, children should be ordered to fast (the same rule as Salah). This is the normal rule; parents should use their discretion taking into account the child’s health and strength.
3. Once children reach the age of puberty, the rules that apply to adults apply to them. They are now ordered by Islam to keep the fasts. (One must remember that the concessions and reasons that excuse an adult from keeping fast also applies to them.)
Note: Younger children should be encouraged to fast, but should not be forced to complete the fast up to sunset if they are unable to bear the hunger or thirst, but can be made to fast for part of the day.