Travellers (16) For a traveller to be allowed to break his fast, certain conditions must be met. His journey should be lengthy, or else be known as travelling (although there is a well-known difference of opinion among the scholars on this matter), and should go beyond the city and its suburbs. (The majority of scholars say that he should not break his fast before he passes the city limits. They say that a journey has not really begun until a person passes the city limits, and a person who is still in the city is “settled” and “present”. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadaan, i.e., is present at his home), he must observes sawm (fasts) that month…” [al-Baqarah 2:185]. He is not counted as a traveller until he has left the city; if he is still within the city, he is regarded as one who is settled, so he is not permitted to shorten his prayers). His journey should also not be a journey for sinful purposes (according to the majority of scholars), or for the purpose of trying to get out of having to fast.
(17) The traveller is allowed to break his fast, according to the
consensus of the
ummah, whether he is able to continue fasting or not, and whether is it
difficult for
him to fast or not. Even if his journey is easy and he has someone to
serve him, he
is still permitted to break his fast and shorten his prayers. (Majmoo’
al-Fataawaa,
25/210).
(18) Whoever is determined to travel in Ramadaan should not have the
intention of
breaking his fast until he is actually travelling, because something may
happen to
prevent him from setting out on his journey. (Tafseer al-Qurtubi,
2/278).
The traveller should not break his fast until he has passed beyond the
inhabited
houses of his town; once he has passed the city limits, he may break his
fast.
Similarly, if he is flying, once the plane has taken off and has gone
beyond the city
limits, he may break his fast. If the airport is outside his city, he
can break his fast
there, but if the airport is within his city or attached to it, he
should not break his
fast in the airport because he is still inside his own city.
(19) If the sun sets and he breaks his fast on the ground, then the
plane takes off
and he sees the sun, he does not have to stop eating, because he has
already
completed his day’s fasting, and there is no way to repeat an act of
worship that is
finished. If the plane takes off before sunset and he wants to complete
that day’s
fasting during the journey, he should not break his fast until the sun
has set from
wherever he is in the air. The pilot is not permitted to bring the plane
down to an
altitude from which the sun cannot be seen just for the purposes of
breaking the
fast, because this would just be a kind of trickery, but if he brings
the plane down
lower for a genuine reason, and the disk of the sun disappears as a
result, then he
may break his fast. (From the fataawa of Shaykh Ibn Baaz, issued
verbally).
(20) Whoever travels to a place and intends to stay there for more than
four days
must fast, according to the majority of scholars. So if a person travels
to study
abroad for a period of months or years, then according to the majority
of scholars –
including the four imaams – he is regarded as one who is “settled” there
and so he
has to fast and pray his prayers in full.
If a traveller passes through a city other than his own, he does not
have to fast,
unless his stay there is longer than four days, in which case he must
fast, because
the rulings that apply to those who are settled apply also to him. (See
Fataawa
al-Da’wah by Ibn Baaz, 977).
(21) Whoever begins fasting while he is “settled” then embarks on a
journey during
the day is allowed to break his fast, because Allaah has made setting
out in general
a legitimate excuse not to fast. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): “… and
whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days on which one
did not
observe sawm must be made up] from other days…” [al-Baqarah 2:185]
(22) A person who habitually travels is permitted not to fast if he has
a home to
which he returns, such as a courier who travels to serve the interests
of the
Muslims (and also taxi drivers, pilots and airline employees, even if
their travel is
daily – but they have to make up the fasts later). The same applies to
sailors who
have a home on land; but if a sailor has his wife and all he needs with
him on the
ship, and is constantly travelling, then he is not allowed to break his
fast or shorten
his prayers. If nomadic Bedouins are travelling from their winter home
to their
summer home, or vice versa, they are allowed to break their fast and
shorten their
prayers, but once they have settled in either their summer home or their
winter
home, they should not break their fast or shorten their prayers, even if
they are
following their flocks.(See Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Taymiyah, 25/213).
(23) If a traveller arrives during the day, there is a well-known
dispute among the
scholars as to whether he should stop eating and drinking. (Majmoo’
al-Fataawa,
25/212). But to be on the safe side, he should stop eating and drinking,
out of
respect for the month, but he has to make the day up later, whether or
not he stops
eating and drinking after his arrival.
(24) If he starts Ramadaan in one city, then travels to another city
where the people
started fasting before him or after him, then he should follow the
ruling governing
the people to whom he has travelled, so he should only end Ramadaan when
they
end Ramadaan, even if it means that he is fasting for more than thirty
days,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Fast when
everyone is fasting, and break your fast when everyone is breaking their
fast.” If it
means that his fast is less than twenty-nine days, he must make it up
after Eid,
because the hijri month cannot be less than twenty-nine days. (From
Fataawa
al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz: Fataawa al-Siyaam, Daar al-Watan, pp.
15-16)
[ Table of Contents ]
The sick
(25) In the event of any sickness that makes people feel unwell, a
person is allowed
not to fast. The basis for this is the aayah (interpretation of the
meaning): “… and
whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days on which one
did not
observe sawm must be made up] from other days…” [al-Baqarah 2:185]. But
if
the ailment is minor, such as a cough or headache, then it is not a
reason to break
one's fast.
If there is medical proof, or a person knows from his usual experience,
or he is
certain, that fasting will make his illness worse or delay his recovery,
he is permitted
to break his fast; indeed, it is disliked (makrooh) for him to fast in
such cases. If a
person is seriously ill, he does not have to have the intention during
the night to fast
the following day, even if there is a possibility that he may be well in
the morning,
because what counts is the present moment.
(26) If fasting will cause unconsciousness, he should break his fast and
make the
fast up later on. (al-Fataawa, 25/217). If a person falls unconscious
during the day
and recovers before Maghrib or after, his fast is still valid, so long
as he was fasting
in the morning; if he is unconscious from Fajr until Maghrib, then
according to the
majority of scholars his fast is not valid. According to the majority of
scholars, it is
obligatory for a person who falls unconscious to make up his fasts later
on, no
matter how long he was unconscious. (Al-Mughni ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer,
1/412, 3/32;
al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaytiyyah, 5/268). Some scholars issued
fatwaas to the
effect that a person who falls unconscious or takes sleeping pills or
receives a
general anaesthetic for a genuine reason, and becomes unconscious for
three days
or less, must make up the fasts later on, because he is regarded as
being like one
who sleeps; if he is unconscious for more than three days, he does not
have to
make up the fasts, because he is regarded as being like one who is
insane. (From the
fataawa of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, issued verbally).
(27) If a person feels extreme hunger or thirst, and fears that he may
die or that
some of his faculties may be irreparably damaged, and has rational
grounds for
believing this to be so, he may break his fast and make up for it later
on, because
saving one’s life is obligatory. But it is not permissible to break
one's fast because
of bearable hardship or because one feels tired or is afraid of some
imagined illness.
People who work in physically demanding jobs are not permitted to break
their fast,
and they must have the intention at night of fasting the following day.
If they
cannot stop working and they are afraid that some harm may befall them
during the
day, or they face some extreme hardship that causes them to break their
fast, then
they should eat only what is enough to help them bear the hardship, then
they
should refrain from eating until sunset, and they have to make the fast
up later.
Workers in physically demanding jobs, such as working with furnaces and
smelting
metals, should try to change their hours so that they work at night, or
take their
holidays during Ramadaan, or even take unpaid leave, but if this is not
possible,
then they should look for another job, where they can combine their
religious and
worldly duties. “And whoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He
will
make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will
provide him
from (sources) he could never imagine.” [al-Talaaq 65:2-3 –
interpretation of the
meaning]. (Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 10/233, 235)
Students’ exams are no excuse for breaking one’s fast during Ramadaan,
and it is
not permissible to obey one’s parents in breaking the fast because of
having exams,
because there is no obedience to any created being if it involves
disobedience to the
Creator. (Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 10/241).
(28) The sick person who hopes to recover should wait until he gets
better, then
make up for the fasts he has missed; he is not allowed just to feed the
poor. The
person who is suffering from a chronic illness and has no hope of
recovery and
elderly people who are unable to fast should feed a poor person with
half a saa’ of
the staple food of his country for every day that he has missed. (Half a
saa’ is
roughly equivalent to one and a half kilograms of rice). It is
permissible for him to
do this all at once, on one day at the end of the month, or to feed one
poor person
every day. He has to do this by giving actual food, because of the
wording of the
aayah – he cannot do it by giving money to the poor (Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah,
10/198). But he can give money to a trustworthy person or charitable
organization to
buy food and distribute it to the poor on his behalf.
If a sick person does not fast in Ramadaan, waiting to recover so that
he can make
the days up later, then he finds out that his sickness is chronic, he
has to feed a
poor person for every day that he did not fast. (From the fataawa of
Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen). If a person is waiting to recover from his illness and
hopes to get better,
but then dies, there is no “debt” owed by him or his heirs. If a
person’s sickness is
considered to be chronic, so he does not fast and feeds the poor
instead, then
advances in medical science mean that there is now a cure, which he uses
and gets
better, he does not have to make up the fasts he has missed, because he
did what
he had to do at the time. (Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 10/195)
(29) If a person is sick, then recovers, and is able to make up the
missed fasts but
does not do so before he dies, then money should be taken from his
estate to feed a
poor person for every day that he missed. If any of his relatives want
to fast on his
behalf, then this is OK, because it was reported in al-Saheehayn that
the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever
dies owing
some fasts, let his heir fast on his behalf.” (From Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah,
volume on Da’wah, 806).
[ Table of Contents ]
The elderly
(30) The very elderly who have lost their strength and are getting
weaker every day
as death approaches, do not have to fast, and they are allowed not to
fast so long as
fasting would be too difficult for them. Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be
pleased with
him) used to say, concerning the aayah (interpretation of the meaning),
“And as for
those who can fast with difficulty (e.g., an old man, etc.), they have
(a choice
either to fast or) to feed a poor person (for every day)” [al-Baqarah
2:184]: “This
has not been abrogated. It refers to the old man and the old woman who
cannot
fast, so they should feed a poor person for every day.” (Al-Bukhaari,
Kitaab al-Tafseer,
Baab Ayaaman Ma’doodaat…)
Those who have become senile and confused do not have to fast or do
anything
else, and their family does not have to do anything on their behalf,
because such
people are no longer counted as responsible. If they are of sound mind
sometimes
and confused at other times, they have to fast when they are OK and they
do not
have to fast when they are confused. (See Majaalis Shahr Ramadaan by Ibn
‘Uthyameen,
p. 28).
(31) For those who are fighting an enemy or are being besieged by an
enemy, if
fasting would make them too weak to fight, they are allowed to break the
fast, even
if they are not travelling. If they need to break their fast before
fighting, they can
break their fast. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said to
his Companions once, before fighting: “In the morning you are going to
meet your
enemy and not fasting will make you stronger, so do not fast.” (Reported
by Muslim,
120, ‘Abd al-Baaqi edn. This is also the preferred opinion of Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah. The
scholars of Damascus also issued fatwas to the same effect when their
city was attacked by the
Tatars)
(32) If a person’s reason for not fasting is obvious, such as illness,
there is nothing
wrong with him eating or drinking openly, but if the reason is hidden,
such as
menstruation, it is better to eat and drink in secret, so as not to
attract accusations
and the like.
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