Islamic Legal Rules of Fasting
What is Sawm (Fasting)?
The
Arabic word for fasting is called "sawm" in the Quran. The word sawm
literally means "to abstain". Chapter Maryam of the Quran says that Mary
the mother of Jesus said "I have vowed a "sawm" (fast) for the sake of
the Merciful, so today I shall not speak to anyone." [Quran 19:26]. According to Shariyah,
the word sawm means to abstain from all those things that are forbidden
during fasting from the break of dawn to the sunset, and to do this
with the intention of fasting.
Purpose of Fasting
In chapter 2 verse 183 the
Quran says, "O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was
prescribed for those who were before you, in order that you may learn
taqwa (piety)".
Taqwa is
a very important spiritual and ethical term of the Quran. It is the sum
total of all Islamic spirituality and ethics. It is a quality in a
believer's life that keeps him or her aware of God all the time. A
person who has taqwa loves to do good and avoid evil for the sake of
God. Taqwa is piety, righteousness and consciousness of God. Taqwa
requires patience and perseverance. Fasting teaches patience, and with
patience one
can rise to the high position of taqwa.
The Prophet (SA) said
that fasting is a shield. It protects a person from sin and lustful
desires. When the disciples of Jesus asked him how to cast the evil
spirits away, he is reported to have said, "But this kind never comes
out except by prayer and fasting." (Matthew 17:21).
According to Imam Al Ghazali, fasting produces a semblance of divine quality of samadiyyah (freedom from want) in a human being. Imam Ibn Al Qayyim,
viewed fasting as a means of releasing the human spirit from the
clutches of desire, thus allowing moderation to prevail in the carnal
self. Imam Shah Waliullah Dahlawi (d. 1762 C.E.) viewed fasting as a
means of weakening the bestial and reinforcing the angelic elements in
human beings. Maulana Mawdudi (d. 1979 C.E.) emphasized that fasting for
a full month every year trains a person individually, and the Muslim
community as a whole, in piety and self restraint.
Fasting Is Obligatory
In the second year of Hijrah, Muslims were commanded to fast in the month of Ramadan every year as mentioned in the verse above [Al-Baqarah 2:183].
The Quran further says "The month of Ramadan is that in which was
revealed the Quran, wherein is guidance for humankind and the clear
signs of guidance and distinction. Thus whosoever among you witness the
month must fast..." [Al-Baqarah 2:184].
Prophet Muhammad (SA) explained this further in a number of his statements reported in the books of Hadith.
It is reported by Imam Al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim on the authority of
Ibn Umar that the Messenger of God said, "Islam is built upon five
pillars: testifying that there is no god except God and that Muhammad is
the Messenger of God, performing Prayer, paying the zakah, making the pilgrimage to the Sacred House (Hajj), and fasting during the month of Ramadan."
The
entire Muslim world is unanimous in the principal of fasting in the
month of Ramadan and considers it obligatory upon every person who is
physicaly capable (mukallaf).
Rules of Fasting
Who must fast?
Muslims all over the world wait eagerly for Ramadan, as it is a time of increased inner peace and well-being.
Fasting
in the month of Ramadan is obligatory upon every adult Muslim, male or
female, who has reached puberty, is sane and who is not sick or
traveling.
Sickness
could be a temporary sickness from which a person expects to be cured
soon. Such a person should not fast during the days of his or her
sickness, but he or she must fast later after Ramadan to complete the
missed days. Those who are sick with incurable illness and expect no
better health are also allowed not to fast but they must pay the fidyah, which is giving a day's meals for each fast missed to a needy person.
Instead
of food for one day one can also give equivalent amount of money to a
needy person. Women in their menses and post-natal bleeding are not
allowed to fast, but they must make up the fast later after Ramadan. If
pregnant women and mothers who are nursing babies can also postpone
their fasting to a later time whenthey are able to do so.
A
travel according to the Shariah is any journey that takes you away from
your city of residence, a minimum of 48 miles or 80 kilometers. The
journey must be for a good cause. One must avoid frivolous travel during
Ramadan which causes a person to miss fasting. If possible one should
try to change their travel plans during Ramadan to be able to fast and
should not travel unless it is necessary. The traveler who misses the
fasts of Ramadan must make up those missed days later as soon as
possible after Ramadan.
Fasting According to the Sunnah
1 - Take sahur (pre-dawn meal). It is Sunnah and
there is a great reward and blessing in taking sahur. The best time for
sahur is the last half hour before dawn or the time for Fajr prayer.
2
- Take iftar (break-fast) immediately after sunset. Shariah considers
sunset when the disk of the sun goes below the horizon and disappears
completely.
3
- During the fast, abstain from all false talks and deeds. Do not
quarrel, have disputes, indulge in arguments, use bad words, or do
anything that is forbidden. You should try to discipline yourself
morally and ethically, besides gaining physical training and discipline.
You should also not make a show of your fasting by talking too much
about it, or by showing dry lips and a hungry stomach, or by showing a
bad temper. The fasting person must be a pleasant person with good
spirits and good cheer.
4
- During the fast, do acts of charity and goodness to others and
increase your worship and reading of the Quran. Every one should try to
read the whole Quran at least once during the month of Ramadan.
Things That Invalidate the Fast
You
must avoid doing anything that may render your fast invalid. Things
that invalidate the fast and require qadaa' (making up for these days)
are the following:
1 - Eating, drinking or smoking deliberately, including taking any non-nourishing items by mouth or nose.
2 - Deliberately causing yourself to vomit.
3 - The beginning of menstrual or post-childbirth bleeding even in the last moment before sunset.
4
- Sexual intercourse or other sexual contact (or masturbation) that
results in ejaculation (in men) or vaginal secretions (orgasm) in women.
5
- Eating, drinking, smoking or having sexual intercourse after Fajr
(dawn) on the mistaken assumption that it is not Fajr time yet.
Similarly, engaging in these acts before Maghrib (sunset) on the
mistaken assumption that it is already Maghrib time.
Sexual
intercourse during fasting is forbidden. Those who engage in it must
make both qadaa' (make up the fasts) and kaffarah (expiation by fasting
for 60 days after Ramadan or by feeding 60 poor people for each day of
fast broken in this way). According to Imam Abu Hanifah, eating and/or
drinking deliberately during fast also entail the same qadaa' and
kaffarah.
Things That Do Not Invalidate Fasting
Using a miswak to clean your teeth does not invalidate fasting
During fast, the following things are permissible:
1
- Taking a bath or shower. If water is swallowed involuntarily it will
not invalidate the fast. According to most of the jurists, swimming is
also allowed in fasting, but one should avoid diving, because that will
cause the water to go from the mouth or nose into the stomach.
2 - Using perfumes, wearing contact lenses or using eye drops.
3 - Taking injections or having a blood test.
4
- Using miswak (tooth-stick) or toothbrush (even with tooth paste) and
rinsing the mouth or nostrils with water, provided it is not overdone
(so as to avoid swallowing water).
5
- Eating, drinking or smoking unintentionally, i.e., forgetting that
one was fasting. But one must stop as soon as one remembers and should
continue one's fast.
6
- Sleeping during the daytime and having a wet-dream does not break
one's fast. Also, if one has intercourse during the night and was not
able to make ghusl (bathe) before dawn, he or she can begin fast and
make ghusl later. Women whose menstruation stops during the night may
begin fasting even if they have not made ghusl yet. In all these cases,
bathing (ghusl) is necessary but fast is valid even without bathing.
7
- Kissing between husband and wife is allowed in fasting, but one
should try to avoid it so that one may not do anything further that is
forbidden during the fast.
Requirements for Fasting to Be Valid
There are basically two main components of fasting:
1 - The intention (niyyah) for fasting.
One should make a sincere intention to fast for the sake of God every
day before dawn. The intention need not be in words, but must be with
the sincerity of the heart and mind. Some jurists are of the opinion
that the intention can be made once only for the whole month and does
not have to be repeated every day. It is, however, better to make
intention every day to take full benefit of fasting.
2 - Abstaining from dawn to dusk from everything that invalidates fasting as mentioned above.
