Conditions for the Obligation of Fasting
Fasting Ramadan is fard (obligatory) on a Muslim who meets all six conditions:
- Muslim — Non-Muslims are not obligated (though some scholars hold they will be accountable)
- Adult (post-puberty) — Children are not obligated; it is Sunnah to encourage them gradually
- Sane — Those with serious mental illness that prevents understanding are exempt
- Resident — Travelers may break the fast (though fasting while traveling is permitted and was often done by the Prophet SAW)
- Healthy — The sick for whom fasting is harmful may break it
- Free from menstruation and post-partum bleeding — Women in these states may not fast and must make up the days
The Three Pillars of the Fast
The valid fast requires three things:
1. Niyyah (intention): The fast must be intended. For Ramadan, the intention should be for the specific day’s obligatory fast. The Shafi’i school requires the intention to be formed before Fajr — not during the day. If one wakes after Fajr without having made the intention the night before, the Ramadan fast for that day is not valid and must be made up later.
2. Abstaining from invalidators: Avoiding all invalidators from the entry of Fajr (true dawn — the appearance of the white light on the horizon) until the sun fully sets (maghrib).
3. Beginning time: The fast begins at true Fajr (Fajr Sadiq) — the horizontal white light across the horizon — not at false Fajr (Fajr Kadhib) which appears earlier as a vertical shaft of light.
What Breaks the Fast: Complete Invalidators
Category 1 — Requires both Kaffara (expiation) AND Qada’ (makeup):
This category applies only to deliberate sexual intercourse during the fast. The kaffara for this is extremely heavy:
- Free a slave (not possible in modern times)
- If unable: fast 60 consecutive days
- If unable: feed 60 poor people
This kaffara applies only to the husband; the wife is not subject to kaffara if coerced.
Category 2 — Requires only Qada’ (makeup of the missed day):
The following actions, when done deliberately by a person who knows they break the fast:
- Eating or drinking intentionally (any food or liquid reaching the stomach via the natural passage)
- Deliberate vomiting
- Deliberate emission of semen (excluding wet dreams — these do not break the fast)
- Having anything penetrate a body cavity (throat, ear, nostril, anus, vagina) via an opening of the body
What does NOT break the fast (common misconceptions):
- Swallowing saliva — does not break the fast
- Swallowing phlegm from the throat — does not break the fast (reaching the mouth, if spat out, is fine)
- Injections (into muscle or vein) — the majority contemporary scholarly opinion: does not break the fast
- Eye drops — do not break the fast in most opinions (though Shafi’i school differs)
- Dental work — if no substance is swallowed, does not break the fast; anesthesia injections do not break the fast
- Hearing music, thinking sinful thoughts — do not break the fast (though they diminish its reward)
- Kissing the spouse without ejaculation — does not break the fast (though the Prophet SAW discouraged it for those who might not control themselves)
Actions That Are Disliked (Makruh) During Fasting
The following do not break the fast but are disliked and should be avoided:
- Tasting food with the tongue and spitting it out
- Chewing gum (opinion varies — some say this breaks the fast if flavor reaches the throat)
- Excessive use of miswak after midday (Shafi’i position: only disliked after midday, not prohibited)
- Engaging in sexual arousal without intercourse or emission
Categories of People Who May Break Their Fast
1. The Traveler: A person traveling a distance that qualifies as a journey (safar — approximately 80km) may break the fast and make up the days later. The Prophet (SAW) and Companions broke their fast during travel. Fasting during travel is also valid and sometimes better if it does not cause hardship.
2. The Sick: A person whose illness is genuinely made worse by fasting, or for whom fasting delays recovery, may and sometimes should break the fast. The Quran specifically permits this. Sick days must be made up when health returns.
3. Pregnant and Nursing Women: If a pregnant or nursing woman fears harm to herself or her baby, she may break the fast. Most scholars say she makes up the days later; some add fidya (feeding a poor person for each day). The Shafi’i school requires both makeup and fidya if the concern was for the baby only (not the mother), but only makeup if the concern was for the mother.
4. The Elderly: Those who are genuinely unable to fast due to permanent old age weakness are not required to make up days. Instead, they pay fidya — feeding one poor person for each day missed. (2:184)
5. Those with Chronic Illness: A diabetic or person with a condition requiring medication that must be taken during the day and cannot safely fast should consult a scholar. Typically: if fasting is permanently impossible, fidya applies; if it may become possible, makeup is preferred.
Making Up Missed Fasts (Qada’)
Who must make up: Everyone who breaks the fast without valid excuse must make up; those who break it with valid excuses (sick, traveler, pregnant, etc.) must also make up unless permanently unable.
When to make up: Before the next Ramadan arrives. If missed days are not made up before the next Ramadan without excuse, fidya is also added.
Making up continuously or scattered: May be made up on any days throughout the year, consecutively or scattered — whichever is easier.
See also: Five Pillars Of Islam, Halal And Haram, Zakah Al Fitr, Tahara Purity, Understanding Dua, Tawakkul Trust In Allah