Fasting is prescribed for you: Sawm (صوم) is fasting — keeping away from food, drink, and other fast-breakers from the Fajr Adhan until the Maghrib Adhan, with Niyyah for Allah. Allah says: "Fasting has been prescribed for you — so you may attain Taqwa." (Quran 2:183). — to be checked. The whole month of Ramadan is Wajib for every sane, adult, healthy Muslim.
What breaks the fast: The fast is broken by eating, drinking, sexual relations, intentional vomiting, immersing the whole head in water, and inhaling thick smoke. A fast broken deliberately is a grave matter: Kaffarah is due — feeding 60 poor people, or fasting 60 consecutive days, for each day broken deliberately. Not fasting without an Islamic excuse is a major sin, and the missed fasts must be made up as Qadha.
Who is excused: Allah's mercy lifts the fast from those who cannot keep it: serious illness, travel over 45 km, pregnancy if fasting would harm mother or child, old age, and Haydh and Nifas. Those excused must make up the fasts as Qadha before the next Ramadan. If Qadha is delayed past the next Ramadan, a Kaffarah of feeding one poor person per day is also due (Tawdhih, Issue 1578). — to be checked.
More than hunger: Ramadan is the annual soul retreat. The fast trains self-control: the stomach is empty, but the heart is full. The Prophet (SAW) said Ramadan is a blessed month — its fasting obligatory, the gates of Jannah open, and Jahannam closed (Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 93, p. 356). — to be checked. Imam al-Sadiq (as) said: "Fasting is a shield against the Fire." — Al-Kafi, Vol. 4, p. 162. — to be checked. Build prayer, Quran, and Sadaqa habits in Ramadan that last the full year.
Example
Sara is pregnant and her doctor says fasting would harm the baby. She does not fast — and she feels no guilt, because Allah excused her. She writes down the 29 days she missed, and the next winter, when the days are short and cool, she makes them up one by one. The debt is recorded, the mercy is real, and the fasts are completed.
Key Terms
- Sawm (صوم) — fasting, from the Fajr Adhan to the Maghrib Adhan
- Taqwa (تقویٰ) — God-consciousness; guarding oneself against sin
- Kaffarah (کفارہ) — the expiation due for deliberately breaking a fast
- Iftar (افطار) — breaking the fast at Maghrib
Quran or Hadith
Quran 2:183 — "O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you — so you may attain Taqwa." — to be checked.
The Prophet (SAW): "Ramadan has come — a blessed month — its fasting obligatory — gates of Jannah open — Jahannam closes." — Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 93, p. 356. — to be checked.
Imam al-Sadiq (as): "Fasting is a shield against the Fire." — Al-Kafi, Vol. 4, p. 162. — to be checked.
Fresh diagram to be drawn: A Ramadan day timeline — Suhoor before Fajr Adhan, the fast through the day, Iftar at Maghrib Adhan — with a small list of fast-breakers crossed out underneath.
- Sawm is Wajib for the whole month of Ramadan, from the Fajr Adhan to the Maghrib Adhan.
- Eating, drinking, sexual relations, intentional vomiting, immersing the head in water, and inhaling thick smoke break the fast.
- Illness, travel over 45 km, pregnancy if harmful, old age, Haydh, and Nifas are excuses — but the fasts must be made up as Qadha.
- Deliberately breaking a fast needs Kaffarah: feeding 60 poor people or fasting 60 consecutive days.