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What fasting means and why Muslims fast

Fasting is worship of Allah: with intention, a Muslim abstains from things that break the fast from true dawn until sunset. It nurtures awareness of Allah, patience, gratitude and compassion. Fasting also calls for honesty, kindness and care for the rights of others. Ramadan fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. [1, 2, 3]

When Ramadan fasting was prescribed

Historical accounts commonly place the obligation of Ramadan fasting in the second year after the Hijrah, approximately 624 CE; this historical dating is not specified by the hadith cited here. The Quran prescribes fasting in Ramadan, the month in which the Quran was revealed. [1] An authentic report describes the obligation of Ramadan following the earlier obligation of Ashura. [29] A lunar month can be 29 or 30 days according to its recognised beginning and end; do not add a day merely as a precaution without a valid reason. [4]

Who must fast?

Ramadan fasting is obligatory for a Muslim who has reached puberty, is mentally capable, able and resident, and has no condition preventing a valid fast. A child is not required to fast before puberty; introduce fasting gently if the child can do so without harm. A person lacking mental capacity is not responsible during that condition; circumstances differ. Illness, travel and other situations have the concessions described below. [1, 5]

Intention and the daily fast

Intend in your heart to fast for Allah, identifying Ramadan or the make-up fast; a spoken formula is not required. A cautious practice for an obligatory fast is to form the intention at night before dawn for each day; Sunni schools have recognised details about intention. From true dawn avoid what breaks the fast until sunset, and perform the daily prayers on time. [6]

Beginning and ending Ramadan

Ramadan begins when its crescent is established or Shaaban is completed as 30 days. It ends when the Shawwal crescent is established or Ramadan is completed as 30 days. Sunni authorities differ on details of establishing the month and differing horizons. Follow a trustworthy local Muslim authority in a way that supports community unity, without condemning legitimate scholarly differences. [4]

Suhoor and the start of fasting

Suhoor, the meal before dawn, is recommended and blessed. Delay it without risking the arrival of true dawn. Stop eating and drinking at true dawn, not sunrise. A precautionary timetable earlier than dawn is not a separate prescribed boundary. Use a reliable local timetable that identifies Fajr clearly. [1, 7]

Breaking the fast at sunset

The fast ends when the sun has set at your location; break it promptly after confirming sunset. The Prophet ﷺ broke his fast with fresh dates, then dried dates if fresh dates were unavailable, or water if dates were unavailable. Make supplication and avoid excess. [8, 9]

Conduct while fasting

Prayer, honesty and trustworthiness are obligatory throughout the year. In Ramadan take particular care to avoid lies, backbiting, abuse and wrongdoing; recite Quran, remember Allah and give charity. A sin can diminish the reward of fasting and may be serious, but not every sin automatically invalidates the fast: loss of reward and invalidity are different matters. [3]

What invalidates a fast?

Clear examples include deliberately eating or drinking, deliberate sexual intercourse during the fast, and the onset of menstruation or postpartum bleeding. Deliberately inducing vomiting requires a make-up fast according to the majority, unlike involuntary vomiting. According to the majority, deliberately causing ejaculation by masturbation invalidates the fast; details of other physical contact differ. Do not treat every case as identical. [1, 10, 11]

Forgetfulness, vomiting and permitted acts

If you eat or drink forgetfully, stop as soon as you remember and complete the fast; it remains valid. Vomiting involuntarily does not ordinarily invalidate it. An involuntary wet dream does not invalidate the fast; ritual bathing is required for prayer after ejaculation. Bathing, using a tooth-stick, and gently rinsing the mouth and nose are permitted while avoiding deliberate swallowing of water. Hunger or thirst alone does not break the fast. [10, 12, 13]

Medication and medical procedures

Do not stop necessary treatment or expose yourself to harm. Medicine swallowed by mouth during fasting hours breaks the fast; a trusted clinician may consider safe alternative timing. Inhalers, injections, drops and procedures have different details and scholarly views. Ask a clinician and knowledgeable Sunni teacher about your particular treatment, and never delay urgent care. If you break a fast for a valid reason, make-up or fidyah depends on your circumstances. [1]

Menstruation and postpartum bleeding

Menstruation or postpartum bleeding during the day ends the fast; fasting is not valid during either. A woman makes up missed fasts after Ramadan, while prayers missed during menstruation are not made up. If bleeding has ended before dawn and she intends to fast, her fast is valid even if ritual bathing takes place after dawn; she should bathe in time for prayer. If purity begins after dawn, legal details differ and that day is made up. Using this concession is obedience, not wrongdoing. [13]

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

A pregnant or breastfeeding woman who reasonably fears harm to herself or her child may use the concession to break the fast. Consult a trusted clinician and knowledgeable Sunni teacher. Making up days when able is important; Sunni schools differ on whether feeding the poor also applies in particular circumstances. No single formula covers every case. [14]

Temporary and chronic illness

A person with a temporary illness who reasonably fears worsening, delayed recovery or harm from fasting, or needs treatment that cannot be delayed, may break the fast and make up the days after recovery. Serious harm must be avoided. For a lasting condition unlikely to improve, feeding a poor person for each day is discussed by scholars; individual circumstances and any later recovery require specific guidance. [1]

Older age and continuing inability

An older person who cannot fast and is unlikely to regain the ability may break the fast and feed a poor person for each day, according to the scholarly ruling for lasting inability. The form and amount of feeding have recognised differences; seek reliable local guidance. Do not expose yourself to harm. [1, 15]

Travel

A person on a journey that qualifies under Islamic law may break the fast and make up the days, or fast if it causes no harm. When fasting causes severe hardship or harm, the concession is preferable and avoiding serious harm may require breaking the fast. When travel begins and ends for this purpose has details in Sunni law; merely planning a journey while still resident is not the same as being on it. [1, 16]

Demanding work and heat

Someone doing physically demanding work should intend to fast and take reasonable measures such as adjusting hours, resting and reducing heat exposure. A job title alone is not an automatic permission to start the day without fasting. If unavoidable, intolerable hardship or a real risk of harm arises during the day, the person may prevent harm, break the fast as necessary and make up the day. Seek advice suited to the situation. [1]

Making up missed days

Make up days missed for temporary valid reasons after the reason ends, on permissible days. They may be consecutive or separate. Aim to complete them before the next Ramadan when able. Continuing inability is an excuse; schools differ on the consequences of avoidable delay. If the number of days is unknown, make a careful best estimate. Do not fast on the two Eids, and observe the rules for the Tashriq days. [1, 13]

Making up, fidyah and expiation

Qada means fasting a day in place of a missed day. Fidyah is feeding a poor person in circumstances recognised by Islamic law, such as certain cases of continuing inability; it is not a simple substitute for make-up fasting when one can make up the days. A separate major expiation applies to deliberate intercourse in a Ramadan daytime under its conditions: freeing a slave, or if unable fasting two consecutive months, or if unable feeding sixty poor people. Application and further obligations depend on circumstances and school; consult a qualified teacher. [1, 17]

Voluntary fasting

Voluntary fasting is recommended worship beyond what is obligatory. Complete it when possible without harming yourself or neglecting an obligation or another person’s rights. A vowed, expiatory or make-up fast is different from an unrestricted voluntary fast. Sunni schools differ on details of a voluntary fast’s intention and interruption. [18]

Six days of Shawwal and the White Days

Six of Shawwal means six days during Shawwal after Eid al-Fitr; they may be consecutive or separate. Scholars discuss their order alongside missed Ramadan fasts and the wording of the reward. The White Days are three days of each lunar month, normally the 13th, 14th and 15th. They are a different practice from the six of Shawwal. The 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah is a Tashriq day and normally must not be fasted, apart from the specific pilgrim exception below. [19, 20]

Monday, Thursday and three days monthly

Fasting on Mondays and Thursdays is recommended, as is fasting three days in each lunar month. The three White Days can be chosen for the monthly fast, but three other days also achieve the general practice. Do not fast on a prohibited day such as Eid merely because it falls on a usual fasting day. [20, 21]

The day of Arafah

Arafah is the ninth day of Dhu al-Hijjah. Fasting is recommended for someone not performing Hajj; a hadith mentions expiation for two years. Scholars explain that this does not excuse persistence in major sins or unpaid rights. For a pilgrim standing at Arafah, breaking the fast follows the Prophet’s practice and helps with worship and supplication. Follow a trusted local authority on the established date. [22, 23]

Tasua, Ashura and Muharram

Ashura is the tenth of Muharram; it is recommended to fast the ninth with it. The Prophet ﷺ spoke of expiation for the previous year on Ashura and intended to fast the ninth with it in a future year. Fasting the tenth alone is valid according to many scholars, with differences about singling it out. Muharram is among the best months for voluntary fasting after Ramadan. [22, 24]

Shaaban, the fast of Dawud and other days

The Prophet ﷺ fasted frequently in Shaaban and did not fast an entire month apart from Ramadan. The fast of Dawud means fasting alternate days when one can do so without neglecting obligations. Good deeds and fasting on the first nine days of Dhu al-Hijjah are recommended according to one’s circumstances; the pilgrim’s position on Arafah differs, and the tenth is Eid al-Adha, when fasting is prohibited. Do not undertake voluntary fasting that causes harm or neglects a duty. [23, 28]

Days when fasting is prohibited or discouraged

Fasting is prohibited on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The Tashriq days are the 11th, 12th and 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah and are generally not fasted. A specific exception is reported for a pilgrim performing tamattu or qiran who cannot obtain a sacrifice and has not completed the required fast before Eid. Singling out Friday for voluntary fasting is discouraged unless it coincides with a usual fast or an established reason, or a day beside it is also fasted; this is not a ban on obligatory make-up fasting. [25, 26]

Fasting in non-Muslim countries

The duty does not change simply because a person lives in a non-Muslim country. Observe true dawn and sunset where you are, using a reliable local mosque or timetable that accounts for the location, date and Fajr calculation. Where moon-sighting announcements or timetables differ, consult a trusted local Muslim authority rather than automatically using a distant country’s time. [1]

Places with very long days

Where ordinary true dawn and sunset occur each day, the general rule is to fast between those local times, even when the day is long, provided one is able without recognised harm. A long day alone does not automatically justify following Makkah or another city’s hours. If illness or a real risk of harm arises, the relevant concession applies and the day is made up when able. [1]

Places without ordinary solar signs

Polar conditions vary: the sun may not set, may not rise, or a reliable true-dawn sign may not be distinguishable in a season. One estimated timetable cannot simply be imposed on all these situations. When normal signs are absent, Sunni scholars use methods of estimating suitable times and differ in their application. Follow a knowledgeable Sunni council or local authority that understands your location, and use actual signs whenever they exist. The hadith about estimating prayer times during an extraordinary day is used by analogy; it is not a direct hadith prescribing a polar fasting schedule. [27]

A practical daily plan

Check local Fajr and sunset, intend the obligatory fast at night, have suhoor, abstain from what breaks the fast, and pray. Break the fast after confirming sunset, keep track of days to make up, and drink and eat adequately between sunset and dawn. If worrying symptoms develop or urgent treatment is needed, seek medical help promptly and ask about the concession appropriate to you.

Sources

[1] The Quran: Al-Baqarah 2:183–187 and 2:185. [2] Sahih al-Bukhari 8; Sahih Muslim 16. [3] Sahih al-Bukhari 1901, 1903 and 1896. [4] Sahih al-Bukhari 1900; Sahih Muslim 1081. [5] Sunan Abi Dawud 4403. [6] Sunan Abi Dawud 2454. [7] Sahih al-Bukhari 1923. [8] Sahih al-Bukhari 1954. [9] Sunan Abi Dawud 2356. [10] Sahih al-Bukhari 1933. [11] Sunan Abi Dawud 2380. [12] Sunan Abi Dawud 2365–2366; Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Fasting, chapter on using a wet or dry tooth-stick while fasting. [13] Sahih Muslim 335; Sahih al-Bukhari 1925–1926. [14] Sunan Ibn Majah 1667. [15] Sahih al-Bukhari 4505. [16] Sahih Muslim 1121; Sahih al-Bukhari 1946. [17] Sahih al-Bukhari 1936; Sahih Muslim 1111. [18] Sahih Muslim 1154. [19] Sahih Muslim 1164. [20] Jami al-Tirmidhi 761. [21] Jami al-Tirmidhi 747. [22] Sahih Muslim 1162. [23] Sahih al-Bukhari 1988. [24] Sahih Muslim 1134 and 1163. [25] Sahih al-Bukhari 1990 and 1997–1998. [26] Sahih Muslim 1144. [27] Sahih Muslim 2937. [28] Sahih al-Bukhari 1969 and 1976; Sunan an-Nasai 2372. [29] Sahih al-Bukhari 2002. Hadith numbering can vary between editions.

A Guide to Fasting in Islam