What fasting is, and why we fast

Sawm (fasting) means holding back from food, drink and intimacy, from dawn until sunset, with the intention of doing it for Allah.

Fasting the month of Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam¹. Allah says: fasting has been made a duty on you, as it was on those before you, so that you may have taqwa².

• Taqwa means being aware of Allah and guarding yourself from what He dislikes. All day, food and water are right there. Nobody would know if you ate. But you do not, because Allah knows.
• Ramadan is the month the Quran was first sent down³. So it is a month of Quran, as well as a month of fasting.

The reward

• Allah says: every deed of a person is for them, except fasting. It is for Me, and I will give the reward for it⁴.
• Nabi ﷺ said: whoever fasts Ramadan with faith, hoping for the reward, their past sins are forgiven⁵.
• When Ramadan starts, the gates of Jannah (Paradise) are opened, the gates of the Fire are closed, and the devils are chained⁶.
• Jannah has a gate called Ar-Rayyan. Only people who fasted will enter through it⁷.

Who must fast

Allah says: whoever of you is present in the month, let them fast it⁸. You must fast Ramadan if you are:

• a Muslim, who has reached puberty,
• whose mind is sound,
• who is healthy enough to fast, and at home, not traveling.

A woman must also be free of her period and of the bleeding after childbirth. During those days she does not fast, and she makes the days up later.

Nabi ﷺ said: the pen is lifted from three: someone asleep until they wake, a child until puberty, and someone who has lost their mind until they recover⁹. It means they are not held to account.

Who does not have to fast

The full rules for these excuses, making up days and fidya are in the chapter When you cannot fast.

Puberty shows by a wet dream or discharge of mani (sexual fluid), the first period for girls, or for most scholars coarse hair around the private parts. If no sign shows, most scholars count a child as an adult at about 15 years.

Children: train them gently

• The Companions trained their children to fast. Ar-Rubayyi bint Muawwidh said: we made our young children fast, and made them toys of wool. When a child cried for food, we gave them a toy until it was time to break the fast¹³.
• Start small: a few hours, then half a day, then a full day on a weekend. Praise them, and never push them to the point of harm. The aim is that they love fasting by the time it becomes a duty.

New Muslims, and people who do not fast

• Someone who becomes Muslim during Ramadan fasts from the next day. They do not make up the days before. Scholars differ on whether they should stop eating for the rest of that first day. Doing so is good.
• Someone who says fasting Ramadan is not a duty at all has left Islam, all scholars agree. Someone who believes in it but does not fast with no excuse has done a very serious sin. They must repent and make up the days. Allah's door is open.

The intention

Nabi ﷺ said: actions are judged by intentions¹⁴. The niyyah (intention) is what makes going without food an act of worship, not just a diet.

• The intention is in the heart. You do not need to say any words. Knowing that tomorrow is Ramadan and that you will fast is the intention.
• Waking up for suhur (the meal before dawn) shows the intention. Scholars say it is enough by itself.
• For a required fast, make the intention before dawn. Nabi ﷺ said: whoever does not make up their mind to fast before dawn has no fast¹⁵.

Every night, or once for the month?

• Voluntary fasts: most scholars allow the intention during the day, if you have not eaten or drunk since dawn. One morning Nabi ﷺ asked Aisha for food. She had none. He said: then I am fasting¹⁶. Malikis say every fast needs the intention at night.

The start and end of the month: the moon

The Islamic months follow the moon. Allah says: they ask you about the new moons. Say: they are times for people, and for Hajj¹⁷.

• A month starts when the hilal (the thin new crescent) is seen after sunset. A month is 29 or 30 days¹⁸.
• Nabi ﷺ said: start fasting when you see it, and stop fasting when you see it. If it is cloudy, complete thirty days of Sha'ban¹⁹.
• So on the evening of the 29th of Sha'ban, people look for the moon. If it is seen, Ramadan starts the next day. If not, it starts the day after. Ramadan ends the same way, with the moon of Shawwal.
• Ibn Umar saw the new moon and told Nabi ﷺ. Nabi ﷺ fasted, and told the people to fast²⁰. So most scholars accept one trustworthy Muslim to start Ramadan. Hanafis ask for a large group when the sky is clear. For the end of Ramadan, most ask for two witnesses.
• Do not fast a day or two before Ramadan just in case, unless it is a day you already fast by habit, like a Monday²¹. Ammar ibn Yasir said: whoever fasts the day of doubt has gone against Nabi ﷺ²².

Local or global sighting?

The moon may be seen in one country and not in another. Does a sighting far away count for you? There are two main views:

• Each region follows its own sighting. This is the Shafi'i view, and the view of many scholars today. It comes from the story of Kuraib below²³.
• A sighting anywhere counts for everyone who hears of it. This is the standard view in the Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali schools. Many later Hanafi scholars made an exception for lands very far apart.

Ibn Abbas, in Madinah, did not follow a sighting from Syria²⁴.

Sighting or calculation?

• The four schools started the month by seeing the moon, not by calculation²⁸.
• Today, some scholars and councils use astronomical calculation to set the dates in advance. They say the aim of the hadith is to be sure of the month, and calculation now does that very accurately.
• Others use calculation only to check a sighting: if the moon cannot be seen that night, they reject a claim that it was. Others accept only a real sighting, by eye or telescope.

The fasting day

Allah says: eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes clear to you from the black thread, then complete the fast until night³⁰.

• The fast starts at true dawn, when the first light spreads across the horizon. That is when Fajr time begins.
• The fast ends at sunset, when Maghrib time begins. Nabi ﷺ said: when night comes from here, the day goes from here, and the sun has set, the fasting person breaks the fast³¹.
• The threads are the light of day and the dark of night. Adi ibn Hatim once put a white and a black thread under his pillow and looked at them all night, until Nabi ﷺ explained the meaning³².

Suhur and the end of eating

• Nabi ﷺ said: eat suhur, for there is blessing in suhur³³. Even a few dates and water count.
• It is sunnah to eat it late. Between the suhur of Nabi ﷺ and the call to Fajr was about the time to recite fifty ayat³⁴.
• You may eat until Fajr time begins. Bilal called an early adhan at night, and Nabi ﷺ said: keep eating and drinking until Ibn Umm Maktum calls the adhan, because he called it at dawn³⁵.
• Many timetables show an imsak time, about 10 minutes before Fajr. It is a safety margin, but the real limit is Fajr. Use your local masjid's timetable, or check today's prayer times.

Iftar

• Break your fast as soon as the sun has set. Nabi ﷺ said: people will stay in goodness as long as they hurry to break the fast³⁶.

What breaks the fast and what does not is in the chapter What breaks the fast.

Very long days in the far north

In the north of Scandinavia, Canada or Russia, a summer fast can last 20 hours or more. Near the Arctic, the sun may not set at all for weeks. The main views of scholars today:

• Where there is a sunrise and a sunset, even with a very long day, most scholars say: fast by your own local times. The verse says to fast until night³⁷, and you do have a night.
• If a long day becomes truly too hard, so that a person fears illness or real harm, they may break the fast and make up the day later, for example in winter. This is the ease given to the sick³⁸.
• Where there is no sunset, or no clear dawn, the times must be estimated, using the nearest place with a normal day and night, or for some scholars, Makkah. They take this from the hadith of the very long days of the Dajjal, when Nabi ﷺ said to estimate the time for the prayers³⁹.
• Some councils allow people with extremely long days to follow a nearby moderate place even when there is a sunset. Many scholars do not accept this.

What the fast is really for

Stopping food is the easy part. Ramadan trains the whole person.

• The tongue. Nabi ﷺ said: whoever does not give up lying and acting on lies, Allah has no need for them to give up their food and drink⁴⁰. Stay away from lies, backbiting, gossip and swearing⁴¹.
• The temper. Nabi ﷺ said: fasting is a shield. If someone fights with you or insults you, say twice: I am fasting⁴². It is a reminder to yourself, and a way to end the fight.
• The eyes. Scholars say the eyes fast too, from what is haram to look at, on the street or on a screen. Less phone and TV, more Quran, dhikr and family.
• Quran and generosity. Nabi ﷺ was the most generous of people, and most generous of all in Ramadan, when Jibril met him every night to go over the Quran⁴³. So read more Quran, give in charity, and feed people at iftar.

Night prayers, the Night of Qadr and itikaf are in the chapter The sunnah of fasting.

Common questions

Two masjids in my city start Ramadan on different days. Which one do I follow?

Follow the masjid you usually pray at, or the one most of your local community follows. Both follow sincere scholars. Keep your family together on one day if you can, and do not argue with people who follow the other masjid. The fast is the day the people fast⁴⁴.

We started a day late, and the moon of Shawwal was seen after only 28 fasts. What now?

Celebrate Eid with your community, then make up one day later. A month is never less than 29 days⁴⁵.

I traveled during Ramadan to a country that started on a different day. Whose dates do I follow?

Scholars say: follow the people where you are, and end the month with them. If that leaves you with only 28 fasts, make up one day. If they are still fasting on your 31st day, fast with them.

This is my first Ramadan as a new Muslim. Where do I start?

Keep it simple: intend to fast, eat suhur, stop at Fajr, and break the fast at sunset. Many masjids have free iftar every night, a good way to meet people. If you slip, do not give up. Make up the day and keep going. If you have a health condition, talk to your doctor first.

I have a demanding job, like building work or long hospital shifts. Do I still have to fast?

Yes, work alone is not an excuse. Plan: a good suhur with water, rest where you can, and ask about changing your shifts for the month. If on a certain day you fall into real danger, like fainting or serious dehydration, break the fast and make up the day later. For a long-term situation, ask a scholar you trust.

My son is 14 and has reached puberty. Does he have to fast?

Yes. Once a boy or girl reaches puberty, Ramadan is a duty, even if they are young. Wake them for suhur, talk to the school about sports in the heat, and praise their effort. Teens who fasted as children find it much easier.