2015 06 26 Friday Prayer Sheikh Khalil Abdul Rashid

Friday Prayer — Rulings of Fasting in Ramadan

Those are the companions of Paradise, they will abide therein. And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said it is not good to fast during the journey.

As we have completed a few days of Ramadan, we must be reminded of those religious matters about the fast that we must observe — those details, what the Prophet said about our actions during the month of Ramadan that have consequences. In general, the point is that there are reasons and rules that we must adhere to as part of our iman and as part of our amal salih, our righteous deeds during this month.

The Traveller and Fasting

When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, instructed his companions not to fast because they were travelling, the scholars say that for the traveller it is permitted to break the fast — regardless of whether the journey is burdensome or difficult or not. The case of the traveller permits that; the sharia allows that.

So for this journey, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, instructed his companions not to fast. And there was one person who decided to fast anyway, in an effort to perhaps show an extra sense of dedication. During the journey, he started to get sick, he started to get ill and fell into a swoon and got dizzy. A crowd of the companions were trying to help him and he fainted, he passed out.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was told about this man and he got upset, and he made his blessed statement:

"Fasting during travelling is not righteousness." In other words, the fast is not about you and I showing how strong you are. It is about adhering and following ahkam — rules that Allah, through His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has legislated for us.

Who Is Fasting Obligatory Upon?

There are some things that break the fast, and there are other things that we do that do not break the fast, and in between those are areas that the scholars differed on. There are also some ethical conducts that we do that have spiritual implications on the fast as well. So today we want to remind ourselves of these ahkam, these rulings on different issues.

First of all, it is important to remember that fasting is a duty on every Muslim who has reached the stage of bulugh (puberty), that is sane, that is a resident and not travelling, and able to bear the fast. If those conditions are present — Muslim, sane, at the age of puberty, able to bear the fast, and a resident — then fasting during the month of Ramadan is fard (obligatory).

The Essence of Fasting: Imsak

Part of the foundation of fasting is imsak — withholding and restraint. Restraint from several kinds of things: restraint from things that enter the body, and restraint from things that exit the body. The scholars have talked about all kinds of things that enter the body that could potentially break the fast, and things that come out of the body — whether those are bodily fluids or even anger that comes out of the body. So imsak, the fasting, is withholding from putting certain things into the body and also holding back from certain things coming out of the body.

Ruling on Vomiting

For example, vomit — this is something that exits the body. There is ijma' (juridical consensus) that vomiting unintentionally does not break the fast. Intentional vomiting — if somebody makes themselves vomit — that also does not break the fast, except according to the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa, who stated that intentional vomiting, if the vomit fills the mouth, breaks the fast. Because of Imam Abu Hanifa's opinion, we should refrain from intentionally vomiting in this way.

Brothers and sisters, the point of this, as we get into further discussions — even if one of the four imams said we shouldn't do something, from the point of taqwa, we should refrain from it. Because that means there is some evidence that caused that imam — whether it is Abu Hanifa, or Malik, or Shafi'i, or Ibn Hanbal — to reach that conclusion, and that evidence is strong enough to be taken seriously.

The Niyyah (Intention)

The intention — the niyyah — is that you say: I have fasted with the intention for the month of Ramadan. The siyam is not valid without the niyyah. The niyyah is something that exists inside of us.

But what if a person makes the niyyah to break the fast — the intention to break the fast — being the first of the day? The majority of the scholars have said that the intention to break the fast, the niyyah alone, does not have any bearing. It is not the intention to break the fast that breaks the fast — it is the specific action that breaks the fast.

However, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, rahimahullah, held the opinion that the firm intention — the jazm — to break the fast is as good as an act that breaks the fast. Therefore, because of the opinion of Imam Ahmad, we must always maintain extra precaution in making sure that our intentions are always pure and firm to continue fasting throughout the fasting day. In this way we are covered from the opinion of Imam Ahmad and all of the other schools as well.

Ruling on Injections

What about injections — things going into your body? IVs, needles, intramuscular injections in the muscle, intravenous injections in the vein — do those things break the fast? Injections do break the fast, especially the ones that go into the body cavity, the muscle, and the veins. They do break the fast.

Ruling on Hijama (Cupping)

What about hijama (cupping)? The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to strongly advise his companions to do hijama. However, all of the ulema say that hijama while fasting is makruh — disliked — and that is an action we must refrain from. Imam Ahmad was of the opinion that hijama during the month of Ramadan breaks the fast. Therefore, because our ulema have consensus that it is makruh while fasting during Ramadan, we should avoid it for the sanctity and beauty of our fast, and as a precaution from the opinion of Imam Ahmad who says it invalidates the fast.

Eating and Drinking: Common Cases

Eating Unknowingly Past Fajr

I have received a few correspondences from some of our youth about certain issues related to this. What about the case of a person who is eating for suhur and they are not sure if the time for imsak has approached? They wake up right on the edge — they start their suhur and they are not sure if Fajr has come in or not. And they are eating, and all of a sudden somebody tells them: yes, Fajr is in — it has been in for 10 minutes, it has been in for 15 minutes. The person has had their eggs, their hummus, had a good meal 10 to 15 minutes into Fajr, relaxing and enjoying it, didn't know, wasn't sure, had a little doubt.

The scholars agree — this is ittifaq — that person has to make up that day. That person has broken their fast. They must continue to fast the rest of that day. Just because they broke their fast does not mean they say, "Oh, mashallah, let me continue having breakfast." No — they stop. Whatever is in their mouth, they expel it. They do not continue to enjoy it. They do not say, "Let me have this last cup of water." No — haram, absolutely haram. They spit it out, they refrain, they begin their imsak. But after Ramadan, they must do qada' — they must make up that day.

Intentionally Breaking the Fast and Kaffarah

What about a person who, for some strange reason, intentionally eats or drinks? We know the case of someone who forgets it is Ramadan and eats mistakenly or drinks mistakenly — that is a clear case. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, told us that Allah has fed that person and given that person something to drink, because they had forgotten — it is a gift from Allah.

But what about the person at the opposite end — who intentionally and knowingly eats or drinks? The scholars agree that that person's fast is broken and they have to make it up. The question then is the issue of kaffarah.

The kaffarah is a special way to return and make up for a spoiled fast day that was broken intentionally and knowingly. The kaffarah is not applied to someone who did something by accident or unintentionally — but someone who knowingly and intentionally broke the fast, there is a kaffarah.

The kaffarah is:

• To free a slave. If one cannot do that,
• To fast for 60 consecutive days — back to back, no breaks. If one is not able to do that,
• To feed 60 poor people.

The question the scholars discuss is: for the person who intentionally and knowingly ate a little food or drank a little sip in Ramadan — does the kaffarah apply to them? Or is the kaffarah only for a certain specific action — is it for eating and drinking as well as breaking the fast through intimate relations, or is it only for intimate relations?

Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik were very clear. They said the kaffarah applies to the one who eats or drinks intentionally during the day in Ramadan. So when you eat or drink intentionally during the day in Ramadan, you must do kaffarah. Not only that — you have to continue fasting for the rest of that day, then you have to make up the day after Ramadan, and then you begin your kaffarah: you find a slave to free, or if that is not possible, you fast 60 consecutive days — 61 days total if you count the day of make-up. And if you cannot do that, you feed 60 poor people.

Imam Malik agreed with that, but he added that if you feed 60 poor people, it is better than fasting 60 days because of the khair (good) you are doing for others.

Affection Between Husband and Wife During the Fast

The scholars have also discussed affection between husband and wife — gentle hugs, caresses, a husband kissing his wife, a wife kissing her husband. These are outputs — actions that come out of us. Do those things break the fast or not?

The sharia has agreed that any type of affection between husband and wife that causes shahwa — intimate desire — is haram while fasting. The fast is not broken by it, but remember: when that shahwa feeling comes, it is against the spirit of the fast, against the spirit of the siyam, and it can also lead to other things. So that action which produces shahwa is haram, it requires tawbah, and the person must refrain from and stop that action. It does not yet reach the point of iftar — the point of breaking the fast — but you are close, you are on the line, and you need to stop.

All four — Imam Malik, Imam Shafi'i, Imam Abu Hanifa, and Imam Ahmad — have all said that even if the husband kisses the wife with shahwa, that is haram. But then the question arises about the regular kiss — the kiss without shahwa. The husband says as-salamu alaykum, kissing the wife on the cheek — something simple, as is normal for a husband and wife to do, but without shahwa. During the month of Ramadan, during the fasting hours — what about that? A simple as-salamu alaykum, "I love you," a kiss on the cheek — with no shahwa?

That is the question we will leave to reflect upon. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.