Questions and Answers On Fasting.

By
Ustaz Syed Hassan Alatas

Translated by Zainur Alsmi bt. Sharif   

 Question: When was fasting made obligatory?           

 Answer: It was made obligatory on the second year of Hijrah.           

Question: Who were those excused from fasting. 

 Answer: All these people are exempted from fasting:

  • A sick person whose health may deteriorate if he fasts and therefore may jeopardize his recovery.

  • Travelers who traveled a distance, which would qualify, to Qossar prayers (more than 90 km).

  • People who are too old and fasting may jeopardize their health.

  • Pregnant women who could jeopardize the health of their fetuses by fasting.

  • Mothers who are breast feeding their babies. Fasting may reduce their milk production and therefore may affect the baby’s health and development.

These people above are excused from fasting, but they will have to compensate them at other times. If they redo their fast within the same year they will have to fast an equal number of days as they had missed. If a year has lapsed before redoing the fast, they will then have to fast similar number of days as what they missed plus a fidyah (feeding the poor 1 mug for every day missed). If they missed 2 years before they redo their fast they will then have to fast a similar number of days plus 2 mugs per day for every day that they missed and so on.

Note:

However, if a sick man recovers or a traveler complete his journey or a menstruating women has cleanse herself on a certain day, they are then encouraged to abstain from the prohibitions of Ramadan in order to gain respect from the people around.

 

Invalidation of the Fast.

Questions: Please explain the causes for fasting to be invalidated.

Answer:

  • People who purposely eat and drink are creating sins and must therefore repay  their fasting. However, those who forget can continue fasting and need not repay them.

  • Those who purposely vomit need to repay their fast while those who accidentally did it can continue their fast and need not repay it.

  • Those who perform sexual act are obliged to fast and also pay “fidyah” by setting free a slave. Since there are no more slaves in Islam (Islam spent a lot of efforts in freeing slaves) the person therefore have to fast continuously for 2 months, failing which he has to free 60 poor people.