ALLAH (SWT) INTENDS EASE AND NOT
HARDSHIP FOR FASTING PEOPLE
ASSEMBLED BY MALLAM ABBA ABANA, KUBWA, ABUJA, NIGERIA
http://variousislamicdawadocuments.blogspot.com
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emails:gonidamgamiri@yahoo.com; abba.abana@gmail.com
SATURDAY 9th RAJAB 1440 AH- 16th MARCH
2019 CE
(PART 2 OF 11: RAMADAN MONTH OF FASTING)
(Part 1 of 2) of 11
Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu
Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah. As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu.
Praise be to Allaah; we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with
Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah
guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one
can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness
that Muhammad (Sallalhu alaihi Wasalam) is His slave and Messenger.
PREAMBLE
Allah
(Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) Intends Ease And Not Hardship For Fasting People
Allaah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) then said, ‘’
Allaah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) intends for you ease, and He does not want to make
things difficult for you’’.
Imam
Ahmad recorded Anas bin Malik saying that Allaah’s Messenger said: Treat the
people with ease and don't be hard on them; give them glad tidings and don't
fill them with aversion. It is reported in the Sahihayn that Allaah's Messenger said to Mu`adh and Abu
Musa when he sent them to Yemen: ‘’Treat the people with ease and don't be hard
on them; give them glad tidings and don't fill them with aversion; and love
each other, and don't differ’’.
The
Sunan and the Musnad compilers recorded that Allah’s Messenger
said: ‘’I was sent with the easy Hanifiyyah (Islamic Monotheism)’’.
Allaah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala)'s statement: ..’’
Allaah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) intends for you ease, and He does not want to make
things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of
days), means: You were allowed to break the fast while ill, while traveling,
and so forth, because Allaah (Subhanahu
Wa Ta’ala) wanted to make matters easy for you. He only commanded you to make
up for missed days so that you complete the days of one month’’.
With regard to breastfeeding
mothers – and also pregnant women – two scenarios may apply:
-1- If the woman is not affected by
fasting, and fasting is not too difficult for her, and she does not fear for
her child, then she is obliged to fast, and it is not permissible for her not
to fast.
-2- If the woman fears for herself
or her child because of fasting, and fasting is difficult for her, then she is
allowed not to fast, but she has to make up the days that she does not
fast.
In this situation it is better for
her not to fast, and it is makrooh for her to fast. Some of the scholars stated
that if she fears for her child, it is obligatory for her not to fast and it is
haraam for her to fast.
Al-Mirdaawi said in al-Insaaf
(7/382):
It is makrooh for her to fast in
this case… Ibn ‘Aqeel said: If a pregnant woman or a breastfeeding mother fears
for her pregnancy or her child, then it is not permissible for her to fast in
this case, but if she does not fear for her child then it is not permissible
for her not to fast.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah
have mercy on him) was asked in Fataawa al-Siyaam (p. 161):
If a pregnant woman or
breastfeeding mother does not fast with no excuse, and she is strong and in
good health, and is not affected by fasting, what is the ruling on that?
He replied:
It is not permissible for a
pregnant woman or breastfeeding woman not to fast during the day in Ramadaan
unless they have an excuse. If they do not fast because they have an excuse,
then they have to make up the missed fasts, because Allaah says concerning one
who is sick (interpretation of the meaning):
“and whoever is ill or on a
journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Sawm (fasts) must
be made up] from other days”[holy Quran chapter al-Baqarah 2:185]
Pregnant women and breastfeeding
mothers come under the same heading as those who are sick. If their excuse is
that they fear for the child, then as well as making up the missed fasts,
according to some scholars they also have to feed one poor person for each day
missed, giving wheat, rice, dates or any other staple food. Some of the
scholars said that all they have to do is make up the missed fasts, no matter
what the situation, because there is no evidence in the Qur’aan or Sunnah for
giving food in this case, and the basic principle is that there is no
obligation unless proof of that is established. This is the view of Abu
Haneefah (may Allaah have mercy on him) and it is a strong view.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah
have mercy on him) was also asked in Fataawa al-Siyaam (p. 162) about a
pregnant women who fears for herself or her child, and does not fast – what is
the ruling?
He replied by saying:
Our answer to this is that one of
two scenarios must apply in the case of a pregnant woman.
The first is if she is healthy and
strong, and does not find fasting difficult, and it does not affect her foetus.
In this case the woman is obliged to fast, because she has no excuse not to do
so.
The second is where the pregnant
woman is not able to fast, either because the pregnancy is advanced or because
she is physically weak, or for some other reason. In this case she should not
fast, especially if her foetus is likely to be harmed, in which case it may be
obligatory for her not to fast. If she does not fast, then like others who do
not fast for a valid reason, she has to make up the days when that excuse no
longer applies. When she gives birth, she has to make up those fasts after she
becomes pure from nifaas. But sometimes the excuse of pregnancy may be lifted
but then immediately followed by another excuse, namely breastfeeding. The
breastfeeding mother may need food and drink, especially during the long summer
days when it is very hot. So she may need not to fast so that she can nourish
her child with her milk. In this case we also say to her: Do not fast, and when
this excuse no longer applies, then you should make up the fasts that you have
missed. Shaykh Ibn Baaz said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (15/224):
With regard to pregnant women and
breastfeeding mothers, it is proven in the hadeeth of Anas ibn Maalik al-Ka’bi,
narrated by Ahmad and the authors of al-Sunan with a saheeh isnaad, that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) granted them a
dispensation allowing them not to fast, and he regarded them as being like
travelers. From this it is known that they may not fast but they have to make
up the fasts later, just like travelers. The scholars stated that they are only
allowed not to fast if fasting is too difficult for them, as in the case of one
who is sick, or if they fear for their children. And Allaah knows best.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah (10/226): The pregnant woman is obliged to fast during her
pregnancy, unless she fears that fasting may affect her or her foetus, in which
case she is allowed not to fast, and she should make up the fasts after she
gives birth and becomes pure from nifaas.
It is prescribed for sick people
not to fast in Ramadaan, if fasting will cause harm or make the sickness worse,
or if they need treatment during the day in the form of medicine or pills that
must be swallowed, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “and
whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not
observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days”[ holy Quran chapter
al-Baqarah 2:185]
And the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah loves people to avail themselves
of His concessions (rukhsah) just as He hates them to commit sin.” According to
another version, “As He loves His commands to be obeyed.”
With regard to taking blood from
veins for testing etc., the correct view is that this does not break the fast,
but if it is done often, it is better to leave it until night-time. If it is
done during the day then to be on the safe side that day should be made up,
because this is akin to cupping.”
(Fatwa of Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may
Allaah have mercy on him), from Fataawa Islamiyyah, vol. 2, p.
139)
Sickness is of various kinds:
1 – That which does not affect the
fast, such as a light cold or mild headache or toothache, and the like. In this
case it is not permissible to break the fast, even though some of the scholars
permitted that because of the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “and
whoever is ill…”[ holy Quran chapter al-Baqarah 2:185]
But we say that this ruling is
based on a reason, which is that not fasting is easier. If that is the case,
then we would say that not fasting is better, but if fasting does not have an
effect on him then it is not permissible to break the fast, and he has to fast.
2 – If fasting is difficult for
the sick person, but it does not harm him, then it is makrooh for him to fast
and it is Sunnah for him to break his fast.
3 – If fasting is difficult for
him and will cause him harm, such as a man who has kidney disease or diabetes
and similar cases where fasting will cause harm. In this case fasting is
haraam. Hence we may see that some mujtahids and sick people make a mistake
when fasting is difficult for them and may harm them, but they refuse to break
their fast. We say that they are mistaken because they refuse to accept the
kindness of Allaah and the concession that He has given to them, and they are
harming themselves, although Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And
do not kill yourselves”[Holy Quran al-Nisa’ 4:29]. al-Sharh al-Mumti’
by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, vol. 6, 352-254.
Allaah has permitted the sick to
break the fast in Ramadaan and make it up later on, as He says (interpretation
of the meaning): “So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first
night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe
Sawm (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number
[of days which one did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other
days”[ holy Quran chapter al-Baqarah 2:185].
This applies if the sickness is
one from which it is hoped that the person will recover. If the sickness is one
from which there is no hope of recovery – in the doctors’ opinion – then he may
break the fast and feed one poor person for each day.
If a sick person does not fast,
and his sickness is one from which there is no hope of recovery, and he feeds
one poor person for each day, then Allaah heals him, he does not have to make
up the fasts, because he did what was required of him, and he discharged his
duty thereby. See al-Insaaf (3/285).
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah
have mercy on him) was asked: If a person recovers from a sickness that the
doctors previously stated it was impossible to recover from, and that is after
several days of Ramadaan have passed, is he required to make up the previous
days?
He replied: If a person does not
fast in Ramadaan because of sickness for which there is no hope of recovery,
either because this is the usual pattern with that sickness or because
trustworthy doctors have stated that, then he has to feed one poor person for
each day. If he does that, then Allaah decrees that he should be healed after
that, he does not have to make up the fasts for which he fed the poor, because
his duty was discharged when he fed poor persons instead of fasting.
If his duty has been discharged,
then it is not followed by another obligation. This is like what the fuqaha’
(may Allaah have mercy on them) mentioned about a man who is unable to perform
the duty of Hajj because of a reason for which there is no hope that it will
end, and someone does Hajj on his behalf, then he recovers after that: he does
not have to do the obligatory Hajj again. End quote from Majmoo’ah Fataawa
al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (19/126).
We praise Allaah for having healed
you and we ask Him for more of His bounty for us and for you.
4
THE SICK
In the event of any sickness that
makes people feel unwell, a person is allowed not to fast.
1) The
basis for this is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “… and whoever
is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days on which one did not observe
sawm must be made up] from other days…” [Holy Quran Chapter al-Baqarah 2:185].
2) But
if the ailment is minor, such as a cough or headache, then it is not a reason
to break one's fast.
3) If
there is medical proof, or a person knows from his usual experience, or he is
certain, that fasting will make his illness worse or delay his recovery, he is
permitted to break his fast; indeed, it is disliked (makrooh) for him to fast
in such cases.
4) If
a person is seriously ill, he does not have to have the intention during the
night to fast the following day, even if there is a possibility that he may be
well in the morning, because what counts is the present moment.
5) If
fasting will cause unconsciousness, he should break his fast and make the fast
up later on[4].
6) If
a person falls unconscious during the day and recovers before Maghrib or after,
his fast is still valid, so long as he was fasting in the morning; if he is
unconscious from Fajr until Maghrib, then according to the majority of scholars
his fast is not valid. According to the majority of scholars, it is obligatory
for a person who falls unconscious to make up his fasts later on, no matter how
long he was unconscious[5].
7) Some
scholars issued fatwaas to the effect that a person who falls unconscious or
takes sleeping pills or receives a general anesthetic for a genuine reason, and
becomes unconscious for three days or less, must make up the fasts later on,
because he is regarded as being like one who sleeps; if he is unconscious for
more than three days, he does not have to make up the fasts, because he is
regarded as being like one who is insane[6].
8) If
a person feels extreme hunger or thirst, and fears that he may die or that some
of his faculties may be irreparably damaged, and has rational grounds for
believing this to be so, he may break his fast and make up for it later on,
because saving one’s life is obligatory.
9) But
it is not permissible to break one's fast because of bearable hardship or
because one feels tired or is afraid of some imagined illness.
10) People
who work in physically demanding jobs are not permitted to break their fast,
and they must have the intention at night of fasting the following day.
11) If
they cannot stop working and they are afraid that some harm may befall them
during the day, or they face some extreme hardship that causes them to break
their fast, then they should eat only what is enough to help them bear the
hardship, then they should refrain from eating until sunset, and they have to
make the fast up later.
12) Workers
in physically demanding jobs, such as working with furnaces and smelting
metals, should try to change their hours so that they work at night, or take
their holidays during Ramadaan, or even take unpaid leave, but if this is not
possible, then they should look for another job, where they can combine their
religious and worldly duties. “And whoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty
to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).
And He will provide him from (sources) he could never imagine[7].”
13) Students’
exams are no excuse for breaking one’s fast during Ramadaan, and it is not
permissible to obey one’s parents in breaking the fast because of having exams,
because there is no obedience to any created being if it involves disobedience
to the Creator[8].
14) The
sick person who hopes to recover should wait until he gets better, then make up
for the fasts he has missed; he is not allowed just to feed the poor. The
person who is suffering from a chronic illness and has no hope of recovery and
elderly people who are unable to fast should feed a poor person with half a saa’
of the staple food of his country for every day that he has missed. (Half a
saa’ is roughly equivalent to one and a half kilograms of rice). It is
permissible for him to do this all at once, on one day at the end of the month,
or to feed one poor person every day. He has to do this by giving actual food,
because of the wording of the aayah – he cannot do it by giving money to the
poor[9].
But he can give money to a trustworthy person or charitable organization to buy
food and distribute it to the poor on his behalf.
15) If
a sick person does not fast in Ramadaan, waiting to recover so that he can make
the days up later, then he finds out that his sickness is chronic, he has to
feed a poor person for every day that he did not fast[10].
16) If a person is waiting to recover from his
illness and hopes to get better, but then dies, there is no “debt” owed by him
or his heirs. If a person’s sickness is considered to be chronic, so he does
not fast and feeds the poor instead, then advances in medical science mean that
there is now a cure, which he uses and gets better; he does not have to make up
the fasts he has missed, because he did what he had to do at the time[11].
17) If
a person is sick, then recovers, and is able to make up the missed fasts but
does not do so before he dies, then money should be taken from his estate to
feed a poor person for every day that he missed.
18) If
any of his relatives want to fast on his behalf, then this is OK, because it
was reported in al-Saheehayn that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever dies owing some fasts, let his
heir fast on his behalf[12].”
5 SOME OF THE
AHKAAM (RULINGS) ON FASTING
1.
There is the kind of fasting that
must be done on consecutive days, like fasting in Ramadaan, or fasting to
expiate for killing someone by mistake, divorcing one’s wife by zihaar [a
jaahili form of divorce in which a man says to his wife, “You are to me as the
back of my mother” – Translator], or having intercourse during the day in
Ramadaan. Also, one who makes a vow to fast consecutive days must fulfil it.
There is also the other kind of fasting which does not have to be done on
consecutive days, such as making up days missed in Ramadaan, fasting ten days
if one does not have a sacrifice, fasting for kafaarat yameen (according to the
majority), fasting to compensate for violating the conditions of ihraam
(according to the most correct opinion), and fasting in fulfilment of a vow in
cases where one did not have the intention of fasting consecutive days.
2.
Voluntary fasts make up for any
shortfall in obligatory fasts. Examples of voluntary fasts include ‘Aashooraa,
‘Arafaah, Ayyaam al-Beed [the 13th, 14th and 15th
of the hijri months – Translator], Mondays and Thursdays, six days of Shawwaal,
and fasting more during Muharram and Sha’baan.
3.
It is not permitted to single out a
Friday for fasting[13],
or to fast on a Saturday, unless it is an obligatory fast[14] – what is meant is singling it out without a
reason. It is not permitted to fast for an entire lifetime, or to fast for two
days or more without a break, i.e., to fast two or three days without a break
in between.
4.
It is haraam to fast on the two Eid
days, or on the Ayyaam al-Tashreeq, which are the 11th, 12th
and 13th of Dhoo’l-Hijjah, because these are the days of eating and
drinking and remembering Allaah, but it is permissible for the one who does not
have a sacrifice to fast them (Ayyaam al-Tashreeq) in Mina.
6 TRAVELLERS
For a traveller to be allowed to break his fast, certain
conditions must be met.
1) His
journey should be lengthy, or else be known as travelling (although there is a
well-known difference of opinion among the scholars on this matter), and should
go beyond the city and its suburbs. (The majority of scholars say that he
should not break his fast before he passes the city limits.
2) They
say that a journey has not really begun until a person passes the city limits,
and a person who is still in the city is “settled” and “present”.
3) Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning): “… So whoever of you sights (the
crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadaan, i.e., is present at his
home), he must observes sawm (fasts) that month…” [Holy Quran chapter al-Baqarah 2:185].
4) He
is not counted as a traveller until he has left the city; if he is still within
the city, he is regarded as one who is settled, so he is not permitted to
shorten his prayers).
5) His
journey should also not be a journey for sinful purposes (according to the
majority of scholars), or for the purpose of trying to get out of having to
fast.
6) The
traveller is allowed to break his fast, according to the consensus of the
ummah, whether he is able to continue fasting or not, and whether is it
difficult for him to fast or not. Even if his journey is easy and he has
someone to serve him, he is still permitted to break his fast and shorten his
prayers[15].
7) Whoever
is determined to travel in Ramadaan should not have the intention of breaking
his fast until he is actually travelling, because something may happen to
prevent him from setting out on his journey[16].
8) The
traveller should not break his fast until he has passed beyond the inhabited
houses of his town; once he has passed the city limits, he may break his fast.
9) Similarly,
if he is flying, once the plane has taken off and has gone beyond the city
limits, he may break his fast. If the airport is outside his city, he can break
his fast there, but if the airport is within his city or attached to it, he
should not break his fast in the airport because he is still inside his own
city.
10) If
the sun sets and he breaks his fast on the ground, then the plane takes off and
he sees the sun, he does not have to stop eating, because he has already
completed his day’s fasting, and there is no way to repeat an act of worship
that is finished.
11) If
the plane takes off before sunset and he wants to complete that day’s fasting
during the journey, he should not break his fast until the sun has set from wherever
he is in the air. The pilot is not permitted to bring the plane down to an
altitude from which the sun cannot be seen just for the purposes of breaking
the fast, because this would just be a kind of trickery, but if he brings the
plane down lower for a genuine reason, and the disk of the sun disappears as a
result, then he may break his fast[17].
12) Whoever
travels to a place and intends to stay there for more than four days must fast,
according to the majority of scholars. So if a person travels to study abroad
for a period of months or years, then according to the majority of scholars –
including the four imaams – he is regarded as one who is “settled” there and so
he has to fast and pray his prayers in full.
13) If
a traveller passes through a city other than his own, he does not have to fast,
unless his stay there is longer than four days, in which case he must fast,
because the rulings that apply to those who are settled apply also to him[18].
14) Whoever
begins fasting while he is “settled” then embarks on a journey during the day
is allowed to break his fast, because Allaah has made setting out in general a
legitimate excuse not to fast. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “…
and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days on which one did
not observe sawm must be made up] from other days…” [holy Quran chapter al-Baqarah 2:185]
15) A
person who habitually travels is permitted not to fast if he has a home to
which he returns, such as a courier who travels to serve the interests of the
Muslims (and also taxi drivers, pilots and airline employees, even if their
travel is daily – but they have to make up the fasts later).
16) The
same applies to sailors who have a home on land; but if a sailor has his wife
and all he needs with him on the ship, and is constantly travelling, then he is
not allowed to break his fast or shorten his prayers.
17) If
nomadic Bedouins are travelling from their winter home to their summer home, or
vice versa, they are allowed to break their fast and shorten their prayers, but
once they have settled in either their summer home or their winter home, they
should not break their fast or shorten their prayers, even if they are
following their flocks[19].
18) If
a traveller arrives during the day, there is a well-known dispute among the
scholars as to whether he should stop eating and drinking[20].
But to be on the safe side, he should stop eating and drinking, out of respect
for the month, but he has to make the day up later, whether or not he stops
eating and drinking after his arrival.
19)
If he starts Ramadaan in one city,
then travels to another city where the people started fasting before him or
after him, then he should follow the ruling governing the people to whom he has
travelled, so he should only end Ramadaan when they end Ramadaan, even if it
means that he is fasting for more than thirty days, because the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Fast when everyone is fasting, and
break your fast when everyone is breaking their fast.” If it means that his
fast is less than twenty-nine days, he must make it up after Eid, because the
hijri month cannot be less than twenty-nine days[21].
To be continued Part
(2 of 2) of 11:
Allah (Swt) Intends Ease And Not Hardship For Fasting People
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