Fast Rules

Fast is divided into 4 parts:

Obligatory
Recommended
Forbidden
Undesirable

Obligatory Fast:

1-Ramadhan Fast

2-Compensative Fast

3-fasting for atonement of Ramadhan Fast:

If someone breaks intentionally his fast in Ramadhan Month, he should do its compensation and atone. The rules of atonement are:

Ransoming a slave or feeding 60 poors or fasting 60 days (he should fast 31 days continuously)

4-Spiritual retirement fasting:

In this fasting, a person decides to stay in mosque to worship and fast, in this case, fast will be obligatory to him in the third day.

5-Sacrifice Fast:

It means when a person has gone to Greater Pilgrimage (Hajj) but he does not have enough money to buy a sheep, in this case, he must fast 3 days in there and 7 days after his returning from pilgrimage (Hajj).

6-Fasting for vow, covenant, oath, stipulation and hire:

In this case, a person may make a vow or covenant or make an oath to fast one day, also if he stipulates to fast in transacting with some body or in being hire, all of the fasts which he has engaged, will be obligatory to him.

Recommended Fasts:

Fasting in some days of year is recommended especially in Feast on 18^th Zul-Hajjat (Qadeer Feast), Prophet (Pbuh&hf)’s birthday and Prophet (Pbuh&hf)’s Bea’sat.

Undesirable Fasts:

Guest’s recommended fast without host’s permission (when host wants him not to fast) is undesirable.

Child’s recommended fast without his father’s permission (even if his fast doesn’t afflict his parents). But if his fast afflicts his parents, it will be forbidden. And if father refrains his child from recommended fast, although he is not afflicted but child should be precautious and doesn’t fast, because mother’s permission is higher than recommended fast.

Forbidden Fasts:

Fasting is forbidden: In Feast of Fast-breaking and Feast of Sacrifice.

-For the person who is in Mena on pilgrimage ceremony (11^th, 12^th, 13^th Zul-Hajjat)

-On 30^th Shaa’ban (when it is not clear, is it Ramahdan or not? Man should fast for Ramadhan)

-Fasting for illegal vows,

(It will be forbidden if it’s for doing an illegal work). For example, some one vows to fast if he succeeds in doing of an illegal work or leaving an obligatory duty, this vow and its fast will be forbidden.

-Fasting for silence,

(If someone wants to consider silence as a condition in his fast, it will be forbidden.)

-Fasting for connection,

(If someone wants to connect the fast of two days to each other, as he eats nothing at night or fast a day and a night together, this fast will be forbidden.)

-Fasting is forbidden for a sick person or when it makes his sickness harder.

-Fasting is forbidden in trip, (but in some cases, if person vows to be fast in a trip, his fast is not forbidden.)

-(It is precaution) woman can not do recommended fast without her husband’s permission especially if her fast is inconsistent with her husband’s rights.

The Rules of Obligatory Fast:

A person who wants to fast should be:

Full-grown
Wise man
He must not be traveler
If she is woman, she must not be in menstrual cycle or childbirth situation.
Fast should not be caused that he becomes sick or his sickness becomes harder.

Fast is not obligatory for:

Old men and women
Pregnant women and nursing mothers
A person who has thirst-disease

How to sight the Moon:

Man sees crescent of the moon by himself.
Successive transmission and spreading (seeing of the Moon spreads among people as all of them believe it).
Two equitable witnesses testify.
Islamic judge announces that the new moon has begun or finished.
Passing 30 days from last month (because Arabic month is not more than 30 days.)

If proving of new moon was doubtful, man should not fast as Ramadhan. But if he fasts for the last day of Shaa’ban and then he’s informed that it’s the first day of Ramadhan, his fast will be acceptable.

Intention

Since intention is necessary in other worship, the fast needs intention too, so the fast without intention is not acceptable.

Intention means that a man intends to fast and avoids of things which break fast.

What does break the fast:

Eating
Drinking
Sexual intercourse
Masturbation
Being in ritual impurity, menstruation or childbirth situation, (If a person is in these states, he (she) should do legal bathing before dawn and if he (she) can’t do legal bath, must make ablution in sand, because without doing these facts, his (her) fast won’t be acceptable.
Telling a lie about God, Prophet (Pbuh) and Imams (Pbut)
Sinking the head into water
Breathing in dusty air (like smoking and etc.)
Enema

Vomiting
A woman who is menstrual irregular discharges has to do ritual ablution for
prayer. If she does not do so, her fast won’t be acceptable.

NOTE:

If you do these mentioned cases inadvertently, your fast won’t be break but if you do them intentionally, your fast will be break. (But your fast will never be acceptable, if you are in ritual impurity (Janaabah), in advertently or intentionally)

Fast Compensation

If a person didn’t fast for sickness or travel and etc, in Ramadhan month, he must do fast-compensation after Ramadhan. His opportunity will be till next Ramadhan. He must not delay his fast compensation more than one year. Because in the next year, not only he should do fast compensation but also he should pay its atonement.

If someone doesn’t fast intentionally in Ramadhan month or break his fast without any legal reason, he must do his fast compensation and pay its atonement.

Fast atonement is one of these 3 things:

Ransoming a slave
Feeding sixty poors
Fasting sixty days (he should fast 31 days continuously)

If a person breaks his fast with a forbidden act like drinking wine, he should atone all of them (1,2,3). Since there is not slave now, the first case is put aside, but he should do two of them.

If someone is able to do none of them, he must pay alms as able as he can. If he is not able to do this act too, he must ask pardon of Allah. He should do its atonement whenever he can. In some cases, there is no need to atonement; for more information, please refer to your imitated authority.

Religious Questions about Fast

Q: What is decree for girls who are adolescent yet?

When is puberty age for girls?

A: Religious puberty age for girls, is the age of 9 years old (in Arabic year). Fast is

obligatory to them in this age and leaving it, is not acceptable. But if fasting is

hard for them, fast is not obligatory to them.

Q: If someone wants to arrive to his town before noon, but he can not arrive on

time for some reasons, Is his fast correct or not? And what is its

compensation and atonement?

A: His fast is not correct on trip. Fast atonement is not obligatory to him. His fast

compensation is just obligatory to him.

Q: When an airplane is flying in a height and flight time is about 2 or 3

hours, the pilot and hostess need water every 20 minutes, for their health. What

are their fast compensation and atonement?

A: If fast hurts him(her), he(she) must break his(her) fast with water. In this case, the fast

compensation is obligatory to them but its atonement is not obligatory.

Q: Is the fast obligatory to a pregnant woman in the first months?

A: Pregnancy does not prevent from fasting, but if a pregnant woman is sure that

fasting hurts her and her baby, it is not obligatory to fast.

Q: After pregnancy the Almighty God gave me a baby. Next month is

Ramadhan and now I can fast, but I know if I fast, my milk will be finished. I

should tell you I am very weak and my baby wants milk every 10 minutes.

Please tell me what is my duty?

A: If you fast and your milk will be diminished, fast is not obligatory to you. But you

should give a mudd (16/3 pints) of wheat to poor. Although the fast compensation is

obligatory to you (the days which you don’t fast).

Q: Some of doctors, who don’t believe in legal problems, say to sick persons not

to fast for its harm. Are these doctors’ suggestions acceptable?

A: If doctor were not truth worthy, his suggestion would not be acceptable.

Q: I didn't fast about 120 days. Should I fast 60 days for every day or

not? Is fast atonement obligatory to me?

A: Fast compensation would be obligatory to you, if you had legal excuse for not

fasting. But if you didn’t fast intentionally and without any legal excuse, fast

atonement would be obligatory.

Q:If a person did not fast for weakness in the first days of puberty, what would he

do about fast compensation and atonement?

A: If he didn’t fast intentionally, fast compensation and its atonement would be obligatory.

Q: I don’t know how many compensation fasts I have? And I don’t know

whether they are intentionally or not?

A: It’s better, you determine fixed numbers which are clear for you. If you doubt about

them which are intentionally or not, atonement is not obligatory.

Q: If a person didn’t get up before down for eating (sahary) and for this

reason he could not continue his fast. Now is it obligatory to him one

atonement or all of them?

A: If he continues his fast as long as he can not bear hunger and thirst, he has to

break his fast, in this case, there is no need to atonement, and fast compensation is

just obligatory to him.

Q: What is my duty, if I doubt that I have done my fast compensation or not?

A: If you used to do fast compensation then be sure you’ve done that.

Q: If a doctor says to a sick person “Fast is harmful for you.” And he doesn’t

fast according to the doctor’s suggestion. But in the next years, he

understands that not only fast was not harmful for him but also the doctor’s

suggestion was wrong. Is it obligatory fast compensation and atonement to

him now?

A: According to the experienced and trustworthy doctor’s statement, if fast was

harmful to his disease, fast compensation would just be obligatory.

Q: If a fasting man breaks his fast at sunset in a country and then travels to

another country where is not still sunset, what does he do about his fast? And

can he eat in this country before sunset?

A: His fast is correct and he can eat in this country.

Q: If the new moon (Shawal) is not observed in one of the cities, but Radio and

T.V announce it. Is it enough or not?

A: If it’s announced by T.V and Radio which is proved by jurisdiction, will be

acceptable.