Fasting of the pilot assigned to an official mission within or outside the cities
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Fatwa No. ( 1531 )
Praise be to Allah alone, and may blessings and peace be upon His Messenger, his family, and his Companions. And after that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
the question submitted by Colonel 'Abd al-Muhsin ibn 'Abd Allah al-Shaykh to His Eminence the Grand President, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat with number (175\ 2) on 10\ 2\ 1397 AH. The text of the question is: Given that pilots are required to fly during the day in the blessed month of Ramadan, and that flight regulations state that a pilot must not take off on any flight while fasting, and given that we place the teachings of our religion above all circumstances – we therefore hope for a ruling on whether it is permissible for a pilot to break his fast when he is required to fly during the day in the blessed month, or not ?
The Committee responded as follows: If a pilot undertakes a flight and the distance is a travel distance in which prayer is shortened – it is permissible for him to break his fast during the day of Ramadan after he has crossed the boundaries of the city from whose airport he took off. He may avail himself of all the dispensations prescribed for the traveler, such as wiping over leather socks for three days and nights, combining the two prayers, and shortening the four-unit prayer, as long as he is on his journey, even if he lands at an airport in a city other than his own, until he returns to his own city, even if it is on the same day. However, if his flying is in the airspace of his own city, hovering above it and circling it and its suburbs by plane for training or for spraying fumes and disinfectants or the like – then he is not a traveler, so it is not permissible for him to break his fast in Ramadan, nor is it permissible for him to shorten the prayer, nor to combine the two prayers, or the like, even if
the distance of his hovering, if extended in a straight line, would equal a distance in which prayer is shortened and breaking the fast in Ramadan is permitted. His case is similar to that of a car driver who drives in the streets of his city all day and night; it is not permissible for either of them to avail themselves of the dispensations of travel. It is possible to get out of the difficulty and hardship in this matter by conducting the training in the nights of Ramadan and in the other months of the year. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Praise be to Allah alone, and may blessings and peace be upon His Messenger, his family, and his Companions. And after that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed
the question submitted by Colonel 'Abd al-Muhsin ibn 'Abd Allah al-Shaykh to His Eminence the Grand President, and referred to the Committee by the General Secretariat with number (175\ 2) on 10\ 2\ 1397 AH. The text of the question is: Given that pilots are required to fly during the day in the blessed month of Ramadan, and that flight regulations state that a pilot must not take off on any flight while fasting, and given that we place the teachings of our religion above all circumstances – we therefore hope for a ruling on whether it is permissible for a pilot to break his fast when he is required to fly during the day in the blessed month, or not ?
The Committee responded as follows: If a pilot undertakes a flight and the distance is a travel distance in which prayer is shortened – it is permissible for him to break his fast during the day of Ramadan after he has crossed the boundaries of the city from whose airport he took off. He may avail himself of all the dispensations prescribed for the traveler, such as wiping over leather socks for three days and nights, combining the two prayers, and shortening the four-unit prayer, as long as he is on his journey, even if he lands at an airport in a city other than his own, until he returns to his own city, even if it is on the same day. However, if his flying is in the airspace of his own city, hovering above it and circling it and its suburbs by plane for training or for spraying fumes and disinfectants or the like – then he is not a traveler, so it is not permissible for him to break his fast in Ramadan, nor is it permissible for him to shorten the prayer, nor to combine the two prayers, or the like, even if
the distance of his hovering, if extended in a straight line, would equal a distance in which prayer is shortened and breaking the fast in Ramadan is permitted. His case is similar to that of a car driver who drives in the streets of his city all day and night; it is not permissible for either of them to avail themselves of the dispensations of travel. It is possible to get out of the difficulty and hardship in this matter by conducting the training in the nights of Ramadan and in the other months of the year. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.