Fasting While Traveling
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Praise be to Allah alone, and peace and blessings be upon the one after whom there is no prophet. After that: The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta has reviewed what was sent to His Eminence the Grand Mufti from the Honorable Director General of the Religious Affairs Department of the Armed Forces,
with reference number (2/10/756) and date 21/2/1432 AH, which was referred to the General Committee of the Council of Senior Scholars with reference number (273) and date 26/2/1432 AH, accompanied by a set of questions. The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta answered them as follows: Q69: We have arduous training flights over the city of Riyadh that last more than five hours. Is it permissible for us to avail ourselves of the dispensations of travel during this time, such as breaking the fast in Ramadan?
A69: It is not permissible to break the fast during the day in Ramadan due to training flights over the city of Riyadh , because they are not considered travel. However, if one is required by the authority he belongs to to perform these flights, and he needs to break the fast during the day, such that if he did not break it he would fear for his life, then it is permissible for him to consume what satisfies his hunger and averts the harm from him, then he must abstain until sunset and make up the day he broke his fast; due to the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:286].
Q70: If I did not intend to fast from the night because of my schedule for a confirmed trip, and then the trip was canceled due to urgent circumstances, what is the ruling? Do I continue fasting,
and am I required to make up this day?
A70: If the dawn breaks upon you and you have not intended to fast before it rose, then it is obligatory for you to abstain until sunset and make up that day; because the intention from the night is a condition for the validity of obligatory fasting. It was narrated by Ibn 'Umar , from Hafsa - may Allah be pleased with them - from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 730Da'if (Darussalam). It was narrated by Ahmad , and the compilers of the Sunan, and it was graded authentic by Ibn Khuzaymah , and Ibn Hibban , and al-Hakim , and Ibn Hazm . It was obligatory for you to intend to fast before the dawn broke. Once travel is confirmed, it is permissible for you to break the fast; because the dispensations of travel are not to be availed of before the travel begins.
Q71: If I intended to fast from the night, but when I woke up I learned that I had a flight I was not aware of, so I intended to break the fast but had not yet done so. When I reached the plane, it had a malfunction and the flight was canceled, so I completed the fast. Is my fast valid?
A71: If you were fasting an obligatory fast, and then you intended to break it, then you have broken your fast by intention, whether you consumed something that breaks the fast or not. You are required to complete the fasting of that day and make it up; because you have severed the intention of the obligatory fast, and fasting is a form of worship that requires the continuity of intention, so it becomes defective by the intention to exit it,
just like prayer. And because the principle is that intention is considered in all parts of the act of worship. However, if your fast was voluntary, and you intended to break it, but did not consume any food or drink, then the intention to break the fast does not affect the validity of your fast. In the authentic collection of Muslim , it was narrated from 'Aisha, the Mother of the Believers - may Allah be pleased with her - that she said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me one day:Sahih Muslim 1154a.
Q72: If I am assigned a flight mission in Ramadan for twenty-five days, and I am capable of flying and fasting during that time, is it permissible for me to fast? Knowing that the instructions require me to break the fast, but it is very difficult for me to make up the fasting of these days .
A72: If performing the flight mission during the fasting of Ramadan results in harm, or death, or damage, or overwhelming hunger or thirst that you fear for yourself, then it is not permissible for you to fast; due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:195], and He the Exalted said: [An-Nisa 4:29].
Q73: Does the unit commander or the pilot have the authority to force the rest of the crew to break the fast in Ramadan ? Especially since the instructions mandate breaking the fast
due to the importance it poses to the safety of the pilot.
A73: It is permissible for the unit commander or the pilot to compel the rest of the aircraft crew to break the fast in Ramadan, provided two conditions are met: First: That the flight is necessary during the day in Ramadan, such that if it were left, great harms would result. Second: That the existence of harm to the aircraft crew from fasting during the flight is confirmed, or there is a strong presumption of it.
Q74: If one of the crew members is breaking the fast in Ramadan and smokes, does inhaling the rising smoke affect the rest of the crew members inside the aircraft cabin?
A74: If cigarette smoke enters the throat unintentionally, that does not affect the validity of your fasting. You must advise your brother the smoker to repent to Allah from smoking, because it is forbidden and a sin, and warn him of the sin resulting from harming his companions with the smoke of his cigarettes, and remind him of the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ahzab 33:58].
Q75: We sometimes break our fast on the ground at the time of Maghrib prayer, then we fly and see the sun , so what do we do?
A75: Your fasting is valid; because you broke your fast after the sun had set, and you completed the fasting until night as Allah - Mighty and Majestic - commanded in His saying:[Al-Baqarah 2:187].
Q76: If we break our fast in the plane and arrive at the destination country during the day in Ramadan , do we abstain or do we remain having broken our fast?
Q77: If we break our fast in the plane, do we abstain when we return to our homes , or do we remain having broken our fast for the rest of the day in which we broke it?
A76, 77: If you arrive in your country during the day and you are having broken your fast due to travel, it is obligatory for you to abstain for the rest of the day according to the correct of the two opinions of the scholars, and to make up the day you broke your fast; because breaking the fast in travel is a dispensation that Allah made as a concession for His servants, so when the cause of the dispensation is removed, the dispensation is removed with it. However, if the country you arrive in is not your country and you do not intend to reside in it for more than four days, then you are not required to abstain.
Q78: If we depart on the day of the festival and arrive at the destination country
and find that they are still fasting , what is the ruling? Do we fast, having fasted thirty days, or do we break our fast?
A78: If you completed the fasting of Ramadan in your country and broke your fast on the day of the festival, and then you traveled to a country where they are still fasting, continue in your breaking of the fast; because you broke your fast by a legal ruling. However, it is better for you to be discreet; so that this does not become a cause of fitnah.
Q79: If we arrive in a country and we have fasted twenty-eight days, and we find that they have broken their fast , do we complete twenty-nine days or do we break our fast with them?
A79: If you fasted twenty-eight days in your country, and then you traveled to a country and found that its people had broken their fast, break your fast with them, if their fasting and breaking of the fast is based on a legal sighting. Your ruling is the ruling of the people of the country you traveled to. If they fasted twenty-nine days, you must make up one day after the festival. If they fasted thirty days, you must make up two days.
Q80: We travel on external trips for several days at the end of the month of Sha'ban, so how can we know the entry of the month of Ramadan while we are in non-Muslim countries?
A80: You can know the entry of the month of Ramadan in a non-Muslim country by consulting the Islamic center in that country.
Q81: If we are in Islamic countries that rely on the calendar rather than the sighting of the crescent for the entry of Ramadan , do we fast with them on that day or do we remain having broken our fast according to the sighting of our country?
A81: The apparent indication from the scriptural evidence is that one who travels to a country must fast with its people; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):. It was narrated by Abu Dawud , and al-Tirmidhi with a good chain, and because fasting with the people of that country unites the word and avoids disagreement and division.
Q82: Does the oxygen inhaled by the fighter pilot through the mask he wears invalidate the fast?
A82: The industrial oxygen gas inhaled by the pilot does not invalidate the fast; because it is not eating or drinking, nor is it in the meaning of eating and drinking.
Q83: If a pilot is overcome by vomiting during his flight on a day in Ramadan , does this affect his fast?
A83: If the pilot is overcome by vomiting without his intention, that does not affect the validity of his fast; but if he intentionally induces vomiting, he breaks his fast with it and must make it up;
based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Ibn Majah 1676Da’if (Darussalam). It was narrated by the compilers of the four Sunan, and it was authenticated by Ibn Hibban , and al-Hakim , and al-Daraqutni said: All its narrators are trustworthy, and al-Nawawi graded it as good in al-Majmu'.
Q84: If I am afflicted with what is called (airsick), i.e., vomiting during flight, and I know that I will vomit on this trip, and I flew on a day in Ramadan on a short trip intending to fast, am I in this case among those who intentionally induce vomiting in Ramadan ? And do I continue my fast, or am I considered to have broken it?
A84: You are not considered to have broken your fast in this case because you did not intentionally induce vomiting, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 1676Da’if (Darussalam). It was narrated by the compilers of the four Sunan, and it was authenticated by Ibn Hibban , and al-Hakim , and al-Daraqutni said: All its narrators are trustworthy. And al-Nawawi graded it as good in al-Majmu'.
Q85: A person fasted Ramadan while practicing flight, knowing that he was exempted from fasting by a scholarly ruling because his mission required him to break his fast. What is the ruling if, may Allah forbid, he is involved in an accident and his term comes to an end? Is he considered sinful or rewarded for his persistence in fasting?
A85: It is obligatory for the pilot to break his fast if the trip is necessary and the harm from not breaking the fast is certain or likely. If he fasts and is involved in an accident and his term comes to an end due to his fasting, he is considered sinful; based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:195], and His saying: [An-Nisa 4:29].
Q86: If I fast voluntarily during my flight, such as the white days and Mondays of every week, knowing fully my ability to do so, is there sin on me for that? Knowing that I am ordered to break my fast in Ramadan due to the effect on flight safety?
A86: If it is your custom to fast voluntarily and you broke your fast for the safety of the flight, then the reward of fasting is written for you, if Allah wills. It was narrated from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 2996. It was narrated by al-Bukhari .
Q87: If the time for breaking the fast enters and I am in the plane and I have nothing to break my fast with , am I required to intend to break my fast, or do I wait until after the landing of the trip?
A87: If the time for breaking the fast enters and you do not find anything to break your fast with, even water, the Sunnah
is to break your fast by intention; based on the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa'd , that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 699Sahih (Darussalam). It was narrated by al-Bukhari , and Muslim .
Q88: How do I determine my breaking of the fast in Ramadan if there are heavy clouds preventing me from seeing the sun ?
A88: If there are clouds preventing you from seeing the sun, it is obligatory for you to abstain from eating and drinking and all things that break the fast until it is most likely in your opinion that the sun has set, for the preponderance of opinion is treated as the position of certainty.
Q89: Is the criterion for breaking the fast our seeing the sun or the time of the country we are flying over?
A98: The criterion for breaking the fast is the realization of the setting of the sun, not the time of the country you are flying over; based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:187], and the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 1954. It was narrated by al-Bukhari , and Muslim .
with reference number (2/10/756) and date 21/2/1432 AH, which was referred to the General Committee of the Council of Senior Scholars with reference number (273) and date 26/2/1432 AH, accompanied by a set of questions. The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta answered them as follows: Q69: We have arduous training flights over the city of Riyadh that last more than five hours. Is it permissible for us to avail ourselves of the dispensations of travel during this time, such as breaking the fast in Ramadan?
A69: It is not permissible to break the fast during the day in Ramadan due to training flights over the city of Riyadh , because they are not considered travel. However, if one is required by the authority he belongs to to perform these flights, and he needs to break the fast during the day, such that if he did not break it he would fear for his life, then it is permissible for him to consume what satisfies his hunger and averts the harm from him, then he must abstain until sunset and make up the day he broke his fast; due to the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَاQ70: If I did not intend to fast from the night because of my schedule for a confirmed trip, and then the trip was canceled due to urgent circumstances, what is the ruling? Do I continue fasting,
and am I required to make up this day?
A70: If the dawn breaks upon you and you have not intended to fast before it rose, then it is obligatory for you to abstain until sunset and make up that day; because the intention from the night is a condition for the validity of obligatory fasting. It was narrated by Ibn 'Umar , from Hafsa - may Allah be pleased with them - from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Whoever did not decide to fast before Fajr then there is no fast for him.
من لم يجمع الصيام قبل الفجر فلا صيام لهQ71: If I intended to fast from the night, but when I woke up I learned that I had a flight I was not aware of, so I intended to break the fast but had not yet done so. When I reached the plane, it had a malfunction and the flight was canceled, so I completed the fast. Is my fast valid?
A71: If you were fasting an obligatory fast, and then you intended to break it, then you have broken your fast by intention, whether you consumed something that breaks the fast or not. You are required to complete the fasting of that day and make it up; because you have severed the intention of the obligatory fast, and fasting is a form of worship that requires the continuity of intention, so it becomes defective by the intention to exit it,
just like prayer. And because the principle is that intention is considered in all parts of the act of worship. However, if your fast was voluntary, and you intended to break it, but did not consume any food or drink, then the intention to break the fast does not affect the validity of your fast. In the authentic collection of Muslim , it was narrated from 'Aisha, the Mother of the Believers - may Allah be pleased with her - that she said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to me one day:
'A'isha, have you anything (to eat)? I said: 'Messenger of Allah, there is nothing with us. Thereupon he said: I am observing fast.
يا عائشة ، هل عندك شيء ؟ قالت : فقلت : يا رسول الله ، ما عندنا شيء . قال : فإني صائمQ72: If I am assigned a flight mission in Ramadan for twenty-five days, and I am capable of flying and fasting during that time, is it permissible for me to fast? Knowing that the instructions require me to break the fast, but it is very difficult for me to make up the fasting of these days .
A72: If performing the flight mission during the fasting of Ramadan results in harm, or death, or damage, or overwhelming hunger or thirst that you fear for yourself, then it is not permissible for you to fast; due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]
وَلاَ تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِAnd do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.
وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًاQ73: Does the unit commander or the pilot have the authority to force the rest of the crew to break the fast in Ramadan ? Especially since the instructions mandate breaking the fast
due to the importance it poses to the safety of the pilot.
A73: It is permissible for the unit commander or the pilot to compel the rest of the aircraft crew to break the fast in Ramadan, provided two conditions are met: First: That the flight is necessary during the day in Ramadan, such that if it were left, great harms would result. Second: That the existence of harm to the aircraft crew from fasting during the flight is confirmed, or there is a strong presumption of it.
Q74: If one of the crew members is breaking the fast in Ramadan and smokes, does inhaling the rising smoke affect the rest of the crew members inside the aircraft cabin?
A74: If cigarette smoke enters the throat unintentionally, that does not affect the validity of your fasting. You must advise your brother the smoker to repent to Allah from smoking, because it is forbidden and a sin, and warn him of the sin resulting from harming his companions with the smoke of his cigarettes, and remind him of the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And those who harm believing men and believing women for [something] other than what they have earned have certainly born upon themselves a slander and manifest sin.
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا اكْتَسَبُوا فَقَدِ احْتَمَلُوا بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًاQ75: We sometimes break our fast on the ground at the time of Maghrib prayer, then we fly and see the sun , so what do we do?
A75: Your fasting is valid; because you broke your fast after the sun had set, and you completed the fasting until night as Allah - Mighty and Majestic - commanded in His saying:
Then complete the fast until the sunset
ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِQ76: If we break our fast in the plane and arrive at the destination country during the day in Ramadan , do we abstain or do we remain having broken our fast?
Q77: If we break our fast in the plane, do we abstain when we return to our homes , or do we remain having broken our fast for the rest of the day in which we broke it?
A76, 77: If you arrive in your country during the day and you are having broken your fast due to travel, it is obligatory for you to abstain for the rest of the day according to the correct of the two opinions of the scholars, and to make up the day you broke your fast; because breaking the fast in travel is a dispensation that Allah made as a concession for His servants, so when the cause of the dispensation is removed, the dispensation is removed with it. However, if the country you arrive in is not your country and you do not intend to reside in it for more than four days, then you are not required to abstain.
Q78: If we depart on the day of the festival and arrive at the destination country
and find that they are still fasting , what is the ruling? Do we fast, having fasted thirty days, or do we break our fast?
A78: If you completed the fasting of Ramadan in your country and broke your fast on the day of the festival, and then you traveled to a country where they are still fasting, continue in your breaking of the fast; because you broke your fast by a legal ruling. However, it is better for you to be discreet; so that this does not become a cause of fitnah.
Q79: If we arrive in a country and we have fasted twenty-eight days, and we find that they have broken their fast , do we complete twenty-nine days or do we break our fast with them?
A79: If you fasted twenty-eight days in your country, and then you traveled to a country and found that its people had broken their fast, break your fast with them, if their fasting and breaking of the fast is based on a legal sighting. Your ruling is the ruling of the people of the country you traveled to. If they fasted twenty-nine days, you must make up one day after the festival. If they fasted thirty days, you must make up two days.
Q80: We travel on external trips for several days at the end of the month of Sha'ban, so how can we know the entry of the month of Ramadan while we are in non-Muslim countries?
A80: You can know the entry of the month of Ramadan in a non-Muslim country by consulting the Islamic center in that country.
Q81: If we are in Islamic countries that rely on the calendar rather than the sighting of the crescent for the entry of Ramadan , do we fast with them on that day or do we remain having broken our fast according to the sighting of our country?
A81: The apparent indication from the scriptural evidence is that one who travels to a country must fast with its people; based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Fasting is the day you fast, and breaking the fast is the day you break the fast, and the Festival of Sacrifice is the day you sacrifice
الصوم يوم تصومون ، والإفطار يوم تفطرون ، والأضحى يوم تضحونQ82: Does the oxygen inhaled by the fighter pilot through the mask he wears invalidate the fast?
A82: The industrial oxygen gas inhaled by the pilot does not invalidate the fast; because it is not eating or drinking, nor is it in the meaning of eating and drinking.
Q83: If a pilot is overcome by vomiting during his flight on a day in Ramadan , does this affect his fast?
A83: If the pilot is overcome by vomiting without his intention, that does not affect the validity of his fast; but if he intentionally induces vomiting, he breaks his fast with it and must make it up;
based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Whoever unintentionally vomits, he does not have to make up for the fast, but whoever makes himself vomit, has to make up for the fast.
من ذرعه القيء فلا قضاء عليه ، ومن استقاء فعليه القضاءQ84: If I am afflicted with what is called (airsick), i.e., vomiting during flight, and I know that I will vomit on this trip, and I flew on a day in Ramadan on a short trip intending to fast, am I in this case among those who intentionally induce vomiting in Ramadan ? And do I continue my fast, or am I considered to have broken it?
A84: You are not considered to have broken your fast in this case because you did not intentionally induce vomiting, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever unintentionally vomits, he does not have to make up for the fast, but whoever makes himself vomit, has to make up for the fast.
من ذرعه القيء فلا قضاء عليه ، ومن استقاء فعليه القضاءQ85: A person fasted Ramadan while practicing flight, knowing that he was exempted from fasting by a scholarly ruling because his mission required him to break his fast. What is the ruling if, may Allah forbid, he is involved in an accident and his term comes to an end? Is he considered sinful or rewarded for his persistence in fasting?
A85: It is obligatory for the pilot to break his fast if the trip is necessary and the harm from not breaking the fast is certain or likely. If he fasts and is involved in an accident and his term comes to an end due to his fasting, he is considered sinful; based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]
وَلاَ تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِAnd do not kill yourselves [or one another]
وَلاَ تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْQ86: If I fast voluntarily during my flight, such as the white days and Mondays of every week, knowing fully my ability to do so, is there sin on me for that? Knowing that I am ordered to break my fast in Ramadan due to the effect on flight safety?
A86: If it is your custom to fast voluntarily and you broke your fast for the safety of the flight, then the reward of fasting is written for you, if Allah wills. It was narrated from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
When a slave falls ill or travels, then he will get reward similar to that he gets for good deeds practiced at home when in good health.
إذا مرض العبد أو سافر كتب له مثل ما كان يعمل مقيمًا صحيحًاQ87: If the time for breaking the fast enters and I am in the plane and I have nothing to break my fast with , am I required to intend to break my fast, or do I wait until after the landing of the trip?
A87: If the time for breaking the fast enters and you do not find anything to break your fast with, even water, the Sunnah
is to break your fast by intention; based on the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa'd , that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The people will remain upon goodness as long as they hasten to break the fast.
لا يزال الناس بخير ما عجلوا الفطرQ88: How do I determine my breaking of the fast in Ramadan if there are heavy clouds preventing me from seeing the sun ?
A88: If there are clouds preventing you from seeing the sun, it is obligatory for you to abstain from eating and drinking and all things that break the fast until it is most likely in your opinion that the sun has set, for the preponderance of opinion is treated as the position of certainty.
Q89: Is the criterion for breaking the fast our seeing the sun or the time of the country we are flying over?
A98: The criterion for breaking the fast is the realization of the setting of the sun, not the time of the country you are flying over; based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Then complete the fast until the sunset
ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِWhen night falls from this side and the day vanishes from this side and the sun sets, then the fasting person should break his fast.
إذا أقبل الليل من ها هنا ، وأدبر النهار من ها هنا ، وغربت الشمس فقد أفطر الصائم
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.