What are the things that invalidate fasting, and is it required to form the intention for fasting every day? And if one forgets to form the intention, is there anything required of him?
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The questioner : The first question asks: What are the things that invalidate fasting, and is it required to form the intention for fasting every day? And if one forgets to form the intention, is there anything required of him or not? Yes.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. This question includes three issues. The first issue is the intention: is it required to form it for every day? The answer to that is that the intention is a condition for the validity of worship, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih al-Bukhari 1 There is no deed except with an intention. The intention is that a person intends with his deed, or more accurately, the intention has two aspects. The first aspect is the intention of the one for whom the deed is done, and the second aspect is the intention of the deed itself.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So in the first aspect, a person must be sincere to Allah the Exalted in his worship, not seeking any partner other than Him. The purpose of this is to specify the one for whom the deed is done and to affirm His oneness in that worship, and He is Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
As for the second aspect of the intention, it is the intention of the deed, meaning specifying it and distinguishing it from others, because acts of worship are of different kinds and types, and one is not distinguished from another except by specifying it. Therefore, it is necessary to specify the intention for the obligatory fast. In Ramadan, one intends that he is fasting a day of Ramadan. The intention, in reality, does not require much effort, for if a person gets up in the last part of the night and eats the pre-dawn meal, there is no doubt that he intends to fast.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Specifying the intention is also a known matter in the month of Ramadan, because a person cannot intend with this fast anything other than that it is the fast of Ramadan, as long as he is in the time of Ramadan. And with this, if a person gets up on the nights of Ramadan and eats the pre-dawn meal, there is no doubt that he has intended and specified the intention. He does not need to say, "O Allah, I intend to fast," or "I intend to fast until night," or the like. But is it required in Ramadan to specify the intention for every day, or is it sufficient to intend it from the beginning, as long as one does not intend to break it? The correct view is that if one intends it from the beginning, that is sufficient, except if one intends to break it. This leads to an issue: what if a person sleeps on a day of Ramadan after the afternoon prayer and does not wake up until the next day after the dawn has appeared?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If we say that it is required to specify the intention for every day from its night, then this man's fast on the second day is not valid, because he did not intend it from its night. And if we say the first option, which is that in Ramadan it is sufficient to intend it from the beginning, as long as one does not break it, then his fast on this day is valid, because the man has slept, and without doubt, his intention is that he will fast tomorrow.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because there is no cause that obligates breaking the fast. Our statement that if one intends it from the beginning and does not intend to break it is a precaution against the case where one intends to break it, such as a sick person who fasts one day and leaves one day. In that case, if he breaks his fast, he must renew the intention for the rest of the month.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is regarding the intention. So the summary is that the intention must be observed in two things. The first thing is the intention of the one for whom the deed is done, which is the oneness of Allah the Exalted by intention, meaning that a person intends with his worship the Face of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
And the second is the intention of the deed, by specifying the deed that he is doing, whether it is purification, prayer, alms, or fasting, whether that is voluntary or obligatory.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the second question asks: What are the things that invalidate fasting? The second issue: the things that invalidate fasting.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The things that invalidate fasting: Allah mentioned three of them in the Qur'an, which are eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse. He said, the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:187]
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : These are three things that break the fast. First: sexual intercourse, second: eating, and third: drinking. Eating includes everything that is eaten, whether it is beneficial or harmful, and whether it is forbidden or lawful. Likewise, drinking includes everything that is drunk, whether it is beneficial or harmful, and whether it is forbidden or permissible. All of it breaks the fast because there is no exception in it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The fourth: the emission of semen through desire, by touching or treatment until it is emitted. It becomes a thing that breaks the fast. And although it is not included in His saying, the Exalted:, His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He, in the Holy Hadith, the fasting person says: Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 3:27 Desire includes the emission through desire. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) referred to semen as desire, where he said: Sahih Muslim 1006 They said: O Messenger of Allah, does one of us attain his desire and have a reward in it? He said: Sahih Muslim 1006
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The fifth matter among the things that invalidate fasting: what is the equivalent of eating and drinking, which are nourishing injections that allow the person taking them to dispense with food and drink. This is because, although they are not included in eating and drinking, they are the equivalent of eating and drinking for the body's dispensing with them. As for injections that do not allow one to dispense with eating and drinking, they are not things that break the fast, whether the person takes them in the vein or in the muscles, even if he finds their taste in his throat, because they are not eating or drinking, nor the equivalent of eating and drinking, so they do not break the fast in any way.
The questioner : If they are not nourishing?
The Shaykh : If they are not something by which one dispenses.
The questioner : With eating.
The Shaykh : With eating and drinking.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The sixth matter among the things that invalidate fasting: vomiting intentionally. That is, if a person intentionally vomits until it comes out, he breaks his fast by it, based on the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: "Whoever is forced to vomit, there is no making up for him, and whoever vomits intentionally, let him make it up."
The seventh matter: the extraction of blood by cupping. If a person undergoes cupping, he breaks his fast, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): The wisdom behind the fasting person breaking his fast by vomiting or cupping is that if he vomits or undergoes cupping, he is afflicted with weakness that obligates him to need food and drink, and fasting becomes difficult for him. But with that, if he vomits intentionally or undergoes cupping intentionally in Ramadan without an excuse, it is not permissible for him to eat and drink as long as it is the day of Ramadan, because he broke his fast without an excuse. But if it is for an excuse, if he vomits or undergoes cupping, it is permissible for him to eat and drink, because he broke his fast for an excuse. And as for the exit of blood other than by cupping, such as if he has a nosebleed, or if he pulls out a tooth or molar and blood comes out, there is nothing required of him in that, and it does not break his fast, because it is not the equivalent of cupping, and it is not cupping. And it also comes out of him without his choice, like a nosebleed.
Likewise, it does not break the fast to extract blood for testing, such as if blood is taken from him to be tested. He does not break his fast by that, because this is a small amount of blood and does not have the effect of cupping on the body.
The questioner : And if it is for donation.
The Shaykh : It does not break the fast.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But if blood is taken from him for donation to a sick person.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then if the blood is small and does not have the effect of cupping, it does not break the fast. And if the blood is large and affects the body with the effect of cupping, he breaks his fast by it.
And with this, if his fasting is obligatory, it is not permissible for him to donate to a person while he is fasting, because it entails breaking the fast in the obligatory fast, and breaking the fast in the obligatory fast is forbidden except for an excuse.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, if we suppose that this patient is exposed to destruction and if he waited for the sun to set, he would die, and the doctors say that he benefits from the blood of this fasting person, then in this case, he breaks his fast and donates his blood, because he broke his fast to save a protected life, and breaking the fast to save a protected life is permissible and lawful. For this reason, permission was given to the nursing woman if she fears a decrease in milk for her child; permission was given to her to break her fast, and likewise the pregnant woman.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And likewise the pregnant woman, if she fears for her child, permission is given to her to break her fast. And whoever breaks his fast, he must make it up only, if it was for an excuse. Yes, he must make it up only.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it remains to be said: What do you say about kohl, snuff in the nose, and drops in the ear or in the eye? We say that as for drops in the ear or in the eye, they do not break the fast absolutely, because that is not eating or drinking, nor the equivalent of eating and drinking, and it is not from the usual passages that reach the stomach through the eye or the ear. And as for the nose, if something from it reaches his stomach through the nose, he breaks his fast by it. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to al-Qa'ib ibn al-Sabrah:Sunan Abi Dawud 2366Sahih (Al-Albani) And among the things that invalidate fasting is the exit of menstrual blood and post-natal blood for a woman. If menstrual blood or post-natal blood comes out of her while she is fasting, her fast is invalid. The criterion is the exit, not the sensation of it without it coming out. So if we suppose that a woman sensed menstrual blood before the sun set, but it did not come out until after the sun had set, her fast is valid.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It was the case that some women believed that if a woman sees menstruation before she prays Maghrib, even if it is after sunset, then her fast for that day is invalid. This has no basis. The criterion is the emergence of the blood. If it emerges before sunset, the fast is invalid; if it does not emerge until after sunset, the fast is valid. Know that these things that break the fast, which invalidate it, do not invalidate it except with three conditions. The first condition is that one must be aware. The second condition is that one must be remembering. The third condition is that one must be acting voluntarily. If one is ignorant, his fast is not invalidated, such as if he eats thinking that the dawn has not appeared, and then it turns out that it has appeared, or if he thinks the sun has set and then it turns out it has not set, his fast is not invalidated by that. The evidence for this is what is established in Sahih al-Bukhari from Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her and her father), who said: "We broke our fast on a cloudy day in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then the sun appeared, and they did not order us to make it up." Likewise, if one eats or drinks while forgetting that he is fasting, he owes no make-up fast, due to the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1155 Likewise, if one is forced to do any of the things that break the fast, his fast is not invalidated by that, because the one who is forced is not willing. For this reason, Allah lifted the ruling of disbelief from the one who is forced into it, and He said: [An-Nahl 16:106] And know that among these things that break the fast, there is no expiation except for one thing, which is intercourse. If a man has intercourse with his wife while he is fasting during the day of Ramadan, and he is one upon whom fasting is obligatory, then an expiation becomes obligatory upon him, which is freeing a slave. If he does not find one, then fasting for two consecutive months. If he cannot do that, then feeding sixty poor people.
Pay attention to these conditions: that it be during the day of Ramadan, and that he be one upon whom fasting is obligatory. If it is not in Ramadan, he owes no expiation; his fast is invalidated, but he owes no expiation. Likewise, if it is during the day of Ramadan and he is one upon whom fasting is not obligatory, such as if he has intercourse with his wife while he is a traveler who is fasting, he owes no expiation in that case, because fasting is not obligatory upon him in this state, since it is permissible for him to break his fast intentionally.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. This question includes three issues. The first issue is the intention: is it required to form it for every day? The answer to that is that the intention is a condition for the validity of worship, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.
إنما الأعمال بالنيات وإنما لكل امرئ ما نوىThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So in the first aspect, a person must be sincere to Allah the Exalted in his worship, not seeking any partner other than Him. The purpose of this is to specify the one for whom the deed is done and to affirm His oneness in that worship, and He is Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
As for the second aspect of the intention, it is the intention of the deed, meaning specifying it and distinguishing it from others, because acts of worship are of different kinds and types, and one is not distinguished from another except by specifying it. Therefore, it is necessary to specify the intention for the obligatory fast. In Ramadan, one intends that he is fasting a day of Ramadan. The intention, in reality, does not require much effort, for if a person gets up in the last part of the night and eats the pre-dawn meal, there is no doubt that he intends to fast.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Specifying the intention is also a known matter in the month of Ramadan, because a person cannot intend with this fast anything other than that it is the fast of Ramadan, as long as he is in the time of Ramadan. And with this, if a person gets up on the nights of Ramadan and eats the pre-dawn meal, there is no doubt that he has intended and specified the intention. He does not need to say, "O Allah, I intend to fast," or "I intend to fast until night," or the like. But is it required in Ramadan to specify the intention for every day, or is it sufficient to intend it from the beginning, as long as one does not intend to break it? The correct view is that if one intends it from the beginning, that is sufficient, except if one intends to break it. This leads to an issue: what if a person sleeps on a day of Ramadan after the afternoon prayer and does not wake up until the next day after the dawn has appeared?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If we say that it is required to specify the intention for every day from its night, then this man's fast on the second day is not valid, because he did not intend it from its night. And if we say the first option, which is that in Ramadan it is sufficient to intend it from the beginning, as long as one does not break it, then his fast on this day is valid, because the man has slept, and without doubt, his intention is that he will fast tomorrow.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because there is no cause that obligates breaking the fast. Our statement that if one intends it from the beginning and does not intend to break it is a precaution against the case where one intends to break it, such as a sick person who fasts one day and leaves one day. In that case, if he breaks his fast, he must renew the intention for the rest of the month.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is regarding the intention. So the summary is that the intention must be observed in two things. The first thing is the intention of the one for whom the deed is done, which is the oneness of Allah the Exalted by intention, meaning that a person intends with his worship the Face of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
And the second is the intention of the deed, by specifying the deed that he is doing, whether it is purification, prayer, alms, or fasting, whether that is voluntary or obligatory.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And the second question asks: What are the things that invalidate fasting? The second issue: the things that invalidate fasting.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The things that invalidate fasting: Allah mentioned three of them in the Qur'an, which are eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse. He said, the Exalted:
So now, have relations with them and seek that which Allah has decreed for you. And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct to you from the black thread [of night]. Then complete the fast until the sunset.
فالأن باشروهن وابتغوا ما كتب الله لكم وكلوا واشربوا حتى يتبيّن لكم الخيط الأبيض من الخيط الأسود من الفجر ثم أتموا الصيام إلى الليلThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : These are three things that break the fast. First: sexual intercourse, second: eating, and third: drinking. Eating includes everything that is eaten, whether it is beneficial or harmful, and whether it is forbidden or lawful. Likewise, drinking includes everything that is drunk, whether it is beneficial or harmful, and whether it is forbidden or permissible. All of it breaks the fast because there is no exception in it.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The fourth: the emission of semen through desire, by touching or treatment until it is emitted. It becomes a thing that breaks the fast. And although it is not included in His saying, the Exalted:
So now have intercourse with your wives
فالأن باشروهنHe gives up his food and drink and his desire for My sake
يدع طعامه وشرابه وشهوته من أجليand in man's sexual Intercourse (with his wife, ) there is a Sadaqa
وفي بضع أحدكم صدقةTell me, if he were to devote it to something forbidden, would it not be a sin on his part? Similarly, if he were to devote it to something lawful, he should have a reward.
أرأيتم لو وضعها في حرام أكان عليه وزر فكذلك إذا وضعها في حلال كان له أجرThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The fifth matter among the things that invalidate fasting: what is the equivalent of eating and drinking, which are nourishing injections that allow the person taking them to dispense with food and drink. This is because, although they are not included in eating and drinking, they are the equivalent of eating and drinking for the body's dispensing with them. As for injections that do not allow one to dispense with eating and drinking, they are not things that break the fast, whether the person takes them in the vein or in the muscles, even if he finds their taste in his throat, because they are not eating or drinking, nor the equivalent of eating and drinking, so they do not break the fast in any way.
The questioner : If they are not nourishing?
The Shaykh : If they are not something by which one dispenses.
The questioner : With eating.
The Shaykh : With eating and drinking.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The sixth matter among the things that invalidate fasting: vomiting intentionally. That is, if a person intentionally vomits until it comes out, he breaks his fast by it, based on the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: "Whoever is forced to vomit, there is no making up for him, and whoever vomits intentionally, let him make it up."
The seventh matter: the extraction of blood by cupping. If a person undergoes cupping, he breaks his fast, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The one who performs cupping and the one who is cupped break their fast
أفطر الحاجم والمحجومLikewise, it does not break the fast to extract blood for testing, such as if blood is taken from him to be tested. He does not break his fast by that, because this is a small amount of blood and does not have the effect of cupping on the body.
The questioner : And if it is for donation.
The Shaykh : It does not break the fast.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But if blood is taken from him for donation to a sick person.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then if the blood is small and does not have the effect of cupping, it does not break the fast. And if the blood is large and affects the body with the effect of cupping, he breaks his fast by it.
And with this, if his fasting is obligatory, it is not permissible for him to donate to a person while he is fasting, because it entails breaking the fast in the obligatory fast, and breaking the fast in the obligatory fast is forbidden except for an excuse.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes, if we suppose that this patient is exposed to destruction and if he waited for the sun to set, he would die, and the doctors say that he benefits from the blood of this fasting person, then in this case, he breaks his fast and donates his blood, because he broke his fast to save a protected life, and breaking the fast to save a protected life is permissible and lawful. For this reason, permission was given to the nursing woman if she fears a decrease in milk for her child; permission was given to her to break her fast, and likewise the pregnant woman.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And likewise the pregnant woman, if she fears for her child, permission is given to her to break her fast. And whoever breaks his fast, he must make it up only, if it was for an excuse. Yes, he must make it up only.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And it remains to be said: What do you say about kohl, snuff in the nose, and drops in the ear or in the eye? We say that as for drops in the ear or in the eye, they do not break the fast absolutely, because that is not eating or drinking, nor the equivalent of eating and drinking, and it is not from the usual passages that reach the stomach through the eye or the ear. And as for the nose, if something from it reaches his stomach through the nose, he breaks his fast by it. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to al-Qa'ib ibn al-Sabrah:
Snuff up water freely unless you are fasting.
بالغ في الاستنشاق إلا أن تكون صائماًThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It was the case that some women believed that if a woman sees menstruation before she prays Maghrib, even if it is after sunset, then her fast for that day is invalid. This has no basis. The criterion is the emergence of the blood. If it emerges before sunset, the fast is invalid; if it does not emerge until after sunset, the fast is valid. Know that these things that break the fast, which invalidate it, do not invalidate it except with three conditions. The first condition is that one must be aware. The second condition is that one must be remembering. The third condition is that one must be acting voluntarily. If one is ignorant, his fast is not invalidated, such as if he eats thinking that the dawn has not appeared, and then it turns out that it has appeared, or if he thinks the sun has set and then it turns out it has not set, his fast is not invalidated by that. The evidence for this is what is established in Sahih al-Bukhari from Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her and her father), who said: "We broke our fast on a cloudy day in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then the sun appeared, and they did not order us to make it up." Likewise, if one eats or drinks while forgetting that he is fasting, he owes no make-up fast, due to the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If anyone forgets that he is fasting and eats or drinks he should complete his fast, for it is only Allah Who has fed him and given him drink.
من نسي وهو صائم فأكل أو شرب فليتم صومه فإنما أطعمه الله وسقاهWhoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief... except for one who is forced [to renounce his religion] while his heart is secure in faith. But those who [willingly] open their breasts to disbelief, upon them is wrath from Allah, and for them is a great punishment;
من كفر بالله من بعد إيمانه إلا من أكره وقلبه مطمئن بالإيمان ولكن من شرح بالكفر صدراً فعليهم غضب من الله ولهم عذاب عظيمPay attention to these conditions: that it be during the day of Ramadan, and that he be one upon whom fasting is obligatory. If it is not in Ramadan, he owes no expiation; his fast is invalidated, but he owes no expiation. Likewise, if it is during the day of Ramadan and he is one upon whom fasting is not obligatory, such as if he has intercourse with his wife while he is a traveler who is fasting, he owes no expiation in that case, because fasting is not obligatory upon him in this state, since it is permissible for him to break his fast intentionally.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.