What is the ruling on one who eats or drinks while forgetting, and how should the fasting person be reminded?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : What is the ruling on one who eats or drinks while forgetting, and what should he do if he remembers while doing so?
The Shaykh : It was mentioned in a previous episode that a person does not invalidate his fast, even if he eats a lot and drinks a lot, as long as he remains in a state of forgetfulness; his fast is valid, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah 5:95. However, it is obligatory for him to refrain from eating and drinking from the moment he remembers, even if we assume that a mouthful of food or a sip of drink is in his mouth; he is required to spit it out, because the excuse that the Lawgiver made a barrier against negligence has ceased.
The questioner : If a person sees a fasting person eating, he should not remind him? What is the soundness of this statement, and what should one do if he sees his companion?
The Shaykh : If he sees a fasting person eating, he should remind him, because this falls under the category of cooperating in righteousness and piety, just as if a person sees someone praying in a direction other than the qiblah, or sees someone wanting to perform wudu with impure water, or something similar to that; it is obligatory for him to clarify the action for him. Although the fasting person is excused due to his forgetfulness, his brother who knows the situation is required to remind him. Perhaps this is also taken from the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih al-Bukhari 401, for if people were to remind him in prayer, so too should people remind in fasting.
The presenter : Yes,
The Shaykh : It was mentioned in a previous episode that a person does not invalidate his fast, even if he eats a lot and drinks a lot, as long as he remains in a state of forgetfulness; his fast is valid, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
If one forgets while fasting and eats and drinks, let him complete his fast, for it is only Allah who has fed him and given him drink.
من نسي وهو صائم فأكل وشرب فليتم صومه، فإنما أطعمه الله وسقاهThe questioner : If a person sees a fasting person eating, he should not remind him? What is the soundness of this statement, and what should one do if he sees his companion?
The Shaykh : If he sees a fasting person eating, he should remind him, because this falls under the category of cooperating in righteousness and piety, just as if a person sees someone praying in a direction other than the qiblah, or sees someone wanting to perform wudu with impure water, or something similar to that; it is obligatory for him to clarify the action for him. Although the fasting person is excused due to his forgetfulness, his brother who knows the situation is required to remind him. Perhaps this is also taken from the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)
but I am a human being like you and liable to forget like you. So if I forget remind me
إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ أَنْسَى كَمَا تَنْسَوْنَ فَإِذَا نَسِيتُ فَذَكِّرُونِيThe presenter : Yes,
Source
ابن العثيمين - فتاوى الصيام — archive.org (16:49)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.