Is it permissible for one who intends to travel to break his fast before leaving his town?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Is it permissible for one who intends to travel to break his fast before leaving his house? If that is permissible, what is the ruling if he intends to travel, breaks his fast before leaving, and then the travel does not materialize? I ask for clarification with evidence.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for one who intends to travel to break his fast until he leaves the town, because the dispensations of travel are tied to the actual occurrence of travel.
This is because Allah the Exalted says:[An-Nisa 4:101] "When you travel in the land," and He did not say "When you intend to travel in the land." Traveling does not occur except by leaving the town. Therefore, it is not permissible for one who intends to travel to break his fast unless he actually travels. However, there is an issue here: if one intends to travel by plane from a town in al-Qasim.
It is known that the airport is not in the town; it is not in Buraydah, not in al-‘Ulayz, not in al-Rus, not in al-Kharayyih, and not in any city of al-Qasim; it is separate. Is it permissible for one who intends to travel by plane and is at the airport to break his fast?
The answer is yes, it is permissible because he has left his town. It is also permissible for him to shorten the prayer because he has left his town. This is clear. The scholars said that once one leaves the inhabited area of the town, he has begun his travel, and the dispensations of travel become permissible for him. Yes.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for one who intends to travel to break his fast until he leaves the town, because the dispensations of travel are tied to the actual occurrence of travel.
This is because Allah the Exalted says:
And when you travel throughout the land, there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer
وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَقْصُرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِIt is known that the airport is not in the town; it is not in Buraydah, not in al-‘Ulayz, not in al-Rus, not in al-Kharayyih, and not in any city of al-Qasim; it is separate. Is it permissible for one who intends to travel by plane and is at the airport to break his fast?
The answer is yes, it is permissible because he has left his town. It is also permissible for him to shorten the prayer because he has left his town. This is clear. The scholars said that once one leaves the inhabited area of the town, he has begun his travel, and the dispensations of travel become permissible for him. Yes.
Source
اللقاءات الرمضانية لعام 1410هـ - 2 — binothaimeen.net (44:22)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.