Hard labor does not permit breaking the fast in Ramadan
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Question: About eight years ago, I intentionally broke my fast for two days in Ramadan without an excuse. To this day, I have not made up these two days, nor have I paid expiation for them. What must I do now?
Answer: You have erred in breaking your fast during the day in Ramadan without a valid legal excuse. A Muslim who believes in Allah and the Last Day is not permitted to break his fast during the day in Ramadan without a valid legal excuse, because fasting in Ramadan is one of the pillars of Islam. Being lax in this, or breaking the fast without a valid legal excuse, is evidence of weak faith and deficient faith. So you must fast for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
And upon you in this matter are three things:
The first matter: Sincere repentance to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for this great sin.
The second matter: That you make up these two days, hasten to make them up, and clear your conscience of this great obligation in which you were lax.
And the third matter: That another Ramadan or more has passed over you and you did not make up these two days, then it is obligatory for you to feed one poor person for every day.
[Hard labor does not permit breaking the fast in Ramadan]
Question: I was working in one of the Arab countries, and I arrived there at the beginning of Ramadan the year before last. I fasted the first few days, but I did hard labor, so I broke my fast for the remaining days of Ramadan due to my urgent need for work. I have engaged in other hard jobs since then, and I was unable to make up the days I broke until the second Ramadan arrived. I fasted the first few days again and broke the rest. To this day, I am engaged in hard labor. Do I have to make up the fasts and pay expiation, or just make up the fasts? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer: It is obligatory for a Muslim to care for his religion, especially the five pillars of Islam, such as fasting the month of Ramadan, and not to be lax in that, or to seek excuses to get out of fasting and breaking the fast during the day in Ramadan. Allah the Exalted only permitted breaking the fast for the sick person, the traveler, and the menstruating woman and the woman with post-natal bleeding. These are the ones for whom Allah permitted breaking the fast. Likewise, breaking the fast for a person with a chronic illness, and the very old person, for these Allah permitted breaking the fast during the day in Ramadan. As for hard labor, this does not permit breaking the fast.
And the Muslim must adjust his work according to what he can manage while fasting, making the work subject to the fast, and not making the fast subject to the work. He should fast Ramadan and do the work he can manage while fasting, and not burden himself with work that he cannot fast while doing. This hard labor should be left aside in Ramadan.
As for what happened to you, that you left off fasting for the sake of hard labor as you mentioned, for two years, this is considered an error on your part. It was obligatory for you to ask before you
fell into the prohibited matter. But since this thing has happened to you, it is obligatory for you to make up what you broke, and to repent and feel remorse for what you did. And it is obligatory for you, along with making up the days of the first Ramadan, to feed one poor person for every day, and the amount is half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of food for every day. As for the following Ramadan, it is obligatory for you to make up only the days you broke from it, without feeding, and Allah knows best.
Question: Is he required to make up the fasts immediately before the arrival of the next Ramadan?
Answer: He is required to do so before the arrival of the next Ramadan. It is not permissible for him to enter the next Ramadan without having cleared his conscience of what came before, as much as he is able to do so.
Answer: You have erred in breaking your fast during the day in Ramadan without a valid legal excuse. A Muslim who believes in Allah and the Last Day is not permitted to break his fast during the day in Ramadan without a valid legal excuse, because fasting in Ramadan is one of the pillars of Islam. Being lax in this, or breaking the fast without a valid legal excuse, is evidence of weak faith and deficient faith. So you must fast for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
And upon you in this matter are three things:
The first matter: Sincere repentance to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for this great sin.
The second matter: That you make up these two days, hasten to make them up, and clear your conscience of this great obligation in which you were lax.
And the third matter: That another Ramadan or more has passed over you and you did not make up these two days, then it is obligatory for you to feed one poor person for every day.
[Hard labor does not permit breaking the fast in Ramadan]
Question: I was working in one of the Arab countries, and I arrived there at the beginning of Ramadan the year before last. I fasted the first few days, but I did hard labor, so I broke my fast for the remaining days of Ramadan due to my urgent need for work. I have engaged in other hard jobs since then, and I was unable to make up the days I broke until the second Ramadan arrived. I fasted the first few days again and broke the rest. To this day, I am engaged in hard labor. Do I have to make up the fasts and pay expiation, or just make up the fasts? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer: It is obligatory for a Muslim to care for his religion, especially the five pillars of Islam, such as fasting the month of Ramadan, and not to be lax in that, or to seek excuses to get out of fasting and breaking the fast during the day in Ramadan. Allah the Exalted only permitted breaking the fast for the sick person, the traveler, and the menstruating woman and the woman with post-natal bleeding. These are the ones for whom Allah permitted breaking the fast. Likewise, breaking the fast for a person with a chronic illness, and the very old person, for these Allah permitted breaking the fast during the day in Ramadan. As for hard labor, this does not permit breaking the fast.
And the Muslim must adjust his work according to what he can manage while fasting, making the work subject to the fast, and not making the fast subject to the work. He should fast Ramadan and do the work he can manage while fasting, and not burden himself with work that he cannot fast while doing. This hard labor should be left aside in Ramadan.
As for what happened to you, that you left off fasting for the sake of hard labor as you mentioned, for two years, this is considered an error on your part. It was obligatory for you to ask before you
fell into the prohibited matter. But since this thing has happened to you, it is obligatory for you to make up what you broke, and to repent and feel remorse for what you did. And it is obligatory for you, along with making up the days of the first Ramadan, to feed one poor person for every day, and the amount is half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of food for every day. As for the following Ramadan, it is obligatory for you to make up only the days you broke from it, without feeding, and Allah knows best.
Question: Is he required to make up the fasts immediately before the arrival of the next Ramadan?
Answer: He is required to do so before the arrival of the next Ramadan. It is not permissible for him to enter the next Ramadan without having cleared his conscience of what came before, as much as he is able to do so.