Removing Error and Forgetfulness from the Ummah
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Then know: Among the mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is that Allah has removed from this community the ruling regarding error and forgetfulness.
Meaning: If a person makes a mistake and eats or drinks while fasting, he owes nothing. For example, if a person eats and drinks thinking that the dawn has not yet appeared, but it turns out that it has, such as if he hears the takbir and thinks it is the first adhan, so he eats and drinks, but it turns out to be the iqamah for prayer,We tell him: nothing is required of you;Because you did not intend to commit a sin, and Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ahzab: 5] .
And if he thinks that the sun has set and eats or drinks, but it turns out that it has not set, and this often happens in the winter days when the sky is overcast with clouds, so people think the sun has set, and they eat or drink, and then the sun appears, he owes nothing; because this man did not intend to commit a sin and did not intend to eat during the day,And Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ahzab: 5] And we are worshipping Allah (Mighty and Majestic),He said to us: the worship is defective,We said: we repeat it in obedience and submission,He said: the worship is valid. We said: Praise be to Allah, for we do not judge Allah by His legislation, rather Allah is the one who judges us,So if He says to us in His word: [Al-Ahzab: 5] Shall we say: No, we do not accept? That is an error,We say: Praise be to Allah for His blessings, and for His well-being, nothing is required of us.
Rather, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) applied this exactly. In Sahih al-Bukhari, it is narrated from Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both): that they broke their fast on a cloudy day during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then the sun appeared, and he did not order them to make up the fast.
And if making up the fast had been obligatory, he would have ordered them to do so, because he is responsible for conveying the Shari'ah, and if he had informed them of it, it would have been transmitted to us,Because preserving the Shari'ah is what Allah has guaranteed: [Al-Hijr: 9] So Allah is the Guardian of His remembrance and His legislation.
So we say: Nothing is required of a person if he is mistaken and eats before the sun sets, and this also happens often, even on days other than winter. Sometimes a person hears an adhan on the radio and thinks it is the adhan of his country, so he breaks his fast,So if the sun has not set, we say: nothing is required of you, because you did not intend to commit a sin,And Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ahzab: 5] .
With these texts, the invalidity of all analogies that necessitate a contradiction of the text becomes clear,If someone were to say: abstaining through fasting is a condition, and a condition is not dropped by ignorance or forgetfulness,We say to him: Who said this? This is the word of Allah and the word of His Messenger and His Sunnah.
And in the two Sahihs, it is also narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Whoever forgets while fasting and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast -Meaning: his fast is not diminished - for indeed Allah has fed him and given him drink) We are content with this amount regarding fasting.
Meaning: If a person makes a mistake and eats or drinks while fasting, he owes nothing. For example, if a person eats and drinks thinking that the dawn has not yet appeared, but it turns out that it has, such as if he hears the takbir and thinks it is the first adhan, so he eats and drinks, but it turns out to be the iqamah for prayer,We tell him: nothing is required of you;Because you did not intend to commit a sin, and Allah the Exalted said:
And there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred but [only for] what your hearts intended
وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْAnd if he thinks that the sun has set and eats or drinks, but it turns out that it has not set, and this often happens in the winter days when the sky is overcast with clouds, so people think the sun has set, and they eat or drink, and then the sun appears, he owes nothing; because this man did not intend to commit a sin and did not intend to eat during the day,And Allah the Exalted said:
And there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred but [only for] what your hearts intended
وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْAnd there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred but [only for] what your hearts intended
وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْRather, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) applied this exactly. In Sahih al-Bukhari, it is narrated from Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both): that they broke their fast on a cloudy day during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and then the sun appeared, and he did not order them to make up the fast.
And if making up the fast had been obligatory, he would have ordered them to do so, because he is responsible for conveying the Shari'ah, and if he had informed them of it, it would have been transmitted to us,Because preserving the Shari'ah is what Allah has guaranteed:
Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian.
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَSo we say: Nothing is required of a person if he is mistaken and eats before the sun sets, and this also happens often, even on days other than winter. Sometimes a person hears an adhan on the radio and thinks it is the adhan of his country, so he breaks his fast,So if the sun has not set, we say: nothing is required of you, because you did not intend to commit a sin,And Allah the Exalted said:
And there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred but [only for] what your hearts intended
وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْWith these texts, the invalidity of all analogies that necessitate a contradiction of the text becomes clear,If someone were to say: abstaining through fasting is a condition, and a condition is not dropped by ignorance or forgetfulness,We say to him: Who said this? This is the word of Allah and the word of His Messenger and His Sunnah.
And in the two Sahihs, it is also narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (Whoever forgets while fasting and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast -Meaning: his fast is not diminished - for indeed Allah has fed him and given him drink) We are content with this amount regarding fasting.