Is it prescribed to intend fasting during the day if one finds nothing to eat?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. Now, regarding fasting, if a person wakes up in the morning without intending to fast and finds no food to break his fast, he may follow the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his saying: “Is there any food?”
If there is no food, does he continue fasting for the rest of that day?
The Shaykh : Do you bear witness that the Prophet said: “Where is the food?”The questioner : What is the meaning of the hadith?
The Shaykh : No, do not say that. Say: He asked for food, and they said, “We have none,” so he said, “Then I am fasting.” We do not know if the Prophet asked in the late morning or before noon; we do not know. Do you understand? So even your narration by meaning is not correct. What I mean by this is that what is attributed to the Prophet must be verified and known, because it is a serious problem for a person to say about the Prophet what he did not say. This point is more beneficial than the answer to your question. The answer to your question is: For example, a person did not intend to fast, but when the day broke and he found no food, he intended to fast. We say: There is nothing wrong with it, because it is permissible for a person to intend a voluntary fast during the day, provided he has not done anything that breaks the fast before that. Do you understand? If he had done something that breaks the fast before, meaning he broke his fast at the beginning of the day, and when it was late morning he said, “I want to fast,” is it valid or not? Question.
The questioner : ....
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : No, because he did something that breaks the fast before. Yes.
If there is no food, does he continue fasting for the rest of that day?
The Shaykh : Do you bear witness that the Prophet said: “Where is the food?”The questioner : What is the meaning of the hadith?
The Shaykh : No, do not say that. Say: He asked for food, and they said, “We have none,” so he said, “Then I am fasting.” We do not know if the Prophet asked in the late morning or before noon; we do not know. Do you understand? So even your narration by meaning is not correct. What I mean by this is that what is attributed to the Prophet must be verified and known, because it is a serious problem for a person to say about the Prophet what he did not say. This point is more beneficial than the answer to your question. The answer to your question is: For example, a person did not intend to fast, but when the day broke and he found no food, he intended to fast. We say: There is nothing wrong with it, because it is permissible for a person to intend a voluntary fast during the day, provided he has not done anything that breaks the fast before that. Do you understand? If he had done something that breaks the fast before, meaning he broke his fast at the beginning of the day, and when it was late morning he said, “I want to fast,” is it valid or not? Question.
The questioner : ....
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : No, because he did something that breaks the fast before. Yes.