Follow-up: Is it obligatory to make the intention for each day of Ramadan, and likewise for the days for which fasting is prescribed?
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The questioner : Is it obligatory to make the intention for each day of Ramadan, and is the same the case for fasting on specific days?
The Shaykh : First: It is necessary to know the meaning of "making the intention at night" (tabyit al-niyyah), because some people may think that it means a person intends to fast before he sleeps. That is not the case. The meaning of making the intention at night is that one intends before the dawn breaks, even if only for a moment. So if he intends before the dawn breaks, even if only for a moment, he has made the intention at night.
As for fasting in Ramadan, it is known to everyone that every Muslim, when the month of Ramadan enters, has made a firm intention that he will fast it. What? All of it, the entirety of it. So the intention at the beginning is sufficient, except if a cause is found that breaks the fast, such as if a person travels and then returns, then he must renew the intention. Or if he falls ill and then recovers, he must renew the intention. But as long as he remains in his state, the intention at the beginning is sufficient for the end.
Based on this: If a person sleeps and is overcome by sleep after the 'Asr prayer and does not wake up until after the dawn breaks on the second day, his fasting on the second day is valid, because the intention has been completed.
As for the specific voluntary days, meaning the specific voluntary fasts, such as fasting six days of Shawwal, these also require that one intends to fast before the dawn breaks. This is clarified by an example: If a person does not have the intention to fast six days of Shawwal, and he wakes up on the second day of Shawwal during the day, meaning he woke up and did not intend to fast, he prayed Fajr, and when the sun rose he thought, "Perhaps I will fast or perhaps I will not." But when the sun reached its zenith, meaning at Dhuhr, he resolved to fast and fasted. His fasting that day is valid, as long as he did not eat, drink, or do anything that breaks the fast before that. His fasting is valid. But if he said, "I want this to be the first of the six days," we would say: It is not valid. Because if he did five days after that day, how many days would he have fasted? Five and a half days. And the hadith specifies six days. So the specific days in voluntary fasts must be intended before the dawn breaks. Yes.
The Shaykh : First: It is necessary to know the meaning of "making the intention at night" (tabyit al-niyyah), because some people may think that it means a person intends to fast before he sleeps. That is not the case. The meaning of making the intention at night is that one intends before the dawn breaks, even if only for a moment. So if he intends before the dawn breaks, even if only for a moment, he has made the intention at night.
As for fasting in Ramadan, it is known to everyone that every Muslim, when the month of Ramadan enters, has made a firm intention that he will fast it. What? All of it, the entirety of it. So the intention at the beginning is sufficient, except if a cause is found that breaks the fast, such as if a person travels and then returns, then he must renew the intention. Or if he falls ill and then recovers, he must renew the intention. But as long as he remains in his state, the intention at the beginning is sufficient for the end.
Based on this: If a person sleeps and is overcome by sleep after the 'Asr prayer and does not wake up until after the dawn breaks on the second day, his fasting on the second day is valid, because the intention has been completed.
As for the specific voluntary days, meaning the specific voluntary fasts, such as fasting six days of Shawwal, these also require that one intends to fast before the dawn breaks. This is clarified by an example: If a person does not have the intention to fast six days of Shawwal, and he wakes up on the second day of Shawwal during the day, meaning he woke up and did not intend to fast, he prayed Fajr, and when the sun rose he thought, "Perhaps I will fast or perhaps I will not." But when the sun reached its zenith, meaning at Dhuhr, he resolved to fast and fasted. His fasting that day is valid, as long as he did not eat, drink, or do anything that breaks the fast before that. His fasting is valid. But if he said, "I want this to be the first of the six days," we would say: It is not valid. Because if he did five days after that day, how many days would he have fasted? Five and a half days. And the hadith specifies six days. So the specific days in voluntary fasts must be intended before the dawn breaks. Yes.