15 Islamic articles on: fasting in Islam

Table of contents for the topic fasting in Islam
  1. How to repent from intentionally missing Ramadan fasts
  2. Making up fasts after repentance, missed due to lack of knowledge
  3. Do blood tests or donating blood nullify the fast?
  4. How to make up a Ramadan fast broken due to masturbation
  5. The ruling on failing to make up missed fasts until the next Ramadan starts
  6. What are the things that invalidate the fast?
  7. Does smoking and vaping break one’s fast?
  8. Does throwing up phlegm break the fast?
  9. Being a night person as a Muslim
  10. Fasting in the month of Rajab
  11. Do you have to make up your missed fasts before Ramadan?
  12. Does bleeding from the gum nullify wudu or fast?
  13. The ruling on breaking a fast that you are making up for Ramadan
  14. Do eye drops break the fast?
  15. Can one take medications when fasting?

IslamQA: How to repent from intentionally missing Ramadan fasts

Alslam alikum The last Ramadan I was upset from big problems that happened to me so I started to get far from Allah ,I didn’t fast even one day Now I regret it I don’t know what to do

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

Simply repent sincerely, that’s all that you need to do, and try to be better from now on. You can make up for it with voluntary fasts, although there’s a well-supported opinion that intentionally missed prayers and fasts don’t need to be made up. See: Do Muslims need to make up prayers intentionally missed for years?


IslamQA: Making up fasts after repentance, missed due to lack of knowledge

AO, what is the verdict for covering missed fasts? I grew up a Muslim but was never taught to pray & when I was young my parents discouraged me to fast bc they thought I couldn't handle it. Also they use to think swallowing saliva broke the fast so it felt impossible for me. For these reasons I missed a few years of fasting. Do I have to count and make them all up. Also I fasted before I started praying regularly. Idk if those technically counted. I feel it may be hundreds at this point. JZK

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

If your missed years of fasting happened after reaching puberty, then those fasts have to be made up according to the majority view. But if they happened before puberty, they do not need to be made up.

As for whether the fast is accepted of a person who does not pray, the general view is that it is not accepted. But I cannot find opinions on how this applies to someone who did not pray due to a lack of knowledge.

However, Ibn Taymiyya’s view is that a person who abandons the prayer or fasting and then makes repentance and starts doing them again, such a person does not need to make up any missed prayers or fasts. His view is that since becoming Muslim causes a non-Muslim to have all their sins erased and does not require them to make up any missed duties before Islam, a Muslim should also enjoy the same privilege when they repent, otherwise repenting becomes torture for them. I believe that Ibn Taymiyya’s view is at least as valid as the other views, and since it makes life easier, it may be the best one to follow. So if you follow Ibn Taymiyyah’s view, you do not need to make up any fasts or prayers that you missed before you started practicing Islam correctly.

I am not a mufti so I cannot tell you which view to follow. Just to be extra safe you could start fasting Mondays and Thursdays until you make up all the fasts you may have missed after puberty, but my own view would be that those fasts do not need to be made up (following Ibn Taymiyya’s view).

References

IslamQA: Do blood tests or donating blood nullify the fast?

I need to have a blood test will this invalid my fast that I’m making up for Ramadan?

The removal of blood from the bloodstream, whether for tests or for donation, does not affect the fast, so you can do that without issue.

References:

IslamQA: How to make up a Ramadan fast broken due to masturbation

during ramadan i have masturbated in the middle of the day i really regret doing that and i know it's a big sin but i want to know should i fast 120 days or just one day and what else should i do ? i hope you can help me

It is sufficient to make up just one day of fasting if the fast is broken due to masturbation. Nothing else is necessary.

IslamQA: The ruling on failing to make up missed fasts until the next Ramadan starts

AOA last year i found out the fasts that are missed have to be made up at a later time but bcoz i cant cook and no one in my household really makes up missed fasts i couldnt get around to it even tho i always wanted to, i wanted to know if i could make them up this year? or is there no longer time, also is there a specfic time of year in which fasts can be made up or is it allowed all year long Thank you

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

It is obligatory to make up missed fasts. If the next Ramadan starts before you are able to make them up, wait until Ramadan finished then make up those fasts. There is no specific time of the year for making up fasts, you can do it whenever.

The Māliki, Ḥanbalī and Shāfiʿī schools believe that a person who fails to make up fasts before the next Ramadan starts should pay a kafāra for each day of fast they have failed to make up ($10 donated for each day), while also being required to make up the fasts when Ramadan ends. Some of the Ḥanafī school, however, believe that no kafāra is necessary and this is the opinion I prefer.

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IslamQA: What are the things that invalidate the fast?

Salaam alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu. Is it okay to watch movies in Ramadan? What all things are forbidden in the month of Ramadan?

The things that invalid the fast are the following:

  • Eating and drinking
  • Smoking
  • Sexual intimacy and masturbation to the point of ejaculation
  • Intentionally causing oneself to vomit
  • The start of menstruation and confinement for their duration (the start of confinement is bleeding accompanied by contractions).
  • If a person makes a firm intention to break their fast (whether they succeed or not).

As for watching movies during Ramadan, they have the exact same ruling as during other times. All other things besides what is mentioned above has the same rulings, it is just that it is strongly recommended for a person to try to be more pious and observant when fasting.

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IslamQA: Does smoking and vaping break one’s fast?

Does smoking and/or vaping break one's fast?

Yes, they both break the fast. Smoking and vaping have the same rule since the issue is with the smoke, which causes chemicals to be transmitted into your bloodstream.

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IslamQA: Does throwing up phlegm break the fast?

Salam brother, (trigger warning for gagging/throwing up) I was wondering; I threw up some phlegm today & at one point i forced myself to do it so that I could feel better (I have a bad cough & it’s been in my system for a bit) does this break my fast? I know vomiting intentionally does but does this count as vomiting? JazakAllahu Khairan in advance.

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

That does not count as vomiting and does not break the fast since it does not come from the stomach.

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IslamQA: Being a night person as a Muslim

Salamu alaikum. Brother, is there a thing such as a "nocturnal person"? What do you think of such person who is wide awake at night and sleeping during the day? Is it mentioned in the Quran whether it is prohibited or not?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

That is often caused by having caffeine late in the day. As for the Islamic view, I know of no Quranic verses or hadiths that apply directly to it.

During Ramadan I often stay up the whole night until fajr because I am unable to work (programming and writing) when I am fasting, and to avoid spending an entire month unproductively, I switch my schedule so that I stay up at night and sleep during the day. I know some preachers speak against this, but since there is no clear evidence against it, and since my intention is not to avoid the difficulties of fasting but to be able to work, I believe it is fine.

IslamQA: Fasting in the month of Rajab

Salaam, do you have any information on whether we should fast during the month of Rajab? I tried to Google and found conflicting information. Thank you!

The mainstream opinion is that fasting in Rajab is like fasting in any other month. There is a weak narration that says fasting in Rajab was disliked by the Prophet PBUH, but since it is not authentic it cannot be relied on. Imam Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal disliked fasting in this month, for this reason the Ḥanbalī school considers it disliked to fast in this month. But the rest of the schools do not share this opinion.

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IslamQA: Do you have to make up your missed fasts before Ramadan?

Do you have to make up your missed fasts before Ramadan? Or can you still do them after. Will your Ramadan still be valid if you have some/a lot still left over?

It is considered sinful to fail to make up all the fasts that you have to make up until the next Ramadan comes. But if that happens, you can fast Ramadan like normal then make up the missed fasts from the previous period after Ramadan without issue.

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IslamQA: Does bleeding from the gum nullify wudu or fast?

Salam brother, does swallowing blood break fast/wudu? what if it’s only a small amount? I have a tooth that constantly bleeds and it’s frustrating worrying about it all the time.

According to a fatwa by the Qatari Fatwa Authority bleeding from the gum does not nullify wudu, but a person should avoid swallowing it as much as possible. As for fasting, a fatwa by the respected Egyptian scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi states that bleeding from the gum does not nullify the fast as long as a person does not intentionally swallow the blood. If some of the blood mixes with the saliva and a person swallows some of it unknowingly or because they are unable to avoid it (since it may not be possible to remove all blood from the mouth), then there is no issue with this either.

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IslamQA: The ruling on breaking a fast that you are making up for Ramadan

Is it haram to break a fast that you’re making up for Ramadan?

While breaking optional fasts is permitted without issue, according to multiple fatwas it is not permitted to a break a fast that one is performing in place of an obligatory fast.

If a person breaks such a fast without having an excuse, they will have to make it up along with making up the original fast they intended to make up.

Source

IslamQA: Do eye drops break the fast?

Hello, does using eye drops break the fasting?

There are different opinions on whether eye drops break the fast or not. The Mālikī and Ḥanbalī opinion is that it breaks the fast. The major Ḥanafī scholars believe it does not break the fast. According to Dr. Ali Gomaa (Egypt’s Grand Mufti from 2003 to 2013) says that the Ḥanafī and Shāfiʿī opinion is that it is permissible. He issued a fatwa saying that eye drops do not break the fast even if the person senses a taste in their mouths from the eye drops. However, the Jordianian Fatwa Authority (representing the Shāfiʿī school) issued a fatwa saying eye drops break the fast.

Due to the differences of opinion on this, it is best to avoid it using eye drops when fasting.

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IslamQA: Can one take medications when fasting?

hello, i know ramadan is months away but i wanted to ask this before i forget, can we take medication while fasting? without water of course, because i get really bad migraines and i need pills to calm them

Taking medications by mouth is not permitted when fasting. You could try taking the medication before the start of the fast. There are also migraine medications that are injected once a month, those would be permissible since medication injections do not break the fast according to respected sources like the Egyptian Fatwa Authority, Dr. Atiyya Saqr and Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi. However there is a great deal of disagreement on injections. But monthly injections would be the least problematic because it could be done when you are not fasting, and even though it continues to cause medication to reach your bloodstream throughout day and night, it would be similar to eating a meal before the start of the fast (which continues to cause nutrients to reach your bloodstream throughout the fasting day).

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Best wishes.