Islamic Fiqh- Rituals- Siyam (Fasting_- Lesson 8: Islamic Rulings on Fasting 2- Things which invalidate fasting.
- Islamic Fiqh / Rituals
- /
- Fasting (Siyam)
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Encouraging remembering Allah the Almighty (dhikr):
Dear noble brothers, the Prophet, may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, said:
(( "Shall I not tell you the best of your deeds, and those that give you the highest rank, and those that are the purest with your Lord, and are better for you than giving gold and silver, and better for you than meeting your enemy and striking their necks?" They said, "Of course." He said, "Remembrance (dhikr) of Allah the Almighty". ))
This Hadith, dear brothers, is a basic principle regarding encouraging the remembrance of Allah the Almighty.
The Islamic scholars unanimously agreed that the remembrance of Allah the Almighty includes the recitation of the Qur'an, seeking Allah's Forgiveness, Tasbih (glorifying Allah), Tahlil (saying there is none worthy of worship except Allah), Al-Hamd (Praising Allah), At-Takbeer (saying Allah is the Greatest), and Du'a (invocation), and reminding people of Allah the Almighty. In other words, whatever you say seeking by your words getting closer to Allah the Almighty Him is a form of Dhikr (the remembrance of Allah). Furthermore, Salah is a form remembering Allah the Almighty. Better yet, remembering Allah is the greatest thing in it since performing it requires making Wudu (ablution), facing the Qiblah (the direction towards the Ka'bah), reciting Surat Al-Fatihah, and making Ruku (bowing down) and Sujud (prostration). As I have just said, the greatest thing in Salah is to remember Allah the Almighty with an attentive heart and mind.
The decisive difference between believers and non-believers:
Dear brothers, it was narrated in a Hadith Qudsi that Allah the Almighty says:
(( If you remember Me, you believe in Me, but if you forget to remember Me, you disbelieve in Me". ))
The remembrance of Allah the Almighty is what makes the believer distinguished from the non-believer. As for the hypocrite, he does not remember Allah the Almighty but a little. The Prophet, may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, said:
(( He who remembers Allah a lot has distanced himself and absolved himself of hypocrisy. ))
It is impermissible to accuse the one who remembers Allah the Almighty a lot of being a hypocrite. The Prophet, may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, said:
(( "Shall I not tell you the best of your deeds, and those that give you the highest rank, and those that are the purest with your Lord, and are better for you…" ))
The purpose of the righteous deed is to remember Allah the Almighty, which means the remembrance of Allah the Almighty is the best of all righteous deeds.
Whatever draws you closer to Allah is a form of remembering Him:
(( "…And those that give you the highest rank, and those that are the purest with your Lord, and are better for you than giving gold and silver, and better for you than meeting your enemy and striking their necks?" They said, "Of course." He said, "Remembrance (dhikr) of Allah the Almighty". ))
We understand from the above-mentioned Noble Hadith that whatever act that helps you get closer to Allah Al-Haqq (the Truth; the only True Deity) is a form of the remembrance of Him. Moreover, pondering over the creation of the heavens and the earth to get to know Allah the Almighty better, reciting the Noble Qur'an to draw nearer to Him, repeating the Name of Allah as dhikr, repeating the Adhkar ( the words of remembrance) of the Prophet, may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, and making Du'a (Supplication), etc… are forms of remembering Allah the Almighty, because these acts indicate that Allah is always in your mind, and that you always remember Him in your heart.
Keep in mind that when you perform Salah and remember Allah the Almighty, He will remember you, and His Remembrance of you is far greater than your remembrance of Him. The proof of this point is the following Noble Hadith in which the Prophet, may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, said:
(( If he remembers Me inwardly I shall remember him inwardly, and if he remembers me among people I shall remember him among people who are better than them. ))
This means Allah's Remembrance of you is far greater than yours of Him. Consider this point which is worth pondering: if someone calls you to Allah the Almighty and reminds you of Him, and as a result you get to know Him, adhere to His Orders and Prohibitions, and draw closer to Him, you should in return remind others of Allah the Almighty.
Calling people to Allah is Fard 'Ayn:
Now, let us talk about how you can express gratitude to Allah the Almighty (for the blessing of guidance). If someone has reminded you of Allah the Almighty, and he has called you to Him, to obey Him, to be under the shade of His Mercy, and to get closer to Him, and you feel so pleased by getting closer to Him, you should, (out of gratitude) remind others of Allah the Almighty and call them to Him, so that they can also feel so pleased by getting closer to Him; this is the crux of Da'wah (calling people to Allah).
In fact, every believer should call people to Allah, otherwise his faith is doubted, because when faith becomes deeply rooted in one's heart, it will express itself in the form of calling people to Allah the Almighty. So, he who gets closer to Allah the Almighty and tastes the sweetness of being close to Him, but he has never tried to call others to Allah, even the closest and the most beloved people to him, his faith is doubted.
Every believer should call people to Allah since calling to Allah is Fard 'Ayn (an individual obligation), i.e. you can call people to Allah within your knowledge and among the people you know. In other words, you do not have to be one of the most famous Islamic scholars or to make a universal Da'wah, but rather if you have heard a heart-touching admonition, just share it with those closest to you. Thus, calling people to Allah in this way is Fard 'Ayn upon every Muslim, whereas being an Islamic scholar is Fard Kifayah (a communal obligation).
Whoever adheres to the remembrance of Allah will be saved and successful:
As I have mentioned above, dear brothers, this Noble Hadith is a basic principle regarding the remembrance of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. The Prophet, may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, said:
(( "Shall I not tell you the best of your deeds, and those that give you the highest rank, and those that are the purest with your Lord, and are better for you than giving gold and silver, and better for you than meeting your enemy and striking their necks?" They said, "Of course." He said, "Remembrance (dhikr) of Allah the Almighty". ))
Also, Abdullah Ibn Buhr, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that a man came to the Prophet, may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, and said:
(( "O Messenger of Allah, the ordinances of Islam are too many for me, so tell me something to which I may cling." He replied:"Strive to keep your tongue busy constantly with dhikr (the remembrance of Allah)." ))
When you adhere to the remembrance of Allah the Almighty, you will be saved.
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Things that invalidate Siyaam (fasting):
1- Things which make making up missed days of Siyaam obligatory:
Now, let us move on to some of the Islamic rulings concerning the month of Ramadan. Today, we will talk about the things that invalidate Siyaam. Actually, there are two kinds of those things: Things which make making up missed days of Siyaam obligatory but no Kaffarah (expiation) is required, and things which make making up missed days of Siyaam in Ramadan as well as Kaffarah obligatory.
Let me give you some examples of the things which make making up missed days of Siyaam obligatory, but they do not require Kaffarah:
1- If a fasting person eats something during the day of Ramadan which is not usually eaten for nourishment, such as raw rice, dough, flour, salt, a date seed, a pebble, a piece of paper, or any other thing that is not usually eaten but one of these things gets to his throat, he should make up this day but no Kaffarah is required. This is the first ruling.
I would like to repeat this point: If a fasting person swallows things that are usually disliked, such as soil, raw rice, dough, flour, or any other thing that is not usually eaten, and that people usually have no liking for, he has to make up this day but no Kaffarah is required.
2- If someone breaks his Siyaam for a legitimate excuse, such as illness and travel; if a sick person takes his medicine, or if a traveler eats his food, they should make up this day but no Kaffarah is required.
3- If someone eats or drinks in case of necessity; if he is about to die from hunger or thirst, or if he is forced to break his Siyaam due to a threat to be killed, he should make up this day but no Kaffarah is required. So, in case of necessity or in case of being obliged to break one's Siyaam, and of course there is a difference between these two cases, he should make up this day without paying any Kaffarah.
4- If a small amount of water reaches by mistake the throat of a fasting person during Wudu (ablution) while rinsing his mouth and his nose extensively although the Prophet, may Allah's Peace and Blessings forbad exaggeration in rinsing the mouth during fasting, when he said, "…And if not fasting, sniff water up well inside the nose", he should make up this day, but no Kaffarah is required.
Thus, whoever unintentionally swallows some of the water he uses to rinse out his mouth while performing Wudu, his Siyaam is invalidated. Yet, he should refrain from eating and drinking the rest of the day, and he should make up this day.
5- According to the Hanafi School of Thought, the enema breaks Siyaam, based on the fact that everything that reaches inside the digestive tract breaks Siyaam.
Actually, there are difference opinions among the Islamic scholars of Fiqh (jurisprudence) about this matter. Some of them say that when food and drink reach the throat of a fasting person, his Siyaam is invalidated. Others say that in order to be on the safe side, everything that reaches inside the digestive tract, even if not by eating or drinking, breaks Siyaam, such as using enema, using nose or ear drops, inhaling the smoke of costus, using nasal sprays, or using vaporizers (which are devices that change the medicine from liquid to gas so that it can be inhaled by the patient). This is one of the issues about which the Islamic scholars have different opinions, so if the condition is not urgent (i.e. if it can be delayed until night time), it is better to stay on the safe side. Yet, it is permissible for the sick person to break his Siyaam.
6- If someone abstains from eating and drinking but forgets to make the intention (Niyyah) to fast, he has to make up this missed day. By the way it is better to make a single intention for the entire month of Ramadan, but if someone is used to make the intention to fast for each day, but he forgets to make it one day, he has to make up that day, and no Kaffarah is required.
7- If someone eats or drinks after the Adhan for Fajr, thinking that dawn has not yet come, then he finds that dawn has in fact come, like if he hears the Adhan for Fajr and thought that it is the Adhan for Imsaak (stopping eating which time is a few minute before dawn), so he drinks some water, then he finds out that it is Adhan for Fajr not Imsaak, he should make up for this day but no Kaffarah is required. Thus, in all these cases, one should make up that missed day, but he does not have to pay Kaffarh for it.
Similarly, if someone breaks his Siyaam when he hears the Adhan for Maghrib (if he is listening to the radio for example), then he finds that it is the time for Adhan in another country, not in his own country, he should make up this day.
8- If someone deliberately makes himself vomit, and his mouth is filled with it, he should make up his fast, because the Prophet, may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, said:
(( If he vomits intentionally he has to make up that day. ))
9- If someone swallows bits of food that are left in his mouth between his teeth, and it is the size of a chickpea, of course this rarely happens, or the size of a sesame seed, he should make up this day. One should brush his teeth well before fasting.
10- If someone leaves his house in order to travel after the dawn time, which is contrary to the Sunnah of the Prophet, may Allah's Peace and Blessings be upon him, he should make up this day.
Summary of the aforementioned points:
Let me briefly repeat the acts which invalidate Siyaam and make it obligatory to make up Siyaam but no Kaffarah is required:
Whoever eats something during the day of Ramadan which is not usually eaten, and no one of sound human nature has a liking for, such as dough, raw rice, a piece of paper, like some bad students who swallow the cheating sheet when they feel afraid of being caught cheating in the exam, bran, flour, dust, or any other thing that people usually have no liking for, and that is not usually eaten for nourishment, he should make up this day but no Kaffarah is required.
Whoever breaks his Siyaam for a legitimate excuse, such as illness and travel, i.e. the patient who takes his medicine, or the traveler who eats his food, he should make up this day but no Kaffarah is required.
Whoever eats or drinks in case of necessity; he is about to die from hunger or thirst, or he has no choice but to eat because someone is threatening to kill him if he refrains from eating, and he knows that this threat will definitely be carried out, he should make up this day but no Kaffarah is required.
Whoever unintentionally swallows some of the water he uses to rinse out his mouth while performing Wudu (ablution), his Siyaam is spoiled, and he should make up this day without Kaffarah. In addition, he should refrain from eating and drinking the rest of the day, out of respect for the sanctity of this great month, and he should make up this day.
If anything (i.e. any kind of medicine) reaches inside the digestive tract either through the nose or the ear to the throat, such as nose drops, ear drops, and asthma inhalers, or through the anus, such as the enema, then it is more on the safe side to make up this day, but no Kaffarah (expiation) is required, since it is permissible for the sick person to break his Siyaam.
Whoever abstains from eating and drinking without making Niyyah to fast, he should make up that day, but there is no Kaffarah to be paid.
Whoever mistakenly eats or drinks after the Adhan for Fajr, thinking that it is the Adhan for Imsaak (stopping eating which time is a few minute before dawn) or whoever breaks his Siyaam upon hearing the Adhan for Maghrib, then he finds that it is the time for Adhan in another country, he should make up this day without paying Kaffarah.
Whoever deliberately makes himself vomit, or whoever swallows bits of food that are left in his mouth between his teeth, which is bigger in size than a chickpea should make up his fast, but no Kaffarah is required.
Finally, whoever leaves his house after the dawn time in order to travel should continue his Siyaam, because according to the Sunnah, it is permissible to break Siyaam only if one leaves his house before dawn in order to travel, because the person is not considered a traveler until he leaves his house, not only by making the intention to travel. However, if he feels extremely tired he can break his Siyaam, and he should make up this day without Kaffarah.
