Fasting in Ramadhaan

Fasting in Ramadhaan
Fasting in the month of Ramadhaan is Farz upon every Muslim, male and female who is sane and mature.
Fasting in Islam means to stay away from eat­ing, drinking and cohabitation from Subha Sadiq to sunset with a Niyyat of Rozah .
Allah has promised great reward for those that Fast, whilst severe punishment is in store for those that do not fast in the month of Ramadhaan.
Fasting has many physical, moral and social benefits. Allah has made fasting compulsory so that we become pious, God fearing and God conscious.
Niyyat
The Niyyat (intention) of fasting is necessary, if a person stays away from all those things that break one's fast without a Niyyah, the fast will not be valid.
TYPES
Farze muaiyyan
Fasting for the whole month of Ramadhaan once a
year.
Farze ghair muaiyyan
The duty upon one to keep Qazaa of a Rozah missed in the month of Ramadhaan with or without a valid
partake of Sheri (the meal before Subha Sadiq.
To delay the Sehri upto a little before Subha
Wajib muaiyyan:
To vow to keep a fast on a specific day or date for the sake of Allah, upon the fulfilment of some wish or desire (Nazr).
Wajib
To vow or pledge to keep a fast without fixing any day or date, upon the fulfilment of a wish (Nazr). Those Rozahs which are kept for breaking one's Qasm (oath) also fall under this category.
Sunnat
Those Rozahs which Rasulullah (Sal lallahu 'alaihi wa Sallam) kept and encouraged others to keep, e.g., fasting on the 9th and 1 Oth of Muharram, the 9th of Zil Hajjah, etc.
Mustahab:
All fasts besides Farz, Wajib and Sunnat are Mustahab, eg., fasting on Mondays and Thursdays.
Makrooh
Fasting only on the 9th or
10th of Muharram or fast­ing only on Saturdays.
Days on fast is Haram
It is Haraam to fast on five days during the year. They are Eidul Fitr, Eidul Adha and three days after Eidul Adha.
Sadiq.
To break the fast immediately after sunset.
To break one's fast with dry or fresh dates if
available. If dates are not available, then with water.
To make niyaat at night.
Who can leave fast of Ramadan
Sick people when their health is likely to be badly affected by fasting. They should make up the loss, a day for a day, when they recov­er after Ramadhaan.
A Musafir, (one who is undertaking a journey of more than 77 kms and does not intend staying more than 14 days at his destination). However, it is better for him to fast in Ramadhaan than keep Qaza later, provided the journey is not a tiresome one.
If it is feared that hunger or thirst will lead to death, it is permitted to break one's fast.
It is Wajib to keep Qaza of a Nafl fast that was broken before completing it.
Makrooh
To chew gum, rubber, plastic items or other such things.
To taste any article of food or drink and spit it out. If a woman has a very ill-tempered hus­band, it is permissible for her to taste the food, provided it does not go down the throat.
To collect one's saliva in the mouth and then to swallow it, trying to quench thirst.
To delay a bath that has become Farz know­ingly until after Subha Sadiq.
To use paste or tooth powder to clean one's teeth. It is permitted to clean with a miswaak of any fresh branch or root (tooth stick)
To take the water too much up the nostrils when cleaning the nose.
To gargle more than necessary.
To quarrei, argue, use filthy or indecent words.
To backbite, tell a lie and swear etc. are sinful acts even when one is not fasting. Therefore they become even worse when fasting.
Qaza:
To keep one fast in place of the one that breaks, or is broken intentionally.
Qaza Wajib:
Anything put by force into the mouth of fasting persons.
Water goes down the throat whilst gargling, conscious of one's fasting.
To vomit mouthful intentionally or to return vomit down the throat.
Swallowing int
paper or any item that is not used as food or medicine.
Swallowing something edible, equal to or big­ger than a grain of gram which was stuck between the teeth. However if it is first taken out of the mouth and swallowed it will break the fast whether it is smaller or bigger than the size of a gram.
Putting oil into the ear.
Inhaling snuff into the nostrils.
Swallowing the blood from the gums if the colour of the blood is more than the saliva with which it is mixed.
To eat and drink forgetting that one is fasting and thereafter thinking that the fast is broken, to eat and drink again.
To eat and drink after Subha Sadiq or to break the fast before sunset due to a cloudy sky or a faulty watch, etc., and then realising one's fault.
N.B. Any fast other than a Ramadhaan one, whether broken intentionally or with a good and valid reason, makes only Qaza Wajib. There is no Kaffarah for breaking any fast besides that of Ramadhaan
.
Kaffarah:
To keep one fast after another for sixty days continously.
However, if a person is unable to keep these 60 Rozas, for some valid reason, e.g. continuous sickness, then one has the option of choosing from one of the following four:
Feed sixty poor people to their fill for two meals, or
Feed one poor person two meals a day, for sixty days; or
Give 60 poor persons 3 1 /2 lbs. (approx. 1.6kg.) of wheat or its value in cash or food grains; or
Give to one poor person not less than 3 1 /2 lbs.
of wheat, rice or food grains, etc. to its value of cash for sixty days.
Qaza and kaffarah wajib
Eating, drinking or breaking the fast in any other manner, e.g., smoking, etc., without a valid reason, will make both Qaza and Kaffarah necessary.
Applying Surma into the eye or rubbing oil on the head and then, thinking that the fast is broken, to eat and drink intentionally.
To drink any kind of medicine intentionally. Injection is permitted.
How fast do not break
To eat or drink something unintentionally.
A mosquito, fly or any other object going Water entering the ears.
Dust or dirt going down the throat. Swallowing one's own saliva.
Applying of Surma (kohl) into the eyes.
Taking a bath to keep cool. Applying itr or perfume. It is not permitted to inhale to smoke of Lobaan or Agar Batti whilst fasting. It is also not permitted to smoke ciga­rettes or inhale its smoke.
Brushing the teeth without tooth paste or pow­der, e.g., using a Miswaak, etc.
A dream which makes Ghusl neces­sary does not break the Rozah.
FIDYA
A very old person who does not have the strength to fast or a very sickly or diseased per­son who has no hope of recovering after Ramadhaan, should give Fidya for each fast missed in Ramadhaan.
The Fidya for a fast is similar to that of a missed Farz or Wajib Salaat, i.e.:
To give 3 1 /2 lbs = approx. 1.6kg of wheat
7 lbs = approx. 3.2kg of barley
the equivalent of the above in cash kind.
If, however an old or sick person gains strength or recovers after Ramadhaan, he must keep the missed number of fasts and whatever was given as Fidya will be a reward for him from Allah Ta'ala.
No one is allowed to fast for another sick or fit per­son.
N.B. Children should be encouraged to fast, but should not be forced to complete the fast upto sunset if they are unable to bear the hunger or thirst.