People Exempted from Fasting

Fasting is obligatory on adult Muslims from dawn to sunset during Ramadan, during which time they are forbidden to eat, drink or indulge in marital relations.

In the verses of fasting Allah Ta’ala says that He wants ease for Muslims and does not want to put them to undue hardship (2: 184-185). Hence certain people are exempted from fasting. These people includes those who are very ill, elderly people who do not have the strength and capacity to fast, menstruating women, pregnant and suckling women who fear for themselves or their children and long-distance travelers (2:184-185). With the exception of the chronically ill and the frail who can give fidyah (feeding a poor person for each day of missed fast) in lieu of fasting, others have to make atonement (qadha) of fasting at a later date after Ramadan (2:184).

Some benefits of fasting

Fasting is an act which symbolizes abstinence from sins and willingness to sacrifice even the lawful things for the sake of Allah. When a person gives up food and drink he realizes how much he is in need of Allah’s provision (rizq) on which his existence depends and which is often taken for granted. It is an opportunity for the slave to be grateful to his Lord for these and many other countless blessings. At the same time one will sympathize with the poor and needy and it will encourage one to help them.

There are many other spiritual, moral, psychological and social advantages of fasting. Fasting develops inner peace. It is an excellent spiritual training in obedience to Allah and it also trains the mind to deal with crisis, anger, thirst, hunger, greed and lust. Fasting promotes unity and equality, charity and generosity and it encourages a communal feeling of sharing, responsibility and solidarity.

Physical and medical benefits of fasting include elimination of harmful fatty substances from the blood, helping to cure certain types of intestinal and stomach ailments and the renewal of body tissues. Scientific research has also revealed that fasting provides relief in such disorders as diabetes mellitus, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. Fasting is thus “an annual physical overhaul of the body”. These benefits can only be gained if people keep to the true spirit of fasting by eating moderately and not over-eating in the hours of night when eating is permitted.

Things that Nullify the Fast

Among the things that nullify the fast are deliberate eating, drinking, smoking, having marital relations, masturbation, deliberate vomiting that amounts to a mouthful, menstruation, injection used as a substitute for food and anything entering the body. If a fasting person eats or drinks mistakenly, then it does not break the fast and the person should continue fasting as the Prophet (p) said: “If one forgets when he is fasting and eats or drinks, he should complete his fast, for it is only Allah who has fed him and given him drink”. In the same way, a person who wakes up from sleep in a state of sexual impurity (janabah) should still continue fasting. Bukhari & Muslim