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Quick Answers to Common Questions

1. Sincere repentance
2. Du’a (supplication)
3. Rejoicing at the approach of the blessed month
4. Discharging the duty of any outstanding obligatory fasts
5. Seeking knowledge
6. Hastening to complete any tasks that may distract you from doing acts of worship.
7. Community & social work to benefit the Ummah
8. Preparing some books to read
9. Fasting some of the month of Sha’ban
10. Reading Quran

 

If a Muslim misses fasting for many years, he/she has to ask Allah for forgiveness and repent to Him, and has to fast the days that he/she missed and feed one poor person for each day. If he/she is poor and cannot feed others, then fasting and repentance is sufficient and he/she does not have to feed others.

It’s better (more prudent) to make up missed fasts in order—so complete what you missed from Ramadan 1439 first, then 1440, then 1441. But if you don’t know the order, or you forgot and made them up without ترتيب, there is no sin on you and your make-up fasts are still valid.

If you fast with the intention of a voluntary fast (like ‘Ashura), it does not count as making up a missed Ramadan fast. But if you fast with the intention of making up Ramadan on ‘Ashura, the make-up fast counts, and some scholars hope you may also gain the reward of ‘Ashura.

  • Charity in Ramadan is excellent and better than at many other times.

  • But there is no clear Sunnah text saying charity in the last ten days/nights is more virtuous than charity in the rest of Ramadan.

  • Scholars do say that good deeds are more virtuous in virtuous times, and the last ten nights are the best nights, because Laylat al-Qadr is among them (better than a thousand months).

  • So the best balance is: increase worship at night in the last ten, and be generous in charity throughout Ramadan.

Evil actions are reduced on the part of those who fast meeting all the conditions of fasting and taking care to observe the proper etiquette; or that only some of the devils are chained up, namely the strong ones, and not all of them, as it says in some reports; or that evils are reduced in this month, which is something noticeable – fewer evils happen in this month than in others. If all of them were to be chained up that does not mean that evil and sin would not happen, because there are other causes of evil apart from the devils, such as evil souls, bad habits and human devils.

Brushing your teeth while fasting does not break the fast, and using toothpaste is fine as long as you take care not to swallow anything.

Many men believe that if he has had intercourse with his wife and did not make ghusl (similar to the above) then he cannot fast the next morning. This is also incorrect, for he can fast even if he has not made ghusl.

Many women believe that if their period has just ended and they did not make ghusl, they cannot fast that day (considering their period ended at night, and they went to bed without ghusl, waking up without having a chance to make it). This is incorrect, if a women has not made ghusl she can still fast.

Vomiting deliberately breaks the fast and you have to make up that day. If you cannot help vomiting and vomit involuntarily, your fast is still valid and you do not have to do anything else.

It is permissible for a fasting person to take medicine by injection, whether intramuscular or intravenous , during the day in Ramadan. 

However, it is not permissible for the fasting person to be given an injection for nourishment purposes during the day in Ramadan. This is because that comes under the ruling on eating and drinking; having this injection is regarded as a trick aimed at breaking one’s fast in Ramadan . 

If the intramuscular or intravenous injection can be given at night, that is better. 

The scholars ruled that the fast is not broken by using a puffer as asthma medication. Oxygen may be used as asthma medication when fasting with no problems. If you use vaporizers, you should break your fast and make up that day later. Using capsules invalidates the fast because some of the powder mixes with the saliva and goes down into the stomach.

 

If you do not eat Suhur or do not wake up for Fajr prayer, this is not counted as a reason for you not to fast. So you have to continue your fast. If you broke your fast, thinking that you did not have to fast, you have to fast another day to make up for it.

The husband should not burden his wife with more than she can bear of having to prepare food and sweets. Many people take this month to prepare fancy foods and drinks, and they go extremes in that. This detracts from the sweetness of this month and goes against the reason for fasting, which is to attain piety.

Giving zakah to relatives who are entitled to it is better than giving it to those who are not your relatives, because giving charity to relatives is both charity and upholding the ties of kinship. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Charity given to a poor person is charity, but charity given to a relative is two things, charity and upholding the ties of kinship”.  

You should welcome Ramadan with joy and happiness and thanking Allah for enabling you to reach Ramadan. You should welcome Ramadan with sincere repentance and preparations to fast and pray qiyam, with a sound intention and sincere resolve.

Many people make the mistake of spending the later part of Ramadan preparing for Eid, neglecting Ramadan. This is incorrect and these people lose the concept of what Ramadan is about.

If a fasting person eats or drinks in Ramadan or a voluntary fast out of forgetfulness, then his fast is complete and he does not have to make it up.

  1. Giving the charity in Ramadan.
  2. Giving it before Ramadan, but stipulating that it should be used in Ramadan.
  3. Similarly, if the giver does not stipulate that, but the fasting person breaks his fast with that food during Ramadan, then it may truly be said that the giver provided iftar to one who was fasting in Ramadan.

There is no problem with sending your zakah on wealth or zakat al-fitr to your home country and giving it to your family there if they are eligible and in need. This is especially relevant for people working in countries where most residents are financially stable, while their relatives back home are poor or struggling—particularly as many people know the needs of the poor in their homeland better than those in the country where they currently live.

It’s not true that using scented oils or perfumes breaks the fast. Scholars agree that smelling or applying perfume does not invalidate fasting, as long as nothing is inhaled deliberately into the throat or stomach (like incense smoke).

You may use perfume, deodorant, or scented oils while fasting — just avoid intentionally inhaling incense smoke or using sprays directly into the mouth or nose.

If bleeding is caused by sickness, your fast is still valid, and you do not have to do anything even if the blood is a large amount, so long as it comes out without you doing anything (to cause it).

It is haram for a Muslim woman to continue fasting when she is menstruating. If she gets her period while fasting, her fast is spoiled, even if the blood comes a moment before sunset, and she has to make that up if it was an obligatory fast.

 

Chewing gum which contains sugar and artificial flavorings breaks your fast. But if the gum does not contain any substance that will dissolve and enter the stomach, then it does not break the fast.

Smoking is haram and it invalidates your fast because it reaches the stomach and the inside of the body. Everything that reaches the stomach and the inside of the body breaks the fast, whether it is beneficial or harmful.

It is not permissible to break the fast during Ramadan because of examsو because having exams is not one of the valid reasons for breaking the fast in Islam.

Yes, it is permissible for a person who is fasting to kiss his wife during the day in Ramadan , and for them to enjoy physical intimacy so long as it will not lead to intercourse or emission of semen . 

If doing exercise or sports will lead to you becoming weak and tired, and you won’t be able to pray Tarawih, then they are makruh because you will miss out on one of the virtuous acts in Ramadan.

 

It is not advise her to use these pills for worship, because menstruation is something Allah has decreed for women. 

 
 

With regard to breastfeeding mothers – and also pregnant women – two scenarios may apply: 

1- If the woman is not affected by fasting, and fasting is not too difficult for her, and she does not fear for her child, then she is obliged to fast, and it is not permissible for her not to fast. 

2- If the woman fears for herself or her child because of fasting , and fasting is difficult for her, then she is allowed not to fast, but she has to make up for the days that she does not fast. 

In this situation it is better for her not to fast , and it is makruh for her to fast. Some of the scholars stated that if she fears for her child, it is obligatory for her not to fast and it is haram for her to fast. 

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