Islamic Fiqh > Fasting > Ramadan: fasting, rules and dispensations
The fasting of Ramadan: all rules, conditions, dispensations and questions in the four schools.
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Updated on 06 October 2026 at 10:50 PM
O you who believe, fasting is prescribed upon you as it was prescribed upon those before you, so that you may attain piety.
Surah al-Baqara, 183
The fasting of Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam, obligatory upon every accountable Muslim. The Prophet said: "Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, except fasting: it is for Me and I reward it." al-Bukhari 1904, Muslim 1151
The Ramadan fast is obligatory (fard) by the Quran, the Sunna and consensus. The Hanafis specify it is obligatory on every free, resident, pubescent, sane individual without legal excuse. The Malikis add purity from menses. The Shafi'is and Hanbalis also require Islam.
Three conditions make the fast valid: absence of impediment, intention formed during the night, and abstinence from all nullifiers until sunset. The Shafi'is require renewing the intention each night; the Hanafis suffice with one intention at the start of the month.
Intercourse during the day requires expiation (kaffara): freeing a slave, otherwise fasting 2 consecutive months, otherwise feeding 60 poor persons (Abu Dawud 2380). Voluntary food and drink require makeup only. Involuntary vomiting does not break the fast by consensus (Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Ifsah). On deliberate vomiting, Ibn Battal reports that Malik, Abu Hanifa, ash-Shafi'i and Ahmad all say it requires makeup, the majority position, while Ibn Hubayra reports a disagreement where Abu Hanifa only breaks it by a mouthful, and Ahmad has several narrations.
The traveler may break and make up. The pregnant or nursing woman who fears for herself or her child breaks: makeup alone per the Hanafis, makeup + fidya per the Malikis. The chronically sick pays fidya.
The sunnas of fasting: hastening the sahur, delaying the iftar, the invocation at breaking. The supererogatory fasts: the 6 days of Shawwal, Monday and Thursday, the white days, the day of Arafah, Ashura, and the first 8 days of Dhul-Hijja.
The month begins with the crescent moon sighting. The majority requires the testimony of 2 witnesses; the Hanafis accept one witness for Ramadan. Different countries: one fasts per one's own horizon's sighting or that of Mecca per the schools.
Yes, obligatory (fard) upon every accountable Muslim who is pubescent, sane and able. The excused make up or pay fidya per the schools.
No. The Prophet said: "let him complete his fast, for Allah has fed him and given him drink" (al-Bukhari 1936, Muslim 1155).
No, as long as nothing is swallowed. The siwak is recommended during fasting.
If she fears for herself or her child, she may break and make up; some schools add fidya if the fear is for the child (Malikis).
The strongest position: they may be spread over the whole month, per the majority. Some prefer consecutiveness as a precaution.