Islamic Fiqh > Fasting > The intention to fast: when and where to make it
Intention is a condition of fasting. For Ramadan it must be made at night; for voluntary fasting it is not always required. Details and differences.
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Updated on 31 August 2026 at 3:55 AM
Ibn Hubayra reports that the scholars agreed upon the obligation of the intention for the obligatory fast of Ramadan: it is not valid without an intention.
The agreed text of the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis requires the intention to be firm, cutting off hesitation. Whoever, on the night of doubt (the thirtieth night of Sha'ban), intends "if tomorrow belongs to Ramadan it is an obligatory fast, otherwise a voluntary one": his fast is not valid and does not count, for he did not resolve; he is not truly a faster. But whoever says this on the thirtieth night of Ramadan, his fast is valid once the month becomes clear; his hesitation does not harm, for he relies on an established fact (the month's entry) that was not annulled, unlike the thirtieth of Sha'ban where the established fact remains Sha'ban.
The Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis require designating the intended fast for every obligatory fast: believing that one fasts tomorrow a day of Ramadan, or a make-up, or an expiation, or a vow. Without designation the fast does not count; a vague intention ("a fast") or the intention of a voluntary fast does not serve the obligatory. They rely on the Prophet's word (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "There is only for each person what he intended" (al-Bukhari 1), and on the fact that this fast is tied to a precise time, like the five prayers.
The Hanafis divide: for the performance of Ramadan, a dated vow and the voluntary fast, no designation is required (Ramadan itself designates the obligatory, no other fast competes with it); for the make-up, the expiations and the undated vow, designation is required. Imam Ahmad, in a narration chosen by Ibn Taymiyya, like the Hanafis (al-Marghinani), holds that the intention "if tomorrow is Ramadan it is obligatory, otherwise voluntary" is valid and counts for Ramadan once the month becomes clear.
The fuqaha agree that a fast fixed upon one's responsibility (the make-up of Ramadan, of a vow, expiations) is only fasted with an intention taken at night. For Ramadan itself, the majority (Malikis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis) also requires the night intention, based on the hadith of Hafsa: "Whoever does not fix the fast before dawn has no fast", and in another wording: "Whoever does not take the intention of fasting at night has no fast" (Abu Dawud 2454, Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi; sahih hadith).
Tabit means placing the intention during the night, between sunset and dawn: an intention taken before sunset suffices for no one, nor one after dawn, for the intention is a resolve and aiming at the past is impossible. Hesitating at the deadline invalidates. According to a Maliki view, an intention coinciding with dawn remains valid (a view reported from Abd al-Wahhab, attributed also to al-Lakhmi and Ibn Rushd).
All the scholars agree that whoever takes the intention every night of Ramadan performs his fast perfectly. They differ over one who intended the whole month from the first night: the majority (Hanafis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis) requires an intention for each day, since each day is an independent worship whose time begins at dawn and ends at sunset, based on the hadith: "Whoever does not take the intention at night has no fast". The Malikis and a narration of Ahmad hold that one intention suffices for the whole month so long as it is not revoked, by virtue of "there is only for each person what he intended" and because the month is a single worship, like hajj.
The intention must last: whoever takes the intention at night then retracts it before dawn does not enter into the fast. an-Nawawi explains that retracting the intention is the opposite of the intention, whereas eating at night after the intention does not annul it. For the Hanafis, whoever retracts thus owes only the make-up, no expiation, so long as he does not renew the intention. The Hanbalis further require that the thread of fasting not be cut (travel, illness, menstruation): if a cut occurs, the night intention must be taken again at each resumption.
The majority (Hanafis, Shafi'is, Hanbalis) allows the voluntary fast with an intention taken by day, before midday, provided nothing that breaks the fast was done before it, based on Aisha's hadith: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked whether there was food, was told no, and said: "Then I am fasting" (Muslim 1154). The Hanbalis (in the madhhab) and one Shafi'i opinion allow the intention even after midday, citing this hadith and that of Salama ibn al-Akwa': "Let whoever has eaten continue the rest of the day fasting, for this is the day of Ashura" (al-Bukhari 1903, Muslim 1135). An internal divergence concerns the reward: counted from dawn according to most Shafi'is and Abu al-Khattab among the Hanbalis, from the moment of the intention according to the Hanbali madhhab and al-Marwazi. The fast of Ashura was first obligatory then abrogated by Ramadan.
If he does not actually eat: the Hanafis, the Shafi'is (in the madhhab) and Ibn Hamid among the Hanbalis judge that the bare intention does not break the fast, like one who considers speaking during prayer without speaking; al-Bayjuri notes that retracting the intention harms at night, not by day. The Malikis, the Hanbalis (in the madhhab) and some Shafi'is judge that it breaks: the rest of the day would remain without intention. According to the Mudawwana, Malik then imposes the make-up and the expiation even if nothing was eaten until sunset, and the preferred view among the Malikis keeps the expiation when the man, after intending to break, returned to the intention of fasting before sunrise.
The majority deems valid the fast of one who took the intention at night, fainted, then regained consciousness for part of the day before fainting again. The Malikis detail: one who fainted before dawn and wakes long after, his fast does not count without divergence; if he wakes shortly after, the famous position of the madhhab rejects it too. One who faints after dawn: it counts if he regains consciousness for a while, and does not if he only comes round at or after midday. Intoxication from a lawful substance is treated like fainting; whoever was unlawfully drunk at night and persisted owes the make-up and cannot avail himself of the rest of the day. The sleeper who takes the intention then sleeps the whole month: his fast is valid and his responsibility discharged. One who remains unconscious the whole day and only wakes after sunset: the Malikis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis reject his fast, for fasting is abstention together with intention. The insane person is treated like the unconscious one.
In practice: take the intention every night of Ramadan, and at night for every obligatory fast (make-up, expiation, vow). For the voluntary fast, a daytime intention before midday suffices according to the majority. No precise wording is required: the resolve in the heart suffices.
For Ramadan: no, it is made at night or before dawn; for supererogatory fast: yes until midday (reported from Aisha, Muslim 1154).
No: intention is a heart act; the formula is optional.
No: the night-made intention holds even if sahur is missed.