Interactive Guide based on แธคฤshiyat Ibn สฟฤbidฤซn (Hanafi School)
Year Prescribed
Linguistic Meaning
Daily Duration
In the linguistic sense, Sawm means absolute abstention (Imsak) from anything, whether it is food, movement, or speech. The sources note that the term is used metaphorically to describe a horse that stops feeding (sama al-faras) or a person who vows to remain silent.
Legally, fasting is defined as restraining the soul from desires (food, drink, and sexual intercourse) from the beginning of the day until its end, performed by a specific person with a contract of intention (Niyyah) for the sake of worship. Its primary spiritual purpose is to subdue the soul (qahr al-nafs) which is prone to evil.
The duration of the fast is the Legal Day (al-Yawm al-Shar'i). This period begins strictly at True Dawn (Tulu' al-Fajr)โwhich is the spreading of light on the eastern horizonโand concludes at Sunset (al-Ghurub), defined as the complete disappearance of the sun's disk.
Fasting in Ramadan was made a divine obligation (Fard) in the 2nd year of Hijrah, specifically on the 10th of Sha'ban. This occurred approximately one and a half years after the Prophet's ๏ทบ migration and shortly after the change of the Qibla from Jerusalem to the Ka'bah.
These conditions make the fast a duty upon the person.
The fast is not legally recognized unless these are met.
While not obligatory, a child's fast is valid if they are discerning (approx. age 7+). They are encouraged to fast for training purposes.
Hanafi fiqh recognizes two primary pillars of fasting: Intention (Niyyah) and Abstention (Imsak) from dawn to sunset.
| Pillar | Description |
|---|---|
| Niyyah | Forming the intention each night before dawn, or the general intention for Ramadan on its first night according to some narrations. |
| Imsak | Abstaining from food, drink, intercourse, and anything that nullifies fasting from true dawn (Fajr) to sunset (Maghrib). |
The Hanafi school details acts that break the fast and require either Qada (make-up) or both Qada and Kaffarah (expiation) depending on intentionality and type of violation.
| Action | Ruling |
|---|---|
| Eating/Drinking intentionally | Breaks fast, requires Qada & Kaffarah |
| Sexual intercourse during day | Breaks fast, requires Qada & Kaffarah |
| Vomiting intentionally (mouthful) | Breaks fast, requires Qada |
| Accidental inhalation of smoke | Does not break fast |
A Kaffarah is a heavy penalty for intentionally breaking a fast in Ramadan without a valid excuse. The sequence is strictly followed:
Fidya applies to those permanently unable to fast (chronic illness, advanced age). It substitutes each missed fast with feeding a poor person.
I'tikaf is seclusion in the mosque (or a woman's prayer area at home) with the intention of worship. It has Wajib (vowed), Sunnah Mu'akkadah (last ten nights), and Nafl forms.