Fasting Sawm Presented by Engy Fouda 1 Introduction

Fasting (Sawm) Presented by: Engy Fouda 1

Introduction to Sawm ▪ Sawm literally means abstinence. ▪ Fasting in Islam means to avoid eating and drinking from dawn to sunset. ▪ We should also abstain from making or saying any bad things. 2

Purpose and spirit of Sawm ▪ The purpose of Sawm is to seek Taqwa (heightened spiritual awareness of Allah). ▪ In denying oneself food, drink, and other basic needs, one becomes deeply aware of Allah's power. With this awareness comes the desire to submit completely to His power and earn His mercy. ▪ To truly benefit from the experience of fasting, a Muslim should purify his thoughts and actions to gain the pleasure of Allah. ▪ One should focus his energies in the remembrance of Allah by spending extra time in prayer, being charitable and forgiving towards others, and avoiding un-Islamic behavior. 3

Types of Sawm ▪ one of two types of Sawm may be offered: Fard (obligatory) or Nafl (voluntary). 4

Examples of Fard Sawm ▪ A. The Ramadan fast: During the lunar month of Ramadan, Sawm is Fard for every adult Muslim. Under certain circumstances, one may be excused from Sawm or be allowed to postpone. ▪ B. Kaffarah: Fast of Expitation It is fard for a person who has deliberately nullified his fast or failed to fast in the month of Ramadan to make kaffarah. ▪ C. Nathr: Fast of Vowing: If someone vows to fast, the fast becomes Fard for him. 5

Examples of Nafl Sawm ▪ A. It is recommended to fast voluntarily at any time of the year, except on days when fasting is prohibited. ▪ B. In accordance with the Sunnah of Rasul. Allah, it is recommended to fast voluntarily on Mondays and Thursdays. ▪ It is also recommended to fast on the 13, 14, 15 the days of each Islamic month. 6

Days when Sawm prohibited ▪ Eid days ▪ Two days following Eid Al-Adaha. 7

When to begin the fast of Ramadan? ▪ The fast is to begin the day following the appearance of the new moon for the month of Ramadan. ▪ If it is confirmed that the moon has been sighted in any part of the world, a Muslim should begin his fast on dawn the following day. 8

Intention to fast ▪ The Muslim must take his formal intention of Sawm before dawn. ▪ You may make the intention for the whole month of Ramadan, or may make the intention to fast day by day. ▪ However, if you choose the latter, you must remember to renew your intention every night for the next day's fast. ▪ When making the intention to fast for the whole month of ramadan, a person may declare in his mind: ▪ ﻧﻮﻳﺖ ﺻﻮﻡ ﺭﻣﻀﺎﻥ ﺍﻳﻤﺎﻧﺎ ﻭ ﺍﺣﺘﺴﺎﺑﺎ ﻟﻮﺟﻪ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻲ ﺍﻣﻴﻦ ▪ I intend to fast the month of Ramadan believing and asking for Allah's acceptance and be pleased from us, Amin. ▪ If a person's fast is interrupted for some days due to illness, menstruation, travel, or other reasons, one must renew the intention before resuming the fast. 9

The Suhur: Pre-dawn Meal ▪ It is recommended for a Muslim to take Suhur, a pre dawn meal. To eat this meal is the Sunnah of Rasu. Allah and it is intended to reduce the hardship of Sawnm during the day. ▪ However, if due to over-sleeping or any other cause, a person finds that it is already dawn, or if he is not certain whether dawn has come, he should refrain from eating or drinking. ▪ It is safest to awake early enough to eat and finish the meal about 20 min. before dawn, since eating after dawn would nullify the day's fast. 10

The Iftar ▪ As soon as the sun has set, the Muslim should break his fast with iftar (breakfast). ▪ If the Iftar is light; for example, a few dates or other fruit and water; one may have it before offering the Maghrib (sunset) salah. ▪ However, if one is having a heavy iftar, one should offer the Maghrib salah first to avoid missing its proper time. 11

Exemption from Sawm during Ramadan ▪ Those who should fast: ▪ During the month of Ramadan, Sawm is Fard for every Muslim who has reached physical maturity. ▪ Those who should not fast: ▪ women during menstruation ▪ women during bleeding after child birth ▪ However, after the month of Ramadan, they should fast an equal number of days to those missed. 12

Those who have a valid excuse to postpone Sawm: ▪ If necessary, the following types of people are allowed to defer Sawm: ▪ 1. The sick: if Sawm is likely to make illness worse. ▪ 2. The mentally ill: for as long as the mental illness lasts. ▪ 3. The traveler: if his journey is more than 77 km. and serves a purpose permissible by the Shari's (Islamic Law), i. e. not stealing or drinking or gambling). ▪ If the traveler began his journey after dawn, it is not permissible to suspend the day's fast. ▪ However, if the traveler leaves after dawn with the intention of sawm and is overcome by exhaustion due to sawm later in the day, he may suspend the day's fast. ▪ 4. The pregnant woman: if the sawm is likely to harm the health of the mother or her unborn child. ▪ 5. The nursing mother: if the sawm is likely to harm the health of the mother and/or prevent her from having enough milk for her baby. 13

▪ After the end of Ramadan, these people should fast an equal number of days to those missed. 14

Those who are excused from Sawm ▪ The following types of people are completely exempt from Sawm and are not required to make up days missed: ▪ 1. The chronically ill: those who suffer from a serious permanent illness that would be made worse by fasting. ▪ 2. The permanently mentally ill ▪ 3. The very old: those who are too old and weak to fast at any time of the year. 15

▪ Instead, it is recommended that the permanently ill or old person should do Itaa'm ▪ (distribute staple foodstuff: rice, dates, etc. ) at the rate of one Muddan Nabi each day of the Ramadan fast. 16

Conditions that Nullify Sawm: Qada ▪ The Qada for Sawm: ▪ Qada means restitution for a missed fast. If a person does not fast, or if his fast is nullified for any of the reasons listed below, he should make up the fast after ramadan. The conditions that necessitate Qada are: ▪ 1. Illness: when recovered, a person should fast the number of days equal to the number missed after ramadan. ▪ 2. Travel: after ramadan, a person should fast a number of days equal to the number of days missed in travel. ▪ 3. In indirect feeding, injections for nutritional purposes: this includes any type of feeding by means other than eating and drinking. However, other medical injections, such as vaccinations, do not nullify the fast. ▪ 4. Forgetfulness: If a person eats, drinks, smokes. Forgetting that he is fasting, he does not need to do Qada. However, if he remembers that he is fasting and continues to eat, drink, etc, on purpose, he will have to do both qada and kaffarah. 17

▪ There a number of other things that nullify a fast and require qada, but the above are considered the most important ones to remember at this stage. 18

When to do qada? ▪ A Muslim who has to do qada may do it any time after the month of ramadan, but it is advisable not to delay it without cause. ▪ No one knows how soon life may end, and one may not have time to make restitution. ▪ If a Muslim carelessly delays his qada until after ramadan of the following year, he should do both qada and itaam i. e. giving out staple foodstuff for each day of qada. 19