❖ Question:
Is it obligatory to make up a voluntary fast if it is broken due to hunger or any other reason?
❖ Answer by:
Shaykh Saeed Mujtaba Saeedi (ḥafiẓahullāh)
Al-‘Ālim Ikramullah Wahidi (ḥafiẓahullāh)
If a voluntary fast is not completed due to any reason, it is not obligatory to make it up.
❖ Explanation:
Shaykh Saeed Mujtaba Saeedi ḥafiẓahullāh states:
“No, one is not required to make up a voluntary fast if it is broken.”
This is clearly mentioned in the following ḥadīth:
❖ Hadith:
Sayyidah ʿĀʾishah (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhā) narrates:
“دَخَلَ عَلَيَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَوْمًا، فَقَالَ : ” هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ شَيْءٌ ؟ ” فَقُلْتُ : لَا. قَالَ : ” فَإِنِّي صَائِمٌ “… فَأَكَلَ مِنْهُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : ” إِنَّمَا مَثَلُ صَوْمِ الْمُتَطَوِّعِ مَثَلُ الرَّجُلِ يُخْرِجُ مِنْ مَالِهِ الصَّدَقَةَ، فَإِنْ شَاءَ أَمْضَاهَا، وَإِنْ شَاءَ حَبَسَهَا”
Sources:
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1154
Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2455, 2457
Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 733, 734, 735
Sunan al-Nasāʾī: 2324–2330
Sunan Ibn Mājah: 1701
Muwaṭṭāʾ Mālik: 848
Musnad Aḥmad: 24220, 25094, 25731, 26007
❖ Confirmation by Scholars:
Al-ʿĀlim Ikramullah Wahidi ḥafiẓahullāh also confirms that it is not obligatory to make up a voluntary fast if it is broken.
✿ Conclusion:
✔ If a nafl (voluntary) fast is broken for any reason, its qada (make-up) is not compulsory, as clearly proven by authentic narrations.
