❖ Deliberate Invalidating of Fast Necessitates Expiation ❖
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
Narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
نهى رسول الله عن الوصال
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prohibited continuous fasting (wisāl).”
[Bukhari: 1962, Kitāb al-Ṣawm: Bāb al-Wiṣāl; Muslim: 1102; Abū Dāwūd: 2360; Aḥmad: 2/21]
Although the Prophet ﷺ himself would practice continuous fasting, this was specific to him, as narrated by Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه):
وأيكم مثلي؟ إني أبيت يطعمني ربي ويسقيني
“Who among you is like me? I spend the night while my Lord feeds me and gives me drink.”
[Bukhari: 1965, Kitāb al-Ṣawm: Bāb al-Tankīl liman Akthara al-Wiṣāl; Muslim: 1102; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 7753; Aḥmad: 2/231; Bayhaqī: 4/282]
In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said when prohibiting continuous fasting:
إنما يفعل ذلك النصارى
“This is only done by the Christians.”
[Bukhari: 1961; Kitāb al-Ṣawm: Bāb al-Wiṣāl; Tirmidhī: 778; Dārimī: 2/8; Ibn Khuzaymah: 2069; Aḥmad: 3/170; Bayhaqī: 4/282; Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 3/473]
☞ Explanation:
Continuous fasting (wiṣāl) refers to someone intentionally fasting for two or more consecutive days without breaking the fast, i.e., without eating at night or at suḥūr time.
As mentioned in the Hadith, a man had intercourse with his wife during fasting, and the Prophet ﷺ ordered him to offer kaffārah in the following manner:
① Free a slave
② If unable, fast for two consecutive months
③ If still unable, feed sixty poor people
[Bukhari: 1936–1937; Muslim: 1111]
(Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله): This order of kaffārah is obligatory.
[Al-Mughnī: 4/380]
(ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī رحمه الله): He also upholds this view.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 3/375]
(Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله): Maintains the same opinion.
[Tahdhīb al-Sunan: 3/269]
There is scholarly difference of opinion on this matter:
◈ The Majority (Jumhūr):
Kaffārah is obligatory only in the case of intercourse, as the Hadith is explicitly related to this.
◈ Mālikī School:
Kaffārah is obligatory for breaking the fast by intercourse or any other method, based on the narration:
أن رجلا أفطر
“A man broke his fast (and the Prophet ﷺ instructed him to perform kaffārah).”
(This narration does not specifically mention intercourse.)
[Al-Umm: 2/128; Al-Mabsūṭ: 3/73; Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 1/209; Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/188]
Even if the narration "A man broke his fast" is authentic, it is ambiguous (mujmal), and other narrations clarify that the fast was broken through intercourse.
It is incorrect to analogically extend this to eating or drinking, as analogical reasoning (qiyās) in acts of worship is generally invalid.
Those who argue for obligatory kaffārah for other means of breaking the fast have no authentic evidence.
The original ruling is non-obligation of kaffārah unless proven otherwise.
Therefore, the correct view is:
Kaffārah is only obligatory for the one who breaks the fast through sexual intercourse, as held by:
(Al-Albānī رحمه الله): Also upholds this view.
[Al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah ʿalā al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/19]
(Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله): Shares the same opinion.
[Al-Muḥallā bi-l-Āthār: 4/313]
(Muḥammad Ṣubḥī Ḥasan Ḥallāq): Also prefers this view.
[Al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah ʿalā al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/545]
✔ Summary:
Expiation is obligatory only when the fast is invalidated deliberately through intercourse. Other actions like eating or drinking, though sinful if done intentionally, do not necessitate kaffārah.
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
➊ Prohibition of Continuous Fasting (وصال) and Its Clarification
Narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
نهى رسول الله عن الوصال
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prohibited continuous fasting (wisāl).”
[Bukhari: 1962, Kitāb al-Ṣawm: Bāb al-Wiṣāl; Muslim: 1102; Abū Dāwūd: 2360; Aḥmad: 2/21]
Although the Prophet ﷺ himself would practice continuous fasting, this was specific to him, as narrated by Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه):
وأيكم مثلي؟ إني أبيت يطعمني ربي ويسقيني
“Who among you is like me? I spend the night while my Lord feeds me and gives me drink.”
[Bukhari: 1965, Kitāb al-Ṣawm: Bāb al-Tankīl liman Akthara al-Wiṣāl; Muslim: 1102; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 7753; Aḥmad: 2/231; Bayhaqī: 4/282]
In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ said when prohibiting continuous fasting:
إنما يفعل ذلك النصارى
“This is only done by the Christians.”
[Bukhari: 1961; Kitāb al-Ṣawm: Bāb al-Wiṣāl; Tirmidhī: 778; Dārimī: 2/8; Ibn Khuzaymah: 2069; Aḥmad: 3/170; Bayhaqī: 4/282; Sharḥ al-Sunnah: 3/473]
☞ Explanation:
Continuous fasting (wiṣāl) refers to someone intentionally fasting for two or more consecutive days without breaking the fast, i.e., without eating at night or at suḥūr time.
❖ Expiation (Kaffārah) for Breaking the Fast through Intercourse
As mentioned in the Hadith, a man had intercourse with his wife during fasting, and the Prophet ﷺ ordered him to offer kaffārah in the following manner:
① Free a slave
② If unable, fast for two consecutive months
③ If still unable, feed sixty poor people
[Bukhari: 1936–1937; Muslim: 1111]
(Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله): This order of kaffārah is obligatory.
[Al-Mughnī: 4/380]
(ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī رحمه الله): He also upholds this view.
[Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī: 3/375]
(Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله): Maintains the same opinion.
[Tahdhīb al-Sunan: 3/269]
❖ Is Expiation Required for Breaking the Fast by Any Means?
There is scholarly difference of opinion on this matter:
◈ The Majority (Jumhūr):
Kaffārah is obligatory only in the case of intercourse, as the Hadith is explicitly related to this.
◈ Mālikī School:
Kaffārah is obligatory for breaking the fast by intercourse or any other method, based on the narration:
أن رجلا أفطر
“A man broke his fast (and the Prophet ﷺ instructed him to perform kaffārah).”
(This narration does not specifically mention intercourse.)
[Al-Umm: 2/128; Al-Mabsūṭ: 3/73; Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 1/209; Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/188]
❖ The Preferred and Stronger Opinion (Rājiḥ Qawl)
Even if the narration "A man broke his fast" is authentic, it is ambiguous (mujmal), and other narrations clarify that the fast was broken through intercourse.
It is incorrect to analogically extend this to eating or drinking, as analogical reasoning (qiyās) in acts of worship is generally invalid. Those who argue for obligatory kaffārah for other means of breaking the fast have no authentic evidence. The original ruling is non-obligation of kaffārah unless proven otherwise. Therefore, the correct view is:Kaffārah is only obligatory for the one who breaks the fast through sexual intercourse, as held by:
- Imām al-Shāfiʿī رحمه الله
- Some other scholars of knowledge
(Al-Albānī رحمه الله): Also upholds this view.
[Al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah ʿalā al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 2/19]
(Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله): Shares the same opinion.
[Al-Muḥallā bi-l-Āthār: 4/313]
(Muḥammad Ṣubḥī Ḥasan Ḥallāq): Also prefers this view.
[Al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah ʿalā al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/545]
✔ Summary:
Expiation is obligatory only when the fast is invalidated deliberately through intercourse. Other actions like eating or drinking, though sinful if done intentionally, do not necessitate kaffārah.
