❖ Fasting in Ramadan Is Obligatory – A Detailed Explanation ❖
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
The word Ṣiyām is derived from the verb صَامَ يَصُومُ (Baab Nasr).
It means: to abstain — whether from eating, drinking, speaking, sexual intercourse, or traveling.
References:
Al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ: p. 1020, Al-Munjid: p. 476
Fasting is:
To abstain from specific actions (such as eating, drinking, sinning, and sexual intercourse during the day) in specific days and under specific conditions.
References:
Fatḥ al-Bārī: 4/592, Sharḥ Muslim by Nawawī: 4/200, Subul al-Salām: 2/859
Fasting in the month of Ramadan was made obligatory in the second Hijri year.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/151]
① Qur’anic Evidence:
"يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ"
"O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain taqwā (piety)."
[Al-Baqarah: 184]
②
"فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ"
"So whoever of you witnesses the month, let him fast it."
[Al-Baqarah: 185]
③ Hadith of the Five Pillars of Islam
Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Islam is built on five pillars… and fasting in Ramadan (صيام رمضان).”
[Bukhārī: 8, Kitāb al-Īmān: Chapter on the Foundations of Islam]
④ Sighting of the Crescent
Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"If you see it (the crescent), then fast."
[Bukhārī: 1900, Kitāb al-Ṣawm; Muslim: 1080; Ibn Mājah: 1654; Aḥmad: 2/145; Muwaṭṭāʾ: 1/286; Ṭayālisī: 866; Nasāʾī: 4/134]
⑤ Hadith from Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه):
"Fast upon sighting the crescent (صوموا لرؤيته)."
[Bukhārī: 1909, Kitāb al-Ṣawm; Muslim: 1081; Nasāʾī: 4/133; Aḥmad: 2/415; Dārimī: 2/3; Bayhaqī: 4/205]
⑥ Scholarly Consensus (Ijmāʿ):
There is unanimous agreement among scholars on the obligation of fasting in Ramadan.
References:
Al-Mughnī: 4/324, Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuh: 3/1629, Al-Majmūʿ: 6/273, Kashshāf al-Qināʿ: 2/349, Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 1/274
✔ The obligation of fasting in Ramadan is firmly established through:
✔ Fasting in Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and its rejection constitutes a serious deviation from the fundamentals of Islamic faith.
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❀ ➊ Linguistic Definition of “Ṣiyām”
The word Ṣiyām is derived from the verb صَامَ يَصُومُ (Baab Nasr).
It means: to abstain — whether from eating, drinking, speaking, sexual intercourse, or traveling.
References:
Al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ: p. 1020, Al-Munjid: p. 476
❀ ➋ Sharʿī (Legal) Definition
Fasting is:
To abstain from specific actions (such as eating, drinking, sinning, and sexual intercourse during the day) in specific days and under specific conditions.
References:
Fatḥ al-Bārī: 4/592, Sharḥ Muslim by Nawawī: 4/200, Subul al-Salām: 2/859
❀ ➌ When Was Fasting in Ramadan Made Obligatory?
Fasting in the month of Ramadan was made obligatory in the second Hijri year.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 3/151]
❀ ➍ Evidences for the Obligation of Fasting in Ramadan
① Qur’anic Evidence:
"يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ"
"O you who believe! Fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain taqwā (piety)."
[Al-Baqarah: 184]
②
"فَمَنْ شَهِدَ مِنْكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ"
"So whoever of you witnesses the month, let him fast it."
[Al-Baqarah: 185]
③ Hadith of the Five Pillars of Islam
Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Islam is built on five pillars… and fasting in Ramadan (صيام رمضان).”
[Bukhārī: 8, Kitāb al-Īmān: Chapter on the Foundations of Islam]
④ Sighting of the Crescent
Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"If you see it (the crescent), then fast."
[Bukhārī: 1900, Kitāb al-Ṣawm; Muslim: 1080; Ibn Mājah: 1654; Aḥmad: 2/145; Muwaṭṭāʾ: 1/286; Ṭayālisī: 866; Nasāʾī: 4/134]
⑤ Hadith from Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه):
"Fast upon sighting the crescent (صوموا لرؤيته)."
[Bukhārī: 1909, Kitāb al-Ṣawm; Muslim: 1081; Nasāʾī: 4/133; Aḥmad: 2/415; Dārimī: 2/3; Bayhaqī: 4/205]
⑥ Scholarly Consensus (Ijmāʿ):
There is unanimous agreement among scholars on the obligation of fasting in Ramadan.
References:
Al-Mughnī: 4/324, Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuh: 3/1629, Al-Majmūʿ: 6/273, Kashshāf al-Qināʿ: 2/349, Bidāyat al-Mujtahid: 1/274
Summary
✔ The obligation of fasting in Ramadan is firmly established through:
- Clear and decisive Qur’anic verses
- Numerous authentic Ahadith
- The Ijmaʿ (consensus) of the entire Muslim Ummah
✔ Fasting in Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, and its rejection constitutes a serious deviation from the fundamentals of Islamic faith.
