❀ When Does Fasting Become Obligatory Upon a Child? ❀
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
When does fasting become obligatory upon a child?
❖ Answer:
Fasting becomes obligatory when any sign of puberty appears in the child, or when he/she reaches the age of fifteen years.
❖ Statement of Imām Ibn al-Mundhir (رحمه الله, 319H):
الاحتلام والإنبات واستعمال خمس عشرة سنة حد للبلوغ، الذى يجب على الرجال والنساء، بوجود أى واحدة من هذه الخصال كان موجودة، الفرائض والحدود، وفي المرأة خصلة رابعة تجب بوجودها فيها عليها الفرائض، وهى الحيض، وقد أجمع أهل العلم على أن بوجود الحيض فى المرأة تجب الفرائض.
“Wet dream, the growth of pubic hair, and the age of fifteen years are signs of puberty for both men and women. With the occurrence of any one of these signs, obligations and rulings become binding. For women, there is a fourth sign—menstruation. The scholars are unanimously agreed that when a woman experiences menstruation, obligations become binding upon her.”
(Al-Awsaṭ fī al-Sunan wa al-Ijmāʿ wa al-Ikhtilāf, 4/388)
