Worship

The rules of fasting (Sawm)

“O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous -” — Surah al-Baqarah 2:183

Intention (niyyah): for an obligatory Ramadan fast the intention is made in the heart before dawn (Fajr). It does not need to be spoken.

What breaks the fast (muftirat): deliberately eating or drinking, deliberate vomiting, sexual intercourse, and the onset of menstruation or post-natal bleeding. If someone eats or drinks forgetting they are fasting, the fast is still valid — “Allah fed him and gave him drink” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1933).

What does not break it: unavoidable swallowing of saliva, rinsing the mouth and nose without exaggeration, involuntary vomiting, a genuine forgetful mistake, and things scholars discuss such as injections that are not nutritional — ask a scholar about a specific case.

Making up missed fasts (qada): a person who does not fast due to travel, illness or menstruation makes up the same number of days later, before the next Ramadan where possible (Qur’an 2:185).

Fidya: for someone with a permanent condition that makes fasting impossible, scholars mention feeding a poor person for each missed day in place of making it up. The details are a matter for a qualified scholar.

Evidence: Qur’an 2:183, 2:185; Sahih al-Bukhari 1903 (fasting is not just leaving food); Sahih Muslim 1151 (the reward of fasting).

Suhoor — the pre-dawn meal

Tasahharu fa-inna fi s-suhuri barakah

“Take suhoor, for in suhoor there is blessing.” Sahih al-Bukhari 1923.

Suhoor is a Sunnah, not a duty, but leaving it out is discouraged. It is recommended to delay it until close to the end of the pre-dawn time, stopping at the second (Fajr) adhan.

The intention for the fast is made in the heart. The Arabic couplet “Wa bi-sawmi ghadin nawaitu” that circulates as a spoken suhoor intention is not established from the Sunnah — it has no authentic basis, and the intention in the heart is sufficient.

Iftar — breaking the fast

It is Sunnah to hasten iftar as soon as the sun has set, breaking the fast with fresh or dried dates, or else water.

The moments just before and at iftar are a time when supplication is answered: “There are three whose supplication is not rejected — the fasting person when he breaks his fast…” (Sunan at-Tirmidhi 3598). Use this time for your own dua.

The established wording after breaking the fast is:

Dhahaba z-zama’, wa-btallati l-’uruq, wa thabata l-ajr in sha’ Allah

“The thirst is gone, the veins are moist, and the reward is confirmed, if Allah wills.” Sunan Abi Dawud 2357 (hasan).

Laylat al-Qadr — the Night of Decree

“Indeed, We sent the Qur’an down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what is the Night of Decree? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn.” — Surah al-Qadr 97:1–5

Worship on this night is described in the Qur’an as better than a thousand months. It is hidden among the last ten nights of Ramadan, most likely on an odd-numbered night (the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th), and in some years it may fall on an even night — so the last ten nights are all sought.

How to seek it: increase prayer at night, recite and reflect on the Qur’an, give charity, and make abundant dua. Many observe i’tikaf (secluding oneself in the mosque) in these nights, following the Prophet’s practice.

The dua the Prophet taught for this night — ’Aishah asked what to say if she knew it was Laylat al-Qadr:

Allahumma innaka ’Afuwwun Karimun tuhibbu l-’afwa fa’fu ’anni

“O Allah, You are Pardoning and Generous, and You love to pardon, so pardon me.” Sunan at-Tirmidhi 3513. Some narrations report it without the word “Karim”.

Eid al-Fitr — completing the month

Zakat al-Fitr: a charity due on every Muslim who has food beyond their needs on the day of Eid — paid on behalf of oneself and each dependent. The amount is one sa’ of a staple food (dates, barley, wheat, rice — roughly 2.5–3 kg), or its value in money where scholars in a region permit that. It must reach those in need before the Eid prayer; paid after, it counts as ordinary charity.

The Eid prayer: two rak’ahs prayed in congregation after sunrise on Eid day, with extra takbirs — commonly seven in the first rak’ah (after the opening takbir) and five in the second, before the recitation — followed by a sermon. Scholars differ on the exact number of extra takbirs; follow your local congregation.

The takbir of Eid, said from the night before Eid until the prayer, in the commonly transmitted wording of the Companions:

Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha illa Llah, wa Llahu akbar, Allahu akbar, wa lillahi l-hamd

“Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, there is no god but Allah; Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, and to Allah belongs all praise.” Reported from the practice of Companions such as Ibn Mas’ud; wordings vary slightly.

What is Zakat?

“And establish prayer and give zakah and bow with those who bow [in worship and obedience].” — Surah al-Baqarah 2:43

Zakat is an obligatory annual charity — the third pillar of Islam — paid from certain kinds of wealth to specific categories of people. It is not a donation or a tax; it is a right the poor have over the wealth of those who have enough.

Who pays it: a Muslim who owns wealth above a minimum threshold (the nisab) which has been in their possession for one full lunar year (hawl).

Evidence: Qur’an 2:43, 9:103; and the hadith of the five pillars (Sahih al-Bukhari 8).

Who receives Zakat? — the eight categories

“Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler – an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.” — Surah at-Tawbah 9:60

Zakat may not be given to one’s own dependents whom one already must support, nor (in the view of most scholars) to non-Muslims from obligatory zakat, though voluntary sadaqah may be given widely.

Zakat on wealth

Nisab: the threshold is the value of about 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver (classical sources give slightly different exact weights — some cite 87.48 g gold / 612.36 g silver). Most scholars today advise using the silver nisab for cash, as it is lower and so benefits the poor. Look up the current market price of the metal to convert this to money.

Rate: 2.5% of the qualifying wealth you still hold after one lunar year.

Worked example: if, after subtracting immediate debts, you hold the equivalent of about 4,000 in cash and gold and it has stayed above the nisab for a lunar year, your zakat is 4,000 × 0.025 = 100.

Zakat rules for livestock, farm produce, and mixed business assets are more detailed than this summary. Use the estimate below as a starting point and confirm with a scholar.

Sadaqah — voluntary charity

“The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.” — Surah al-Baqarah 2:261

Sadaqah is any voluntary giving, at any time, of any amount. It is not limited to money: “Every act of goodness is charity” (Sahih Muslim 1005), and “your smiling in the face of your brother is charity” (Sunan at-Tirmidhi 1956).

Ways to give: money, food, time, teaching, helping someone, removing harm from a path, a kind word. Giving in secret, and giving while you are healthy and hopeful of wealth, carry a special reward.