Question:
I heard one of those people who come on television to answer questions (iftāʾ) say that if you have a cup of water in your hand and you are drinking it and you hear the adhān for fajr, there is no objection to you finishing your drink, and he mentioned the ḥadīth of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the meaning of which is {If one of you has a vessel in his hand, let him not put it down until he has fulfilled his need}, or however he said it, peace and blessings be upon him. What is the validity of this ruling?
Those who give this fatwā are giving a fatwā that ruins a Muslim’s fast from the very beginning of the day, and they are relying on the realities of situations that are not used as evidence. The text of Allah the Exalted’s Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet obligate that one refrain from food and drink[1] when fajr has entered, not afterwards. This behaviour nullifies the fast.[2]
I heard one of those people who come on television to answer questions (iftāʾ) say that if you have a cup of water in your hand and you are drinking it and you hear the adhān for fajr, there is no objection to you finishing your drink, and he mentioned the ḥadīth of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the meaning of which is {If one of you has a vessel in his hand, let him not put it down until he has fulfilled his need}, or however he said it, peace and blessings be upon him. What is the validity of this ruling?
Answer (Imam Muḥammad Tawfīq Ramaḍān):
Those who give this fatwā are giving a fatwā that ruins a Muslim’s fast from the very beginning of the day, and they are relying on the realities of situations that are not used as evidence. The text of Allah the Exalted’s Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet obligate that one refrain from food and drink[1] when fajr has entered, not afterwards. This behaviour nullifies the fast.[2]
Question:
When we want to fast, we eat after the adhān has started until about half of it has been completed, based on the fact that the minarets[3] follow one another in close succession and that the Prophet commanded that suḥūr be delayed. Is this permissible?
Answer (Imam Muḥammad Tawfīq Ramaḍān):
The person fasting must refrain from food and drink from the moment fajr enters until the sun has completely set. The adhān is connected to the entrance of fajr. Therefore, eating and drinking after the adhān of fajr (i.e. not the first adhān or the adhān that indicates that one should stop eating and drinking [4]) is impermissible. The one who is eager to have a valid fast does not put himself right on the edge of committing disobedience.
Question:
When does one refrain from eating and drinking, upon hearing the first adhān or the second adhān? Thank you.
Answer (Imam Muḥammad Tawfīq Ramaḍān):
The first adhān is called adhān al-imsāk, and its purpose is to notify that fajr is approaching. The second adhān informs that fajr has entered, and that anything that breaks the fast must be abstained from. It is presumed that the person fasting, upon hearing the first adhān, has finished his suḥūr and is hastening to drink water or something similar in preparation for the entrance of fajr.
[1] Ar. al-imsāk
[2] In the book at-Taqrīrāt as-Sadīdah, Sheikh Ḥasan al-Kāf adds, ‘A gross error that many people fall into is that when they hear the adhān for fajr, they hasten to drink something, because they think that it is permissible to do so as long as the muʾadhdhin is calling the adhān. This is not permissible, and if someone does this, his fast is invalid, and he has to make it up if it is an obligatory fast. This is because the muʾadhdhin does not start calling the adhān until after fajr has entered. If someone drinks during the adhān, he is drinking after fajr has entered. All of this is because of ignorance. This position has not been stated by any esteemed imam'. (Tarīm: Dār al-Mīrāth an-Nabawī, p.458)
[3] Ar. mādhin, i.e. the places from which the adhān is given [4] Ar. adhān al-imsāk, please see the next fatwā
More Fatawa on Ramadan and Fasting
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