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6. Expectant women and women nursing their children may also break the fast, if its
observance is likely to endanger their own health or that of their infants. But they
must make up for the fast at a delayed time a day for a day;
7. Women in the period of menstruation (of a maximum of ten days) or of
confinement (of a maximum of forty days). These are not allowed to fast even if they
can and want to. They must postpone the fast till recovery and then make up for it, a
day for a day
It should be understood that here, like in all other Islamic undertakings, the intention
must be made clear that this action is undertaken in obedience to God, in response to
His command and out of love for Him
The fast of any day of Ramadan becomes void by intentional eating or drinking or
smoking or indulgence in any intimate intercourses, and by allowing anything to enter
through the month into the interior parts of the body. And if this is done deliberately
without any lawful reason, the penalty is to observe the fast of sixty consecutive days
or, as a second alternative, feed sixty poor persons sufficiently, besides observing the
fast of one day against the day whose fast was made void
When the fast of days other than those of Ramadan is broken for a lawful reason like
those classified under the heading “ Exemption” above, the person involved must
make up for that fast later, a day for a day
If anyone, by mistake, does something that would ordinarily break the fast, his
observance is not nullified, and his fast stands valid, provided he stops doing that
thing the moment he realizes what he is doing
On completion of the fast of Ramadan, the special charity known as Sadqatu-l-Fitr
(Charity of breaking the Fast) must be distributed before Eed-l-Fitr prayer (see the
value of this charity in the previous topic ” The Performance of ‘Eed Prayers” ).
General Recommendations
It is strongly recommended by prophet Muhammad to observe these practices
especially during Ramadan:
1. To have a light meal before the break of the dawn, known as Suhoor;
2. To eat three dates and have a drink of water right after sunset, saying this prayer:
Al-lahumma laka sumna wa ‘ala rizqika aftarna (O God! For Your sake we have
fasted and now we break the fast with the food You have given us)
3. To make your meals as light as possible because, as the prophet put it, the worst
thing man can fill is his stomach,
4. To observe the supererogatory prayer known as Taraweeh;
5. To exchange social visits and intensify humanitarian services;
6. To increase study and recitation of the Qur’ an;
7. To exert the utmost in patience and humbleness;
8. To be extraordinarily cautious in using the senses, the mind and especially, the
tongue; to abstain from careless and gossipy chats and avoid all suspicious motions
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