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Section one: Rulings of the Sighting the new crescent moon
1. As you know, one of the following three conditions occurs at the beginning or end of the each month: The crescent sets before the sunset; or the crescent sets along with the sunset; or The crescent sets after the sunset. Please clear the following matters: First, which one of the three above-mentioned conditions would be considered the beginning of the month according to Islamic law? Second, if we take into consideration that these three conditions are accounted for in the farthest places of the world using accurate calculations, is it possible to benefit from these computations to figure out the beginning of the month in advance, or it is necessary to observe it with the naked eye?
A: The basis of determining the beginning of the month is the crescent that sets after sunset which can be observed before sunset in the customary way. The astronomical calculations are not reliable unless confidence is obtained through them.
2. If the crescent marking the beginning of Shawwal is not observed in a city by the local people, and if the radio or television announces the beginning of Shawwal, should the local people act upon the radio announcement, or should they ascertain by investigating whether Shawwal has commenced?
A: If the radio or television announcement makes them feel sure that Shawwal has commenced, or if there is a decree by the Supreme Religious Authority [wali al-faqih] announcing the beginning of Shawwal, then there is no need for investigating further.
3. If it is difficult to ascertain the beginning of the month of Ramadan, or Eid al-Fitr, because of the inability to observe the crescent at the beginning of the month due to clouds or for some other reason, and if the count of the month of Shaban or the month of Ramadan did not add up to 30 days, is it permissible for us in Japan to go by the horizon in Iran or should we rely on the regular calendar? What is the rule?
A: If the crescent has not been ascertained by being sighted even in the regions located at the same longitude with your city, or on the evidence of two just witnesses, or on the basis of a decree by a religious authority announcing the end of Ramadan, it is obligatory to observe precaution by ascertaining the beginning of Shawwal. The sighting of the crescent in Iran, which is to the west of Japan, cannot be a basis regarding the beginning of Shawwal for one residing in Japan.
4. Is the sameness of horizon (the longitude) considered to be a condition in regards to observing the crescent?
A: It is sufficient that the crescent be sighted in the areas of the same horizon, or nearby, or in the areas to the east.
5. What is meant by sameness of horizon?
A: When certain areas are located on the same longitude, according to astronomy, they are said to share the same horizon.
6. If the twenty-ninth day of the month was the day of Eid al-Fitr in Tehran and Khorasan, is it permissible for the residents of areas like Bushehr to break their fast too, though the horizon of Tehran and Khorasan differs from the horizon of Bushehr?
A: If the difference between the longitude of two cities is such that the new moon cannot be seen in one of them when sighted in the other, its sighting in the city located to the west of the other is not sufficient for the residents of the city to the east, where the sun sets earlier than in the city to the west, and is sufficient when the case is the reverse.
7. If the Islamic scholars of a city differ regarding the end of Ramadan, and one considers all of them to be just and precise in their investigations, what is the duty of the city''s inhabitants?
A: If the difference between the two testimonies is one of contradiction, in the sense that one of them claims the crescent to have been sighted and the other claims that certainly it has not been sighted, the duty of the inhabitants is to decide the matter through other means. However, if the first group testifies to the sighting of the new moon, but the second group does not claim to have seen it, the inhabitants have to accept the view of the first group if they are known o be justs. Also, the people have to follow if the Supreme Religious Authority [hakim al-shari] issues a decree announcing the end of Ramadan.
8. If a person who sees the new moon knows that the city''s religious authority is not able to see the crescent for some reason, is it his duty to inform the religious authority that he has observed the crescent?
A: It is not his duty to do so, unless his not doing so can cause some depravity.
9. As you know, most Islamic scholars have written in their book of practical laws [Risalahs] that the beginning of Shawwal can be proved only through five methods. However, announcement of the end of Ramadan by a religious authority is not among those methods. Such being the case, how can most of the people break their fasts when the beginning of Shawwal has been ascertained by the major marjis? What is the duty of a person who is not convinced of the new moon''s sighting by such means?
A: Unless a religious authority issues a decree announcing the sighting of the new moon, the mere ascertaining of it by him is not sufficient for others to follow him, unless they are convinced thereby of the end of Ramadan.
10. If the Guardian of the Muslims'' affairs [Wali Amr al-Muslimeen] issues a decree announcing the next day as Eid al-Fitr and the media report that the crescent has been cited in certain cities, does it determine the Eid for all the cities or only those cities and for others on the same longitudes?
A: If the decree issued by the religious authority includes all the cities, his decree is Islamically reliable for all of them.
11. If on the evening of Eid al-Fitr, the moon appears as a very fine crescent, does it mean that the next day is the first of Shawwal and that the Eid was declared by mistake? Is one required to make up [do qada] for the last day of Ramadan?
A: The thinness or thickness of the moon and also its position in the sky are not lawful evidence in deciding the first or second of a month. But if it brings conviction to the person bound by religious obligation [mukallaf], he is obliged to act in accordance with his knowledge in this case.
12. Can the night of the full moon, which is the night before the fourteenth of the month, be taken as a reliable basis for calculating the first day of the month so as to determine whether the Day of Doubt was the thirtieth of Ramadan, for example, so that whoever did not fast on that day may have evidence concerning the necessity to make up [do qada] for the thirtieth day of Ramadan and whoever fasted that day, considering Ramadan to continue, may know that he is free of obligation?
A: That which has been mentioned does not constitute a lawful evidence for anything mentioned. However, if it brings knowledge to the person bound by religious obligation [mukallaf], his obligation is to act in accordance with his knowledge.
13. Is watching out for the new moon a wajib kifa''i [a duty that if done by someone, it is ceased to be obligatory upon the others] or something to be done as an obligatory precaution?
A: It is not Islamically a legal duty in itself.
14. What are the methods adopted to ascertain about the sighting of the crescent of the beginning and end of Ramadan?
A: Deciding the beginning of any lunar month is only possible through one of the following methods: sighting the new moon by the person bound by religious obligation [mukallaf] himself; the testimony of two just witnesses to that effect; numerous reports that bring conviction that the moon has been sighted; completion of 30 days since the month''s beginning; or the decree of a religious authority.
15. Suppose it is permissible to follow certain government''s announcement about the sighting of the crescent which could act as a scientific standard for other countries, then, is it necessary for it to be an Islamic government in order to ascertain that the moon has really been sighted, or can one accept it even from a tyrannical government?
A: The criterion in this regard is the person''s assurance that the new moon has been sighted in the area where its sighting is sufficient in relation to the person bound by religious obligation [mukallaf].
16- If the crescent is seen in one country, would the sighting become generalized for all other countries, especially regarding the crescent of the Holy month of Ramadan?
A: It would become generalized for neighboring countries or these countries in which sunset occurs later i.e. to the west of that country.
17- If one saw the crescent before the zawal time, would this day of sighting be considered to be from the coming month?
A: The mere sighting of the crescent during the day, even though before the zawal time, is not a shari evidence that this day belongs to the coming month. However, if this sighting has made one certain that this day belongs to the coming month, the ruling of the coming month would be applied to it.
18- Is the presence of the lunar halo an evidence that it is the crescent of the second night?
A: The lunar halo is not a shari evidence that the crescent is of the second night.
19- What is the ruling regarding the prisoner or the captive who could not become certain about the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan?
A: If they suspect that Ramadan had begun, they are obliged to act according to this suspicion. Otherwise, they are permitted to delay their sawm until the certainty is there that their sawm occurred either during or after Ramadan and not before it.
20- Is the delay of the setting of the crescent moon after the evening twilight an evidence that it is of the second night?
A: The setting after the evening twilight would not prove this.
21- If one had broken his fast and then it is appeared that the crescent had been sighted through one of the legally accepted methods, is he obliged to abstain from food for the remaining of the day?
A: He is obliged to abstain from food for the remaining of the day from the moral aspect.
22- Is the sighting of the new crescent through a binoculars or telescope or the like is sufficient?
A: The sighting of the new crescent with these means is also reliable and its ruling does not differ from that of the naked eye since the standard is to say it has been by eyes. However, computerized photographing of the crescent moon or the like which could not be considered as real sighting is problematic.
Section two: Rulings of the day of doubt (the last day of Shaban)
1- If the mukallaf fasted on the day of doubt with the intention that it is Shaban, qada or nadhr and then it appeared that it was in the month of Ramadan, then what is the ruling in this case?
A: This sawm is valid and could be considered as part of the month of Ramadan and there is nothing upon him.
2- If the mukallaf had fasted the day of doubt with the intention of hesitation (i.e. to say: if it is being from Shaban, it will be a recommended (mustahabb) sawm, while if from Ramadan, it will be obligatory), then is sawm in such a way correct?
A: His sawm is correct if he was serious in the intention that he would fast in any way, and it is valid to be considered from Ramadan if the day later appeared to be in Ramadan.
3- If the mukallaf had fasted the day of doubt with the intention of the real divine command directed to him (either obligatory or recommended), then what is the ruling about the sawm of this day?
A: His sawm is correct if he intended to do sawm in any way, and it is valid to be considered from Ramadan if it appeared, later, that it is in it.
4- If the mukallaf had fasted the day of doubt with the intention that it is in Ramadan, is his sawm correct?
A: This sawm is not correct.
5- If the mukallaf intended to break fasting on the day of doubt and then it appeared, during the day, that it is in the month of Ramadan, then what is the ruling if:
a- He ate something?
b- It appeared after zawal and he did not eat anything?
c- It appeared before zawal and he did not eat anything?
A: In the first 2 cases he is obliged to abstain from food for the remainder of the day, from the moral aspect, and compensate the sawm for this day.
In the 3rd case he should intend sawm from that time and it would be correct and valid to be considered from the month of Ramadan.
6- What is the ruling about a person who fasted the day of doubt with the intention of being from Shaban and he ate food inattentively and it appeared later that it is in the month of Ramadan?
A: His sawm is correct and it is valid to be considered from the month of Ramadan.
Section three: Conditions under which sawm becomes obligatory and correct
1. A young girl has reached the age of legal maturity [taklif]; however, she cannot fast in the month of Ramadan due to her weak constitution. She is also unable to perform the qada of the missed days of fasting until the next Ramadan. What is the ruling in this situation?
A: The obligation of fasting or qada for the missed fasts is not removed just because of weakness or inability. Rather, qada of the missed days of fasting in Ramadan will remain obligatory upon her.
2. What is the ruling for those girls who have recently reached legal maturity and find it somewhat difficult to fast? Is nine years the age when girls become mature?
A: The legal age of maturity for girls start at the completion of nine lunar years, hence it is obligatory for them to fast. It is not permissible to forsake fasting due to some excuse. However, if fasting during the day becomes harmful for them, it is permissible to break the fast.
3. I do not know exactly when I reached the age of legal maturity [taklif], as I was not aware of this issue at that time. Please clarify, from which time is it obligatory for me to perform qada of missed prayers and fasts? Is it obligatory for, me to pay the kaffarah for the missed fasts or is qada sufficient?
A: You are only responsible for doing qada from the time that you are certain that you reached the age of legal maturity [taklif]. Payment of the kaffarah is obligatory for fasts that were intentionally broken by persons who were certain that he/she was legally mature.
4. A nine-year old girl, upon whom it is obligatory to fast, breaks her fast because fasting was very hard for her. Does she have to perform qada of those fasts?
A: Yes, she will have to perform qada of the Ramadan fast that she broke.
5. Someone with a strong excuse thought it likely, with more than 50% probability, that fasting was not obligatory for him, so he did not fast. Later it becomes clear to him that fasting was obligatory on him at that time. What is the ruling in respect of performing qada and paying kaffarah?
A: If one breaks a fast in the month of Ramadan, assuming that fasting is not obligatory upon him, then he must carry out its qada and also pay the kaffarah. However, if one did not fast out of fear that fasting was harmful for him, then it is not necessary for him to pay kaffarah, but he must perform qada.
6- If a kafir converted to Islam during the day, is his sawm of that day correct especially if his conversion was before zawal?
A: No, the sawm of that day is not correct.
7- If a Muslim apostatizes during the sawm then he returned to Islam by repentance and renewed his intention before zawal, would his sawm remain correct?
A: No, the sawm of that day is not correct.
8- If a Sunni person returned to the right path during the day which he is in sawm, what is the ruling regarding his sawm?
A: The sawm of that day is not correct.
9- Is the sawm of the mad man accepted?
A: His sawm is not correct even though his madness might have a part of the day.
10- If the drinker or the unconscious person who has already intended to fast awoke or became conscious during the day, what should he do?
A: According to the obligatory precaution, one who has awoken from drunkenness with the previous intention to fast should complete his sawm and do qada later on. While that who became conscious after unconsciousness, then simply completing his sawm is sufficient; otherwise he should do qada, if he had not intended to fast already.
11- If the sawm has prevented some one from performing his job on which he is dependant for his income and he cannot perform other job is he, then, allowed to break his fast?
A: It is not permissible for him to break his fast unless the sawm would cause unendurable hardship for him.
12- If a sick person is cured from his disease before zawal without eating anything, is he allowed to renew his intention and continue the sawm?
A: In the given question, sawm would not be obligatory on him. However, if he become cure from his disease before zawal and he did not take anything that may break the fast, it is based on the recommended precaution to intend sawm and do its qada later.
13- A person bound by religious obligation [mukallaf] who is affected by poliomyelitis since childhood and suffers from difficulty and weakness in all voluntary movements including walking, speaking, eating, drinking etc., thus he is crippled and should always stay at home however he is mentally normal and could distinguish between right and wrong just like the normal people. For this reason he does some things to amuse himself like listening to enrapturing songs and the like. We would like to know your view about this mukallaf and what is the ruling about his salat, sawm and his other duties?
A: He should act according to the rulings of all the other mukallafs regarding salat, sawm and other obligations and it is not permissible for him to listen to songs or trifling, enrapturing music which is suitable for the dissolute and corrupt gatherings.
Rulings of fasting on travel:
1. A person who is fasting had planned to reach his place of residence before time of the afternoon prayers [zawal]. But, along the way he came across an accident that delayed him, hence he did not reach his residency in time. Is his fast valid? Does he have to pay kaffarah or will performing the qada be sufficient?
A: His fast is invalid while traveling and it is only obligatory upon him to perform qada (of fasting) for the day in which he did not reach his place of residency, and he does not have to pay kaffarah.
2. A passenger or a crewmember aboard an airplane flying at a high altitude and bound for a distant city - a 2:30 to 3 hour journey - has to drink water every 20 minutes to maintain his equilibrium. Does he/she have to pay kaffarah in addition to performing the qada?
A: If fasting causes harm, one can break the fast to drink water. He will have to perform its qada, but kaffarah will not be obligatory on him in this case.
3. Is it permitted for a person to travel intentionally during the month of Ramadan in order to break the fast and relieve himself of its burden?
A: There is no problem in doing that. Therefore, when traveling, even to escape the duty of fasting, he must break the fast.
4. A person responsible for performing an obligatory fast decided to fulfill his duty, but could not because of unforeseen circumstances. For example, he prepared to travel after sunrise - he travels, but failed to return home before noon. He had not done anything that invalidates the fast, except that the time for making intentions of an obligatory fast has elapsed; and that day is one in which fasting is recommended. Is it valid if he makes intention to perform a recommended fast?
A: When one is responsible for the qada of Ramadan fasting day, it is invalid to make intentions to perform a recommended fast, even if the time for making intentions for performing an obligatory fast has passed.
5. I am addicted to smoking. No matter how much I try not to be irritable in the blessed month of Ramadan, I can not abstain from a conduct that disrupts the peace of my family and puts me into a nervous state. What is my duty in this situation?
A: It is obligatory upon you to fast in the month of Ramadan and it is not permissible for you, as per obligatory precaution, to smoke while fasting. Also, acting irritably with others without justification is unlawful.
6. A person finished his fast in his hometown after sunset. Then on traveling to another city, he found that the sun there had not set yet. What will be the rule regarding his fasting? Can he eat and drink in the new place before sunset?
A: His fast is valid and he can eat and drink in the new place before sunset since he had broke his fast at maghrib in his city.
7. A person performing military service could not fast during the month of Ramadan last year because of frequent traveling and being stationed on base (in the service). As Ramadan approaches this year, he is still serving in the same area and does not think he will be able to fast this year, either. Does he have to pay the kaffarah after leaving the service, in addition to performing the qada of those fast?
A: When someone forgoes fasting in the month of Ramadan because of the excuse of traveling, which extends until the next Ramadan, his only duty is to perform qada and no kaffarah is obligatory upon him.
8. A person who lives in the port of Dayyir kept fast from the first day of Ramadan until the twenty-seventh. On the morning of the twenty-eighth day he traveled to Dubai. Arriving there on the twenty-ninth, he noticed that they had declared that day as the first of Shawwal and Eid al-Fitr there. Now that he has returned to his hometown, does he have to make up [do qada] for the fast he missed? If he does qada of only one day then the month of Ramadan for him will be only twenty-eight days, and if he makes up for two days, then on the 29th day he was present in a place where Eid was declared. What is the ruling for such a person?
A: If the twenty-ninth day of Ramadan was declared Eid in accordance with valid legal [shari] criteria, then he does not have to perform qada for that day. But it indicates that he missed fasting at the month''s beginning, which he has to make up, the number of days he is sure of having missed.
9- A person who is committed to a job in a center in Beirut and he is asked to stay in the battle-field or go and return back without determining the place or the time?
A: If he went to his job without staying for 10 days in a single place and repeated his travel for the job covering the shari distance in each time, his prayer [salat] should be full [tamam] and his sawm would be correct.
10- A person who is committed to a job in a place outside his homeland and he is always compelled to go and return back from the work center to his home covering the shari distance, what is his duty at home, at the traveling way or at his place of work?
A: The ruling here is that of work in traveling, i.e. salat should be full and sawm is correct.
11- One whose job is traveling in such a way that he might stay at home for twenty days and at his work place for some days, like that of the mujahidin, then what is the ruling concerning his salat and sawm?
A: In the given question, he should pray full salat and fast in his work place as long as he is intending to reside there for 10 days, otherwise he should pray qasr and break fasting.
12- Some of the mujahidin have no specific time for their duties i.e. sometimes they stay in the battle-field for three days to return home and stay for fifteen days and, then, they go again to the battle-field for 3 days or sometimes 10 days or more and return home again and stay for 10 days or more. What is the ruling regarding their salat and sawm?
A: The standard is what was mentioned i.e. if his travel was for work, after he had stayed for 10 days in a place, he should pray qasr on the first journey, unless he intended to stay for 10 days in the work place. While if he traveled without separating his two journeys with a 10 days stay, he should pray full and fast.
13- His Eminence, the Leader of the Muslims Ayatullah al-dhma Sayyid Ali Khamenei (m.): There is a group of the brothers in Lebanon who have devoted themselves to the work with the Islamic Opposition Movements. The nature of their job is that it does not have a specific place, time or program. They are compelled to move about from one place to another and to be always ready to be present and act in certain places where they are requested, in certain places in which they may stay for 1 day or more according to the conditions.
1) According to this type of work, what is the ruling regarding their salat and sawm?
2) What is the ruling regarding those who have newly joined such a work?
A: If the work in the Islamic Opposition Movements is considered conventionally as a work or job and it requires frequent traveling here and there, then as long as there is no separating period of 10 days stay, in a single place, between the two journeys, they should pray their full salat and fast. While if the 10 days staying period interferes, they should pray qasr and break fast in the first journey after the staying period.
15- I am in the taqlid of Imam Khomeini (q.) and living in the city of Beirut for more than 15 years. I had been born in the city of Sur in the south of Lebanon and since I have no intention of staying for 10 days in Beirut, I pray qasr and cannot fast because I go weekly to the south more or less often. Is there a way to pray full and fast without intending the residency in the city of Beirut? Knowing that if I lost my job in Beirut I should return to my birthplace on the south. Then, should I pray qasr and break fast for all the time of my staying in Beirut or what?
A: If you were frequenting between the city of Sur and Beirut (your work place) every week, you are obliged to pray full and fast, i.e., in general, any person who frequents between his homeland and working place, at least once every 10 days, covering a shari distance, his ruling would be a complete salat (full) and his sawm would be correct whether during traveling the distance, being at the work place or home. However, if he, for once, stayed for 10 days in a single place, he should pray qasr during the first journey after the 10 days stay.
16- a) Before the end of 10 days I went to the city of Bakhtaran for important work and stayed there for 2 hours then returned to my work place. b) After this 10 days stay was finished, I traveled to the city of Bakhtaran aiming to go to a certain place there without exceeding the shari distance. I had passed the night at that place and then returned to my place of residence. c) After a complete 10 days stay at my work place, I traveled to a certain place in the city of Bakhtaran where my intention was changed, after the arrival, to go to another place which is located at a distance more than the shari distance from my place of residency. d) if the ruling in case (b) and (c) was the abrogation of my residency, then what is the ruling regarding my salat and sawm in my place of residency when I was ignorant about the abrogation?
A: (a & b) After the settlement of the ruling of your residency, even by just offering one full salat in this place, going out for a distance shorter than the shari distance, even for more than one or two hours or 1 or 2 days, would not harm this residency. So you could pray full salat and fast till a new travel is issued.
(c) If the distance from the point of changing the intention to the destination was equal to 4 farsakhs (1/2 the shari distance) or more, or the returning distance from the destination to the place of residency was equal to 8 farsakhs (= shari distance), the ruling of the last residency would be abrogated with this journey and you should renew your intention of residency after you reach the place of residency, otherwise, you are still under the ruling of the last residency when you should pray full and fast.
17- I am frequenting to my home and work place every day without covering the shari distance. Am I in need to intend residency for 10 days to pray full salat?
A: If frequenting between the 2 places was after the settlement of the correct intention of residency in one of these places, it will never harm the validity of the continuance of the residency and the act of praying in full and fasting.
Section four: Rulings of Niyyah [Intention] for Fasting:
1- If during Ramadan one ignorantly or forgetfully, intended to fast for a purpose other than Ramadan, what is the ruling about his sawm?
A: In the given question his sawm is correct and valid to be considered as part of the fast of Ramadan.
2- In niyyah is it obligatory to determine the subject in details?
A: It is not obligatory. It is sufficient to intend the wanted sawm, i.e. if he wanted to fast Ramadan at a time when it is obligatory, it is valid to intend the sawm of the month of Ramadan.
3- Is it possible to fast during the month of Ramadan, consciously aware of the niyyah, other than Ramadan fasts?
A: It is incorrect and cannot be applied either to the month of Ramadan or to the niyyah one had intended.
4- If the mukallaf wanted to make a fast other than that of Ramadan, is he obliged to specify it in the niyyah?
A: If the kinds of sawm he is allowed to fast are more than one kind, he is obliged to sepcify it.
5- Is one niyyah sufficient for the whole month of Ramadan?
A: It is sufficient if it would continue every day till the end of the month.
6- Is there a specific form of niyyah in the Islamic law?
A: There is no specific form. The standard is the occurance of the sawm with continuing determination or desire in one''s mind even though if this would take place just before the fajr of a day of fasting or even before that.
7- If a mukallaf intends either to cancel his sawm by abolishing its niyyah or to perform anything that would invalidate it during the month of Ramadan, its qada or the sawm of the kaffarah or nadhr, then what is the ruling of his sawm?
A: If he just intends to perform or take anything that would invalidate the sawm, it would not harm the correctness of the sawm unless he had already eaten something except if he became aware that this would entail the intention of canceling his sawm by abolishing its niyyah. While the niyyah of canceling the fasting by the determination to abolish it completely will invalidate the obligatory and time specific sawm, in general. In case of obligatory time-non-specific sawm it would not be invalidated with this intention in case that he returned to the niyyah of the sawm before the zawal.
8- If a mukallaf did not intend to fast for the month of Ramadan due to forgetting the ruling or the subject, then what is the ruling if he became aware:
First: before zawal and before eating anything.
Second: after zawal and before eating anything.
Third: after he eats something.
A: If he became aware only after he committed an act which would void the sawm, his sawm is void and he is obliged to refrain from eating for the rest of the day. While if he becam aware before that, then if it was after zawal, his sawm is void, while if it was before zawal, then it is based on obligatory precaution to intend to observe sawm at this day and do fast and perform its qada later on.
Section five: The rulings of those things which break the fast:
(1) & (2) Eating and Drinking
1- If a fasting person introduced food or drinks into his body through a way other than the normal one (e.g. introducing water through the nose), what is the ruling of his sawm?
A: Taking food or drink would invalidate the sawm even if they had been introduced through other than the normal manner.
2- Would the entrance of anything which breaks the fast into the body through a wound or the ear invalidate the sawm?
A: If it came to the mouth cavity and then through the throat to the stomach or it is considered as food and used for nutrition, then it would invalidate the sawm, otherwise it would not.
3- If the saim [fasting person] had swallowed nasal secretions before it reached the mouth cavity, would that harm his sawm?
A: In the given question, it would not harm the sawm.
