Fasting, within a certain period of time; The act of avoiding food, drink, or both.
Fasting is an important worship that has been made legitimate in all religions. Islam is not content with only the form of fasting, but also gives due importance to its spiritual truth. In Islam, only with fasting; Actions such as eating and sexual intimacy are not only prohibited, but also; Any behavior that violates the purpose, spiritual and moral principles of fasting is also prohibited.
The intention of fasting is to consciously fulfill the condition of Islam. Fasting for reasons such as dieting and gaining fitness has no Islamic value. The basis of fasting is based on patience and understanding the state of the hungry when they are full.
How to Fast?
The time called sahur time ends with the morning prayer. As a preparation for fasting, a meal is eaten at the time of sahur. During Ramadan, which keeps the body away from all eating, drinking and sexual intercourse until the evening prayer is read after sahur, it is necessary to stay away from behaviors contrary to Islamic thought. So fasting doesn’t just mean starving the stomach. Not to lie, not to gossip, not to use bad words is the fast of the mouth, and not to look at the haram and forbidden is the fast of the eyes. When the Akşan call to prayer is read, the fast is opened with the prayer.
Who Fasts?
As in all worship, the person must have reached the age of puberty and should not have a mental disability for fasting. Fasting is not obligatory for those who have not reached the age of puberty. In this case, children and mentally handicapped people are exempted from fasting. For fasting to be fard, a person must be physically healthy and not have any disease. A person is exempt from fasting until his illness gets better or his journey ends. When he gets better or when his journey is over, he can make up for the days he missed. Menstruating women, pregnant and lactating women are also exempt from fasting. When these excuses expire, women can fast that they could not keep. It is not appropriate for those who have chronic diseases and who need to take medicine at certain times to fast. Fasting causes serious problems in patients with illness.
What Breaks the Fast?
- If one forgets that he is fasting and eats or drinks something, the fast does not break.
- Eating and drinking something deliberately breaks the fast.
- If the tooth brushing is done without getting toothpaste and water in the throat, the fast will not be broken, otherwise it is necessary to fast again instead of the broken fast.
- Spontaneous vomiting does not invalidate the fast, but if the person consciously vomits, the fast is broken.
- Since the throat spray sprayed by asthma patients goes to the throat and therefore to the stomach, the fast is broken.
- Likewise, nasal spray invalidates the fast.
- Having blood drawn does not invalidate the fast, but giving serum does not invalidate the fast.
- Dropping medicine into the ear, getting water in the throat while making wudu, using suppositories, endoscopy and enema invalidate the fast. However, all these situations are accidental situations.
Let’s answer the question of what happens if we break the fast with awareness. It is a sin to break the fast knowingly and willingly. The penalty for breaking the fast for one day is to fast for 61 days instead of the non-fasting day.
What is Imsak?
Imsak means “to restrain oneself” in Arabic. It is the basic element of fasting. The term imsak time is used to mean the beginning of the time to stay away from fasting prohibitions. With the morning prayer, sahur ends and fasting begins.
What is Iftar Time?
The time of iftar means the time when the prohibitions of fasting come to an end, and it is the time of sunset. With the evening prayer, it is time for iftar.
If you are wondering about the imsak and iftar times for the month of Ramadan in 2022, you can browse our article; Ramadan opportunity 2022: When are the iftar and sahur times in Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, provinces?
