1558. It is not necessary for a person to pass the intention for fasting through his mind, or to say—for example—that he would be fasting the following day. In fact, it is sufficient for him to decide that with the intention of attaining nearness to Allah and with sincerity, he will abstain from things that will invalidate the fast from the adhÁn of fajr until maghrib. In order to be certain that he has been fasting throughout this time, he should start abstaining a little before the adhÁn of fajr, and continue to refrain for some time after maghrib, from the things which invalidate the fast.
1559. A person can, on every night of the month of Ramadan, make the intention to fast on the following day. He can also make the intention on the first night of the holy month that he would be fasting throughout the month, and it is not necessary for him to renew his intention every night, for the continuity of this intention is sufficient.
1560. The time for making the intention of a fast of the month of Ramadan on the first night is from the early part of the night until the adhÁn of fajr, and apart from the first night, the intention can also be made before the early part of the night. An example of this is a person who makes the intention during the preceding afternoon to fast the next day, with the intention of attaining proximity to Allah, and maintains this intention, even though he falls asleep until after the adhÁn of fajr on the next day.
1561. The time for making the intention for a recommended fast is from the early part of the night until the moment when there is just enough time to make an intention, before the disk of the sun disappears below the horizon. If until this time a person has not performed any action which invalidates the fast, and he makes the intention for the recommended fast, his fast is valid. If this time passes, the validity of his fast will be questionable.
1562. If a person goes to sleep before the adhÁn of fajr without making the intention to fast, and wakes up before zuhr (noon) and makes his intention to fast an obligatory date-specific fast, be it the fast of the month of Ramadan or any other fast, such as a vow to fast on a particular day, the validity of his fast will be questionable. However, if it is an obligatory fast that is not date-specific, his fast is valid. In the event that he wakes up after zuhr prayers, he cannot make the intention for an obligatory fast, even if it is not date-specific. However, in the case of the qaÃÁ of a fast of the month of Ramadan, the impermissibility (of making the intention) between zuhr and evening is based on obligatory precaution.
1563. If a person intends to fast other than the fast of the month of Ramadan, he must specify that fast. For example, he must make the intention that he is observing a qaÃÁ fast, or fasting to fulfill a vow, or fasting for a kaffÁrah. However, in the month of Ramadan it is not necessary for him to specify in his intention that he is going to observe the fast of the month of Ramadan. In fact, if a person is not aware that it is the month of Ramadan or has forgotten, and makes the intention for another fast, it will count as a fast of the month of Ramadan.
1564. If a person is aware that it is the month of Ramadan and intentionally makes the intention of observing a fast other than the fast of the month of Ramadan, his fast will not count as a fast of the month of Ramadan. In fact, on the basis of obligatory precaution, it will not even count as a fast for which he made the intention.
1565. If a person observes a fast with the intention of the first day of the month and later understands that it was the second or third of the month, his fast is still valid.
1566. If a person makes an intention before the adhÁn of fajr to observe a fast on that day and then becomes unconscious, and regains consciousness during the day, obligatory precaution dictates that he complete his fast on that day, and also observe its qaÃÁ.
1567. If a person makes his intention before the adhÁn of fajr, then gets intoxicated, and regains his senses during the day, obligatory precaution dictates that he must complete the fast of that day and should also offer its qaÃÁ.
1568. If a person makes his intention before the adhÁn of fajr, then goes to sleep and wakes up after maghrib, his fast is in order.
1569. If a person does not know or forgets that it is the month of Ramadan, and becomes aware of it prior to zuhr, then if he has performed an act that invalidates the fast, or if he becomes aware after zuhr that it is the month of Ramadan, his fast is void. But, he should not perform any act which invalidates the fast until maghrib, and should also observe its qaÃÁ after the month of Ramadan. The same will apply, based on obligatory precaution, if he becomes aware of it prior to zuhr and has not performed an act that would invalidate the fast.
1570. If a child becomes bÁligh before the adhÁn of fajr in the month of Ramadan, he must observe the fast of that day. If however he becomes bÁligh after the adhÁn of fajr, the fast of that day is not obligatory on him. Recommended precaution dictates that if he becomes bÁligh before zuhr and has made the intention to observe the fast, he should complete the fast of that day. In fact, even if he has not made the intention, and has not indulged in the acts that invalidate the fast, he should form his intention to fast and fast on that day.
1571. If a person has been hired to repay the fasts of a deceased, and he fasts a recommended fast, there is no harm in it. However, one who has to observe the qaÃÁ of his own fasts of the month of Ramadan, cannot fast a recommended fast. The same will apply, based on obligatory precaution, if he has to observe another obligatory fast. If he forgets about it and observes a recommended fast, then in the event that he recollects prior to zuhr, his recommended fast will be invalid. In this case he may change his intention to a non date-specific obligatory fast, as changing the intention to a date-specific obligatory fast is problematic.
However, if he recollects after zuhr, he cannot change his intention to an obligatory fast, albeit one that is not date-specific. In the case of the fast of the qaÃÁ of the month of Ramadan, this ruling will be based on precaution from after mid-day until maghrib.
If however he recollects after maghrib, his fast will be in order.
1572. If a specific fast other than the fast of the month of Ramadan is obligatory on a person—for example, if one has made a nadhr (vow) to fast on a particular day—and he deliberately fails to make the intention to fast until the adhÁn of fajr, his fast will be void. The same will apply, based on precaution, if he does not know that the fast of that day is obligatory on him, or forgets about it, but recollects before zuhr and has not performed any act which invalidates the fast.
1573. If a person deliberately fails to make his intention until close to the time of zuhr, for an obligatory fast which is not date-specific, like the fast for a kaffÁrah, there is no harm in it. In fact, if he had decided before making his intention that he would not fast, or was undecided on whether to fast or not, but had not performed any act which invalidates the fast, and he forms his intention to fast prior to zuhr, his fast is in order.
1574. If a kÁfir converts to Islam during the month of Ramadan prior to the time of Ûuhr, his fast (for that day) will not be valid even if he had not committed any of the acts which invalidate a fast from the adhÁn of fajr to that time.
1575. If a person who is sick recovers from his sickness close to midday, be it before Ûuhr or after it, it will not make the fast of that day obligatory upon him even if he had not, to that point, committed an act that invalidates a fast.
1576. If a person doubts whether a particular day is the last day of Sha‘bÁn or the first day of the month of Ramadan, it will not be obligatory on him to fast that day. However, should he want to fast on that day, he will not be able to fast with the intention of the fast of the month of Ramadan, nor with the intention that it be the fast of the month of Ramadan should that day be the first day of Ramadan, and a qaÃÁ or similar fast should it not; rather, he should make the intention of fasting another obligatory fast, like a qaÃÁ fast, or a recommended fast. Then, if he later comes to know that it was in fact the first of the month of Ramadan, his fast will count as a fast of the month of Ramadan.
If he fasts with the intention of fulfilling that which he is charged with, and later comes to realize that it was indeed the first of the month of Ramadan, it will suffice.
1577. On a day when a person is not certain whether it is the last day of Sha‘bÁn or the first day of the month of Ramadan, if he fasts with the intention of fasting a qaÃÁ or similar fast, or fasting a recommended fast, and realizes during the day that it is the first of the month of Ramadan, he should change his intention to the fast of the month of Ramadan.
1578. If a person, in a specified obligatory fasting such as fasting of Ramadan, reneges on his intention to abstain (from the acts that invalidate a fast) for the sake of God, or wavers in his decision to renege, or intends to commit an act from the acts that invalidate a fast, or wavers in doing so, his fast will be rendered invalid, even if reverts from the decision he made, seeks forgiveness for it, and does not commit an act which invalidates the fast.
1579. The precept elaborated in the previous article does not invalidate the obligatory fasts which are not day-specific—such as a fast of kaffÁrah or a non-specific nadhr—as it does to obligatory fasts which are day-specific. Hence, if a person reverts to his original intention (to fast) prior to Ûuhr, his fast will be in order.
