Ramadan: Fasting, Night Prayers, and Laylat al-Qadr

Allah commanded the fast of Ramadan with words that carry both obligation and promise: "O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you, that you may become righteous." (Quran 2:183). The fast is not a punishment. It is a forge. It is the annual training that produces taqwa, God-consciousness, in the hearts of the believers, and the entire month is structured around making that transformation possible.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever fasts Ramadan with faith and seeking reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven." (Sahih al-Bukhari 1901). The combination of faith and sincerity is the key. The fast is not simply about hunger and thirst. It is about the whole person turning back toward Allah for thirty days.

The command to fast: Quran 2:183-185

The obligation of Ramadan comes in three verses that together constitute the most complete legal statement on fasting in the Quran. Allah says:

"O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you, that you may become righteous. Fasting for a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey, then an equal number of days later. And upon those who are able to fast, but with hardship, a ransom of feeding a poor person each day. And whoever volunteers excess, it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew. The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights the new moon of the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey, then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and wants for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful." (Quran 2:183-185)

Three things stand out from these verses. First, fasting is not a new concept. Previous nations also fasted, and the command roots Ramadan in a longer tradition of divine guidance. Second, the purpose is declared openly: that you may become righteous, that you may develop taqwa. The fast is a means, not an end in itself. Third, the verses are immediately paired with permission for those who genuinely cannot fast. Allah does not want hardship. He wants a worship that is sustainable, sincere, and proportionate to each person's capacity.

The Prophet ﷺ added the detail that makes the obligation concrete: "Islam is built on five pillars: the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger, establishing the prayer, paying Zakat, fasting Ramadan, and Hajj to the House." (Sahih al-Bukhari 8). Fasting Ramadan is not optional for those who are able. It is one of the five pillars on which the entire structure of Islamic practice rests.

Who must fast, who is exempt

Fasting is obligatory for every Muslim who is an adult (has reached puberty), is sane, is a resident rather than a traveler, and is physically capable. These conditions follow directly from the Quranic verses and the scholarly tradition built around them.

Those who are exempt from fasting, and the rulings that apply to each category:

The traveler: A person on a journey of the distance that permits shortening the prayer (approximately 80 km or more in most scholarly opinions) may break the fast and make up those days after Ramadan. The Quran explicitly permits this. However, if fasting on the journey is not difficult, some scholars say it is better to fast, since the Prophet sometimes fasted while traveling. The key is not to make things harder than necessary.

The ill person: Someone whose illness is made worse by fasting, or who genuinely cannot fast without harm to their health, may break the fast and make up the days when they recover. This applies to temporary illness. For a chronic or permanent condition that prevents fasting, the ruling shifts to fidyah: feeding one poor person for each day missed.

The pregnant and nursing woman: If either fears harm to herself or her child, she may break the fast. The scholars differ on whether she only makes up the days or also pays fidyah, but the position of the majority is that she makes up the days when she is able.

Menstruating women and women with post-natal bleeding: They are not permitted to fast during those days, by the unanimous consensus of scholars, and they must make up the missed days after Ramadan. Aisha (RA) narrated that during her time as a wife of the Prophet, she would have outstanding days from Ramadan that she could only make up in Shaban of the following year due to the demands of being with the Prophet. (Sahih al-Bukhari 1950)

The elderly: An old person who is genuinely unable to fast and has no expectation of future ability may pay fidyah for each day: feeding one poor person a meal the equivalent of the local staple food.

Children: Not obligated until puberty, but it is a well-established practice to encourage children to fast as much as they are able from a young age so that they develop the habit before it becomes obligatory.

Suhoor: the blessed pre-dawn meal

Suhoor is the meal eaten before the Fajr adhan, before the fast begins. The Prophet ﷺ called it a blessed meal and strongly encouraged it, even if one only eats a date or drinks water:

"Have the suhoor meal, for indeed there is blessing in suhoor." (Sahih al-Bukhari 1923)

The wisdom behind this is practical as well as spiritual. The pre-dawn meal sustains the body through the day and makes the fast more manageable. But there is also a deeper dimension: rising before Fajr, eating with the intention of worshipping Allah through the fast that follows, and being awake at the time when Allah descends to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night all converge into a single act of worship. The person who wakes for suhoor is already awake at the most blessed hour of the night. It is an opportunity for dua, for a few rakats of night prayer, for istighfar before the fast begins.

The Prophet ﷺ also said: "The difference between our fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book is the eating of suhoor." (Sahih Muslim 1096). Suhoor is not merely practical; it is a distinguishing marker of the Muslim fast.

The fast begins at Fajr, specifically at the time of true dawn (al-fajr al-sadiq), when the white thread of light distinguishes itself from the black of night on the horizon. This corresponds to the Fajr adhan time in the prayer schedule. Eating or drinking after that time, knowingly, breaks the fast.

Iftar: hastening the breaking of the fast

The iftar, the breaking of the fast at Maghrib, carries its own specific sunnah: hasten it. The Prophet ﷺ said:

"The people will continue to be in good condition as long as they hasten to break the fast." (Sahih Muslim 1098)

Hastening the iftar means breaking it as soon as the Maghrib adhan is called, not delaying to perform extra prayers or wait for an ideal moment. The Prophet ﷺ would break his fast with fresh dates before praying Maghrib. If fresh dates were not available, dried dates. If not that, water. (Abu Dawud 2356, Tirmidhi 696, graded hasan). This is the sunnah of iftar: something simple, immediately, and then the Maghrib prayer, then the main meal.

The dua at iftar is: "Dhahaba al-zama'u wabtallatil 'urooqu wa thabata al-ajru insha'Allah": "The thirst has gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is confirmed, if Allah wills." (Abu Dawud 2357, graded hasan). This dua is said after breaking the fast, reflecting on the act of worship just completed.

Iftar gatherings are one of the great blessings of Ramadan. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever provides the food for a fasting person to break his fast with, he will have a reward like the fasting person, without the reward of the fasting person being reduced in the least." (Tirmidhi 807, graded sahih). Hosting iftar is one of the most rewarding acts a Muslim can do in Ramadan.

What breaks the fast

Understanding what invalidates the fast is essential for anyone fasting with the intention of doing it correctly. The scholars of the four major schools have identified the following categories of fast-breakers (muftirat):

1. Deliberate eating or drinking: Consuming any food or drink by mouth, intentionally and while remembering that one is fasting, breaks the fast. Unintentional eating or drinking, due to complete forgetfulness of the fast, does not break it. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever forgets he is fasting and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast, for it is Allah who fed him and gave him to drink." (Sahih al-Bukhari 1933)

2. Sexual intercourse: This not only breaks the fast but requires the heaviest expiation (kaffarah): freeing a slave, or if that is not possible, fasting for two consecutive months, or if that is not possible, feeding sixty poor people. (Sahih al-Bukhari 1936)

3. Deliberate vomiting: Intentionally inducing vomiting breaks the fast. If vomiting occurs without choice and one did not swallow any of it, the fast is intact. (Abu Dawud 2380, Tirmidhi 720)

4. Ejaculation through deliberate stimulation: This breaks the fast. A wet dream or an involuntary emission does not break the fast.

5. Menstruation or post-natal bleeding beginning during the fast: This breaks the fast regardless of when it begins, even one minute before Maghrib. The day must be made up.

6. Nourishing injections and intravenous drips: These break the fast according to the majority of contemporary scholars because they substitute for eating and drinking in providing nutrition to the body. Non-nourishing injections such as anaesthesia or vaccines are not considered fast-breakers by the majority.

7. Apostasy: Leaving Islam during the fast breaks it, and the day is not made up unless the person returns to Islam and fasts the remainder of Ramadan.

Things that do NOT break the fast include: eye drops, using a miswak or toothbrush without swallowing, unintentional swallowing of dust or smoke, taking blood pressure medication in tablet form according to some contemporary scholars though this is contested, and injection of insulin for diabetics according to a widely cited scholarly fatwa, though diabetics should consult a scholar familiar with their specific medical situation.

Tarawih: the night prayer of Ramadan

Tarawih is the voluntary night prayer performed in congregation after Isha throughout Ramadan. It is one of the most beloved practices of the month, and its reward is among the most clearly stated in the hadith literature:

"Whoever stands in prayer in Ramadan with faith and seeking reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven." (Sahih Muslim 760, with a similar narration in Sahih al-Bukhari 2008)

The Prophet ﷺ himself began the practice. He prayed in congregation with the companions for two or three nights in Ramadan, then stopped. Aisha (RA) narrated: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out one night in the middle of Ramadan and prayed in the mosque. Some men prayed behind him. In the morning, people talked about it and more people gathered. He prayed and they prayed behind him. In the morning, people talked about it again and the number increased on the third night. He came out and they prayed behind him. On the fourth night, the mosque was full and could not contain them. He only came out for the Fajr prayer. When he finished the Fajr prayer, he turned to the people and recited the testimony of faith, then said: 'I knew what you were doing. Nothing prevented me from going out to you except that I feared it would be made obligatory on you. That was in Ramadan.'" (Sahih al-Bukhari 2012)

After the Prophet's death, Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) organized the companions into a single congregation under Ubayy ibn Ka'b, saying: "What an excellent innovation this is." The practice of Tarawih in congregation has been the way of the Muslim community ever since.

On the question of 8 versus 20 rakats: those who prefer 8 point to the fact that the Prophet ﷺ never exceeded 11 rakats in his total night prayer, and that the best guidance is his own example. Scholars including Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim held this view. Those who practice 20 rakats follow the practice established in Madinah under Umar (RA) and the companions, which most of the Muslim world has maintained for fourteen centuries including the two holy mosques during significant historical periods. Ibn Abd al-Barr recorded scholarly consensus on the permissibility of 20 rakats. Both positions are grounded in valid scholarship. Neither group should be criticized for their choice, and a Muslim praying behind either should complete the prayer with the imam.

The word "Tarawih" itself means "rest periods," referring to the practice of sitting and resting after every four rakats. This is a sunnah of the prayer: every four rakats are followed by a brief rest before the next four begin.

The last 10 nights

When the last ten nights of Ramadan entered, the Prophet ﷺ changed his behavior in a way that Aisha (RA) noticed and described clearly: "He would tighten his waist-wrapper, stay up the entire night, and wake his family." (Sahih al-Bukhari 2024). He was more vigilant in worship in these ten nights than at any other time in the year.

The reason is stated plainly in the Quran and the hadith: Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Decree, falls within these ten nights. It is better than a thousand months. It is the night on which the Quran was sent down. It is the night on which the angels descend with every decree for the coming year. Missing it is, as one scholar put it, like missing the entire point of Ramadan.

The Prophet ﷺ taught the ummah to seek it in the odd nights of the last ten: the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, and 29th. He said: "Seek Laylat al-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan." (Sahih al-Bukhari 2017). The majority of scholars hold that the 27th night is the most likely candidate, though it moves across the odd nights from year to year and cannot be fixed with certainty. The wisdom in this uncertainty is that it encourages the believer to worship intensely on all ten odd nights rather than on a single night.

Laylat al-Qadr: better than 1,000 months

Surah Al-Qadr is one of the shortest but most significant chapters of the Quran. Allah says:

"Indeed, We sent the Quran down during the Night of Decree. And what can make you know what the Night of Decree is? The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter. Peace it is until the emergence of dawn." (Quran 97:1-5)

A thousand months is approximately 83 years and 4 months. A Muslim who worships sincerely on Laylat al-Qadr receives a reward equivalent to over eighty years of continuous worship, compressed into a single night. This is an act of divine generosity that has no parallel elsewhere in the calendar.

The dua that the Prophet ﷺ specifically taught for Laylat al-Qadr is recorded in the following hadith. Aisha (RA) asked: "O Messenger of Allah, if I know which night Laylat al-Qadr is, what should I say?" He said: "Say: Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbu al-'afwa fa'fu 'anni": "O Allah, You are Pardoning, You love pardon, so pardon me." (Tirmidhi 3513, graded sahih). This dua is remarkable in what it tells us about what to ask for on the greatest night of the year: not wealth, not success, not even Jannah by name, but pardon. The Prophet directed the ummah toward the most foundational need of every human soul.

The signs of Laylat al-Qadr, based on narrations: the sun rises on the following morning white and without visible rays (Sahih Muslim 762). The night itself is calm, temperate, and neither too hot nor too cold. These are observable signs, but they come after the night has passed. The believer should not wait for confirmation; they should worship every odd night with the same intensity, treating each one as if it were the Night of Decree.

I'tikaf: retreating to the mosque

I'tikaf is the act of secluding oneself in the mosque for the purpose of worship, cutting off from the world to devote oneself entirely to Allah. The Prophet ﷺ observed I'tikaf every Ramadan, and in the last year of his life he performed it for twenty days instead of his usual ten. (Sahih al-Bukhari 2044)

I'tikaf in the last ten nights of Ramadan is a confirmed sunnah. The person in I'tikaf remains in the mosque, prays all their prayers there, recites Quran, makes dhikr and dua, and engages in no worldly activities except what is necessary. They do not leave except for a need that cannot be met inside the mosque. They do not engage in business or intimate relations. The entire purpose is single-pointed focus on Allah.

Even a shorter I'tikaf, for a day or a few hours with the intention of worship, carries reward. Many scholars hold that a person who enters the mosque with the intention of I'tikaf, even briefly, gains the reward of I'tikaf for as long as they remain. This is a mercy that makes the practice accessible to people who cannot stay in the mosque for ten days.

I'tikaf can be performed in any mosque where the five daily prayers are established. For the Jumuah prayer, it is better to perform I'tikaf in a mosque where Jumuah is held so that one does not need to leave for it. Women may perform I'tikaf in the designated prayer area of their home according to some scholars, though the more correct opinion of the majority is that I'tikaf is specific to a mosque.

Zakat al-Fitr

Zakat al-Fitr is the obligatory charitable payment due at the end of Ramadan. Ibn Abbas (RA) narrated: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ made Zakat al-Fitr obligatory as a purification for the fasting person from idle speech and obscene talk, and as food for the poor. Whoever pays it before the prayer, it is an accepted Zakat, and whoever pays it after the prayer, it is a sadaqah like other sadaqahs." (Sahih al-Bukhari 1503)

This hadith establishes three things with precision. First, the purpose is dual: it purifies the fasting person's worship (compensating for any shortcomings in the fast) and provides food for the poor so that they too can celebrate Eid with dignity. Second, the deadline is the Eid prayer, not the end of Eid day. Third, paying it after the Eid prayer is not invalid but loses its specific status as Zakat al-Fitr.

The original amount is one sa'a of food, approximately 2.5 to 3 kg of the local staple (rice, wheat, dates, barley, depending on the region). The majority of contemporary scholars permit paying the cash equivalent, though a minority prefers the original food form to ensure it actually reaches the poor as food.

Zakat al-Fitr is due on behalf of every Muslim: oneself and every dependent, including children born before the sunset of the last day of Ramadan. It may be paid a day or two before Eid to ensure it reaches the poor in time for Eid. Local mosques and Islamic organizations typically coordinate collection and distribution; giving it to them early ensures the logistics are handled in time for the Eid prayer.

Ramadan ends with Eid al-Fitr, the celebration of the breaking of the fast. The takbirat, the communal Eid prayer, the visiting of family and friends, the giving of gifts: all of it is the completion of a month of transformation. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The fasting person has two moments of joy: when he breaks his fast and when he meets his Lord." (Sahih al-Bukhari 7492). The first joy is the iftar that ends the day. The second is the meeting with Allah that awaits at the end of everything. Ramadan is, at its core, preparation for that meeting.