Fasting During Ramadan (Siyam)
When to fast, what fasting involves, who is exempt, and why God gave it.
The Ninth Lunar Month
Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar (Islamic) calendar. Throughout it, Submitters fast
each day from the first light of dawn until sunset — abstaining from food, drink, and
sexual activity during the daylight hours. Like every practice of Submission, fasting has been
decreed since the time of Abraham. Full details are given in Sura 2, verses 183–187.
God’s Commandment on Fasting
[2:183] O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation.
[2:184] Specific days (are designated for fasting); if one is ill or traveling, an equal number of other days may be substituted. Those who can fast, but with great difficulty, may substitute feeding one poor person for each day of breaking the fast. If one volunteers (more righteous works), it is better. But fasting is the best for you, if you only knew.
[2:185] Ramadan is the month during which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein. Those who are ill or traveling may substitute the same number of other days. GOD wishes for you convenience, not hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify GOD for guiding you, and to express your appreciation.
The Daily Fast — From Dawn to Sunset
The boundaries of the fast are set by the sky itself:
[2:187] …You may eat and drink until the white thread of light becomes distinguishable from the dark thread of night at dawn. Then, you shall fast until sunset…
So a fasting day looks like this:
- Before dawn — a pre-dawn meal, taken before the first light appears on
the horizon. - Dawn to sunset — no food, no drink, and no sexual intercourse.
- At sunset — the fast is broken immediately, at the going down of the
sun.
The same verse permits intercourse during the nights of Ramadan — between
sunset and the following dawn — except for those who withdraw to the masjid during the
last ten days.
Who Is Exempt
God builds mercy into the command itself. Fasting is not meant to harm anyone:
- The ill and the traveler do not fast on those days, but make up an equal
number of other days later (2:184–185). - Those who can fast only with great difficulty may instead feed one poor
person for each day (2:184).
God’s own words frame the whole practice: “GOD wishes for you convenience, not
hardship” (2:185). Fasting is a gift to nourish the soul, never a burden meant to
break the body.
The Night of Destiny
Ramadan holds a night more precious than a thousand months — the night the Quran began
to be revealed:
[97:3] The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months.
It falls within the last ten days of the month. Many Submitters devote these final nights to
extra worship, reflection, and reading of the Quran.
Why the Month Moves
Because a lunar month is about 29.5 days, a lunar year runs 10–12 days shorter than a
solar year. Ramadan therefore arrives about eleven days earlier each year, cycling slowly
through every season. Over a lifetime, each of us fasts in the long, hot days of summer and the
short, cool days of winter alike — a fair and beautiful design, and a test of whether we
will keep the fast regardless of its ease.
The Four Practical Duties
All four religious practices reached us through Abraham (21:73, 22:78). Explore each one:
Praise Be To God, Lord of the Universe.
The worldwide community of those who Submit to God Alone.
Questions? info@submission.world