What breaks your fast during Ramadan?

Eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse during daylight hours break your fast. Intentional vomiting and menstruation also invalidate the fast. However, unintentional eating or drinking does not break the fast.

Can I eat before sunrise during Ramadan?

Yes, you can eat and drink until dawn (Fajr). The pre-dawn meal, called Suhoor, is a recommended Sunnah that helps sustain you through the fasting day. The fast begins at dawn (Fajr) and ends at sunset (Maghrib), and you cannot eat or drink between these times.

What should I do if I accidentally break my fast?

If you eat or drink out of forgetfulness or by genuine accident, your fast remains valid: simply stop and continue fasting, and you do not have to make up the day. Deliberately breaking the fast is a sin that requires sincere repentance. Kaffarah (expiation) is required of any adult, sane Muslim who intentionally breaks a Ramadan fast through eating, drinking, or sexual intercourse without a valid excuse: fasting sixty consecutive days or, if unable, feeding sixty poor people, in addition to making up the broken day.

When does the Ramadan fast start and end?

The Ramadan fast starts at dawn (Fajr prayer time) and ends at sunset (Maghrib prayer time). Muslims refrain from food, drink, and other invalidators of fast during these daylight hours.

Who is exempt from fasting in Ramadan?

The sick and travelers may break the fast and make up the missed days later (Quran 2:184-185). Women who are menstruating or in postpartum bleeding must not fast and make up the days afterwards. Pregnant and breastfeeding women who fear harm may break the fast and make up the days later according to most scholars. The elderly and the chronically ill with no hope of recovery are exempt and instead feed one poor person for each missed day (fidya). Children below the age of puberty are not required to fast.

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What Breaks Your Fast

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