Laws Relating to Sehri

To partake the Sehri meal is Sunnah. Our Beloved Prophet (S.A.W) said: “Do take your Sehri meal, because this meal has many blessings in it. Sehri should be taken even if it be one mouthful or a draught of water”.

It is recommended to delay the Sehri, but not that late that one begins to doubt its time. If one is in an unclean state e.g. Janabat (after having sexual relation with one's wife), Ihtilaam (experiencing a wet dream) and very little time is remaining for Sehri, he may have his sehri meal in this unclean state. However, one should not delay the Janabat Ghusl unnecessarily.

Religious reasons for not keeping Fast

It is permissible for a person to avoid fasting if he is so ill that by fasting it will endanger his life, worsen his illness or there is a fear of becoming physically disabled. Such a person should keep the missed fast's after regaining his health. A person who becomes extremely weak due to old age and who has no strength to fast at that time, and who has no hope of gaining enough strength to fast in the future is required to give Fidya (atonement) for each fast, i.e. feed one person daily. However if such a person does gain strength to fast, his Fidya given would be regarded as voluntary, as it would be obligatory upon him to observe fasts for all the days he has missed.

Pregnant women or suckling mothers who run the risk of endangering their lives and the lives of their babies are also exempted by Shariah from fasting, but the Qaza of missed fasts would be obligatory upon them.

To break the Fast is a Sin

If one breaks the fast without any religious reason, it is a severe sin. However while in a state of fasting if a person becomes so ill that continued fasting would endanger his life, or there is a possibility of worsening his illness, or he becomes intensely thirsty through which there is a fear of death, then breaking the fast is not only permissible but obligatory, but such a person must re-observe the fast he/she has missed.

Kaffarah (Compensation) for the Fast

For every fast broken deliberately one has to free one slave or one maid (this is not possible nowadays) or keep sixty consecutive fasts, and if you are unable to do this then feed sixty needy persons with two meals for the day. This is called Kaffarah.