41.2. CHAPTER THINGS THAT NULLIFY A FAST AND WHICH MAKE EXPIATION WAJIB
He who has vaginal or anal sex during the day in the month of Ramadan will have to make up the fast for that day and carry out expiation.
Now we will discuss the second category of the nullifiers of fasting, acts for which expiation is necessary:
“Section”: We mentioned that there are two categories of nullifiers of the fast: (i) Nullifiers that require the person to only make up the fast, (ii) Nullifiers that require the person to make up the fast and also carry out expiation for it. This nullifier is to have sex during the day in the month of Ramadan.
“He who has vaginal or anal sex during the day in the month of Ramadan will have to make up the fast for that day and carry out expiation”: If a person had sex during the day in the month of Ramadan while he was fasting, then he must make repentance to Allah for this sin as he has desecrated the sanctity of the fast and transgressed the bounds of Allah. It is wajib for him to make up the fast as it was nullified by sexual intercourse. It is also wajib for him to offer a heavy expiation. He must manumit a Muslim slave. If there are no slaves available, then he must fast consecutively for two months. If he is unable to do so, then he must feed sixty poor people.
A man came to the Prophet(pbuh) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I am destroyed, I am destroyed.” He asked, “And what has destroyed you?” The man replied, “I had sex with my wife during the day in Ramadan while I was fasting.” The Prophet said to him, “Can you afford to manumit a slave?” He replied, “No.” The Prophet asked again, “Are you able to fast consecutively for two months?” He replied, “No.” The Prophet then asked, “Can you afford to feed sixty poor people?” He replied, “No.” So the Prophet told him to sit down and he sat. A basket of dates was received by the Prophet at this time. The Prophet said to the man, “Take this and give it as charity.” (Reported by al-Bukhari (3/41, 42, 210) and Muslim (3/138, 139) from the narration of Abu Hurairah.)
This is evidence to prove that offering expiation is wajib upon the person who has intercourse during the day in the month of Ramadan. This expiation is similar to that which is exacted for committing “zihar’ (likening a wife to one’s mother (Editor ’s note : Ibn Taymiyyah said regarding this matter in his Majmu (34/5) “If what he meant was you are to me like my mother or my sister in terms of honour (or respect, family ties or without any particular intention behind the statement), then he does not have to do anything, but if what he meant was likening her to his mother or sister in terms of marriage, then this is zihar and he has to do the same as the one who divorces his wife by zihar. if he chooses to keep her, he should not approach her until he has offered the expiation for zihar!’ Furthermore, he states (34/6), “If he meant when he said, ‘You are like my mother to me was that he would refrain from physical relations with her which are forbidden in the case of the mother, then this is zihar and he is obliged to do what the man who divorces his wife by zihar is obliged to do. It is not permissible for him to have intercourse with her until he has offered the expiation for zihar, namely freeing a slave. If that is not possible then he must fast for two consecutive months. If he cannot do that then he must feed sixty poor persons.”)) which is mentioned by Allah thus: {And those who pronounce zihar from their wives and then [wish to] go back on what they said – then [there must be] the freeing of a slave before they touch one another. That is what you are admonished thereby; and Allah is Acquainted with what you do. And he who does not find [a slave] – then a fast for two months consecutively before they touch one another; and he who is unable – then the feeding of sixty poor persons.} (Al-Mujadilah: 3-4)
If he engaged in copulation with his wife without penetration or a woman is forced to have intercourse or if he had intended to fast whilst travelling on a journey and broke his fast with intercourse, then expiation is not required.
This an elaboration of the types of sex that do not require expiation when performed during the day in the month of Ramadan.
First: “If he engaged in copulation with his wife without penetration”: Heavy fondling and sexual foreplay which causes ejaculation are examples of this form of sex. A fasting person needs only make up for the fast for the day and no expiation is necessary. This is because he had not engaged in sex per se. Expiation is only wajib when penetration occurs.
Second: “Or a woman is forced to have intercourse”: In this case, she does not have to offer expiation as the intercourse was not voluntary on her part. In fact, she was coerced into it. A person who is forced to commit an act is considered as not having committed it. Hence, she need not offer expiation.
Third: “Or if he had intended to fast whilst travelling on a journey and broke his fast with intercourse, then expiation is not required”: A traveler who fasts in Ramadan and then has sex whilst fasting, there is no expiation required from him if he is still on his journey as travelling is a circumstance that allows one not to fast. The same is the case if one breaks his fast with food or drink.
If a person has sexual intercourse in two days or performs it multiple times in a day and he has not made expiation, then he does so once after the second example and twice after the first example. If he had sexual intercourse and made expiation immediately only to have sexual intercourse again, then he must repeat the expiation.
“If a person has sexual intercourse in two days or performs it multiple times in a day and he has not made expiation, then he does so once after the second example and twice after the first example”: If he performs intercourse multiple times in a day, he need only offer it once after the final session.
“If he had sexual intercourse and made expiation immediately only to have sexual intercourse again, then he must repeat the expiation”: This is the case even if both sessions were performed in one day. However, if he had performed sex over a period of days, then he has to offer expiation for each day that he had sex for each day is an independent devotion that he has to expiate for since it was desecrated.
Similar is the case if he upon whom fasting becomes obligatory during the day has sexual intercourse afterwards and he who has sexual intercourse while fasting but was later allowed to break his fast due to illness, lunacy or travel, is not discharged of expiation.
We have discussed earlier that if clear signs appear in the middle of the day to confirm fasting, or if a traveler who did not fast returns back to his city, or if a child attains puberty, or a person attains sanity in the middle of the day, or a menstruating woman becomes free of her menses during the daytime, they must fast the rest of the day.
“Similar is the case if he upon whom fasting becomes obligatory during the day has sexual intercourse afterwards”: That is, the individual has intercourse after proceeding to fast the rest of the day. In this case, he must offer expiation just as one would offer expiation when he desecrates the fast, he maintained from dawn with sexual intercourse.
“And he who has sexual intercourse while fasting but was later allowed to break his fast due to illness, lunacy or travel, is not discharged of expiation”: If he fasted from dawn and performed sex while he was fasting but later went on to break his fast due to a valid excuse, then he must offer expiation. This is because the desecration of the fast occurred prior to him gaining the valid excuse. Hence, he is not discharged of the expiation.
Expiation is only exacted if sex is performed by one fasting during the day in the month of Ramadan. The expiation is the manumission of a slave, if that is not possible fasting two months consecutively and if that is also not possible feeding sixty poor people. If this too is not possible, then one is discharged of the expiation.
“Expiation is only exacted if sex is performed by one fasting during the day in the month of Ramadan”: Expiation is not wajib on any other nullifiers or violations. If one eats and drinks deliberately during the day in Ramadan or does some other act that nullifies his fast, it would suffice him to make up the day by fasting on another day. He does not have to offer expiation for nullifying his fast as the Prophet only ordered that expiation be exacted upon the individual who performs sex while fasting in the month of Ramadan.
“The expiation is the manumission of a slave, if that is not possible fasting two months consecutively and if that is also not possible feeding sixty poor people. If this too is not possible, then one is discharged of the expiation”: This is the order of expiation for performing sex during the day in the month of Ramadan. It is similar to the expiation for committing zihar. Allah says: {And those who pronounce zihar from their wives and then [wish to] go back on what they said – then [there must be] the freeing of a slave before they touch one another. That is what you are admonished thereby; and Allah is Acquainted with what you do. And he who does not find [a slave] – then a fast for two months consecutively before they touch one another; and he who is unable – then the feeding of sixty poor persons.} (Al-Mujadilah: 3-4)
The Prophet(pbuh) commanded the man who came to him seeking atonement for having had sex during the day in Ramadan to expiate for his sin by doing one of these acts in the same order of priority.
The question arises: What if one is not able to manumit a slave, fast consecutively for two months or feed sixty poor people? Will the expiation be resolved? Is he discharged?
There are two views to this issue. The author appears to gravitate to the view that it is absolved and the person need not expiate for his deed. The Prophet(pbuh) did not tell the man that he still had the duty to expiate for his deed after having excused him of all the acts of expiation. This is proof that it was absolved.
The second view of the scholars is that it remains a responsibility upon the person to expiate himself from the deed as and when he is able to do so. (See al-Insaf (3/323).)The preferred view, and Allah knows best, is that it remains a responsibility upon the individual to expiate himself. This is because it is a debt due to Allah and all debts remain due upon a person until such a time when he is able to settle it. Indeed, the Prophet(pbuh) said, “Settle Allah’s dues for He is more deserving of the settlement.” (Reported by al-Bukhari (3/32), (9/125) from the narration of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas.)
By Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan
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