What Is the Travel Limit That Allows You to Break the Fast?
Answered By Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Question
What is the travel limit that permits breaking the fast, and what are its conditions?
Answer
In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him.
Travel, as mentioned in the authentic hadith reported by both Bukhari and Muslim, is “a piece of punishment.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
This is because travel involves the hardship of being away from family and loved ones, in addition to the troubles a traveler faces during their journey. For this reason, the Wise Legislator has eased many of the worship obligations for the morally responsible to lift hardship and difficulty.
Among the rulings eased for the traveler is the obligation of fasting. The Sacred Law permits the traveler to break their fast, as Allah (Most High) says:
“But whoever of you is ill or on a journey, then (let them fast) an equal number of days (after Ramadan).” [Quran, 2:184].
Conditions
The travel that permits breaking the fast has conditions:
- The travel must be long, equivalent to two stages or more by the means of heavy transportation, and the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta has defined this distance as 89 kilometers by today’s measurements. [Dar al-Ifta’ al-Misriyya]
Thus, short travel does not permit this concession.
- The travel must be lawful, not initiated, for the purpose of committing a sin.
- The journey must commence before dawn; that is, one must leave the populated area before the dawn prayer. Otherwise, one is considered a resident, prioritizing the state of being settled.
“If one travels before dawn, it is permissible for them to break the fast, even after having the intention to fast, and even if the intention was made at night. It is correct that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) broke his fast after Asr during Ramadan on a journey with a cup of water when it was said that fasting was difficult for people [Muslim] due to the presence of a valid reason for concession.” [Ba ‘Ishn, Bushra al-Karim]
This is a brief and concise ruling on breaking the fast during travel according to the Shafi‘i School, which is the view of most schools except for the Hanbali school. The Hanbalis have an opinion that permits breaking the fast during travel, even if the journey begins after dawn, at any time of the day, even after midday. Thus, a Muslim should be well-informed about their religion, not rushing into worship without certainty, research, and asking, and Allah is the Granter of success and the Helper.
[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Shaykh Dr Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib is a prominent Islamic scholar from Yemen. He was born in Shibam, Hadhramaut, in 1976. He received his degree in Shari‘a from Al-Ahqaf University, a master’s degree from the Islamic University of Beirut, and a PhD in Usul al-Din from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
He studied under great scholars such as Shaykh al-Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Shaykh Fadl Ba‘ fadl, Habib Salim al-Shatiri, Habib Ali Mashhur bin Hafeez, and others. He has served as the Director of Publications at Dar al-Fiqh, the former Deputy Director of Cultural Relations at Al-Ahqaf University, a former Assistant for Employee Affairs at Atiyah Iron Company, a researcher at the Sunna Center affiliated with the Dallah al-Baraka Foundation, and a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch.
Currently, he is a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch, teaches traditionally through the Ijaza system at Dar al-Fuqaha in Turkey, supervises the Arabic department at Nur al-Huda International Institute (SeekersGuidance), and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Manuscript House in Istanbul.
His works include “The Efforts of Hadhramaut Jurists in Serving the Shafi‘i School,” “Contributions of Hadhramaut Scholars in Spreading Islam and its Sciences in India,” and “Hada’iq al-Na‘im in Shafi‘i Fiqh.” He has also verified several books in Fiqh, history, the art of biographies, and Asanid (chains of narration).
