Does Eating After Fajr Begins in Ramadan Require Qada or Kaffara?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

If someone eats after Fajr has begun during Ramadan, does this require making up the fast (qada) and performing an expiation (kaffara)?

Answer

I pray you are well.

Deliberately Eating After Fajr Begins

If a person eats deliberately and knowingly after Fajr has begun during the month of Ramadan, the fast is invalid. This is because the person has eaten after the time for fasting has already started.

In such a case, the fast must be made up (qada). Additionally, because the sanctity of the month of Ramadan has been violated, a kaffara is also required.

What the Kaffara Entails

The kaffara for deliberately invalidating the fast in this manner is to fast for two consecutive months.

If a person is physically able to fast, they must perform the kaffara by fasting these two months consecutively. Many people misunderstand this and assume that if it is inconvenient, they can simply give a fidya instead. This is not correct. If one is able to fast, they must perform the kaffara through fasting.

Maintaining Consecutive Fasts

The two months of kaffara fasting must be consecutive. However, there are certain days on which fasting is not permissible.

It is not permissible to fast on the days of Eid or on the days of Tashriq. The days of Tashriq are the three days following the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja. Therefore, from the 10th to the 13th of Dhu al-Hijja, fasting is not allowed.

For this reason, these days cannot fall within the two months of kaffara fasting. The jurists, therefore, advise waiting until after this period before beginning the consecutive fasts, if necessary.

A Woman Performing Kaffara

If a woman begins the kaffara fasts and her menstrual cycle starts, she stops fasting during that time. Once her cycle ends, she resumes fasting the very next day and continues fasting for the remaining days of the kaffara.

Eating During the Adhan of Fajr

Sometimes there is a mistaken notion that a person can continue eating while the adhan of Fajr is being called. Technically, when the adhan is called, Fajr has already entered. That is why the call to prayer is being made.

Therefore, if a person begins eating after Fajr, the fast is invalid and requires both qada and kaffara.

And Allah Most High knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr. Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr. Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.