Does the Intention To Stop Fast Break the Fast?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

Does the intention to stop fast break the fast?

Breaking the fast is not solely determined by the mere intention to stop fasting. The fast is broken by specific actions, known as the invalidators of the fast. These actions include the intake of recognized solid or liquid substances into the body cavity through a recognized point of entry, such as consuming food or liquid. Additionally, engaging in physical relations in a manner that breaks the fast also invalidates it. Simply stating that you are not fasting without taking any action does not break the fast.

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.