Lessons

Ramadan & Fasting

If you cannot fast: illness, travel and other reasons

Learn Allah's allowances for missed fasts, feeding substitutes, and how to make up days.

3 short lessons · about 3 min · every point has its source

1. Traveling during Ramadan

The month of Ramadan is the special time when the Quran was revealed as guidance for humanity. Yet journeys often bring physical strain, fatigue, and disruption to your regular schedule. In the Quran, Allah explains that a person who is on a journey may break their fast and make up an equal number of other days later.¹

Allah grants this allowance because He intends ease for you and does not intend hardship.¹ Fasting is prescribed for a limited number of days, and a traveler completes the missed period on other days. Allah also explains that choosing to fast is best for you if you know.²

This means you have a genuine choice while on a journey. A companion asked the Prophet ﷺ about fasting while traveling, and the Prophet ﷺ replied that he could fast if he wished or break his fast if he wished.³ When the companions traveled with the Prophet ﷺ during Ramadan, no one objected to the person who fasted, and no one objected to the person who broke the fast.⁴ You can assess your personal strength and choose the option that brings peace without feeling guilt.

2. Illness and chronic hardship

When you become sick during Ramadan, Allah intends ease for you and does not intend hardship.¹ If an illness prevents you from fasting, you do not have to fast during those days.²¹ If you are ill, you make up an equal number of days.²

Other believers face enduring hardship, such as advanced age or ongoing health conditions. For those who face severe, ongoing difficulty, a substitute is established through feeding a poor person for each missed day.⁵ Ibn Abbas clarified that this allowance remains for elderly men and women who lack the strength to fast.⁶ It likewise serves those dealing with incurable sickness.⁵

Under this allowance, one feeds a person in need for every single day not fasted.⁶⁵ A person may also choose to give more food of their own accord, which brings greater good.²⁵ If you feel uncertain whether your health permits fasting or calls for feeding, consult your doctor and speak with a trusted local imam (community prayer leader).

3. Making up days and monthly cycles

When you miss fasts during Ramadan with a valid excuse, those days are not lost. Allah states that a person who is ill or on a journey must fast an equal number of other days. Allah intends ease for you and does not intend hardship, and He wants you to complete the period.¹ You simply count the number of days you missed and make them up later.

A woman also pauses her fasting during her monthly period.⁷ When she becomes pure, she makes up the missed fasts by fasting the same number of days.⁸ However, she does not make up the daily prayers that she missed during her period.⁹

A woman named Muadha once asked the Prophet's ﷺ wife Aisha why women must make up their fasts but not their prayers. Aisha explained that the women around the Prophet ﷺ experienced their periods, and they were commanded to complete the fasts, but they were never ordered to complete the prayers.⁹

This teaching brings immense relief. Fasting Ramadan occurs only once a year, so making up a few days before the next year is manageable.

Sources

1. Quran 2:185 (Al-Baqarah)
   The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful
2. Quran 2:184 (Al-Baqarah)
   [Fasting for] a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey [during them] - then an equal number of days [are to be made up]. And upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] - a ransom [as substitute] of feeding a poor person [each day]. And whoever volunteers excess - it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew
3. Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi 711
   Aishah narrated that : Hamzah bin Amr Al-Aslami asked the Messenger of Allah about fasting while traveling, and he fasted regularly. So the Messenger of Allah said: 'If you wish then fast, and if you wish then break (the fast)Grading: Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih; Al-Albani: Sahih; Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan Sahih; Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad Hasan
4. Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi 712
   Abu Sa'eed (Al-Khudri) narrated: "We were on a journey with the Messenger of Allah during the month of Ramadan. No one objected to the fast of the one fasting nor the fast breaking of the one who broke his fastGrading: Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih; Al-Albani: Sahih; Zubair Ali Zai: Sahih Muslim
5. Sunan an-Nasaʾi 2317
   It was narrated from 'Ata from Ibn 'Abbas:concerning this verse "And as for those who can fast with difficulty, (a choice either to fast or) to feed a Miskin (poor person) (for every day)." That for those who can fast with difficulty means they find it hard; to feed a Miskin means feeding one poor person for each day. But whoever does good of his own accord means feeding another poor person. This is not abrogated, and it is bette for him. And: that "you fast is better for you" means there is no concession regarding this except for those who are not able to fast, or who are incurably sickGrading: Abu Ghuddah: Sahih; Al-Albani: Sahih; Zubair Ali Zai: Sahih Bukhari
6. Sahih al-Bukhari 4505 Read it in full
   Narrated 'Ata: That he heard Ibn `Abbas reciting the Divine Verse:-- "And for those who can fast they had a choice to either fast, or feed a poor for every day.." (2.184) Ibn `Abbas said, "This Verse is not abrogated, but it is meant for old men and old women who have no strength to fast, so they should feed one poor person for each day of fasting (instead of fasting)
7. Sunan Abi Dawud 4679 Read it in full
   Abd Allah b. 'Umar reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying: I did not see more defective in respect of reason and religion than the wise of you (women). A woman asked: What is the defect of reason and religion ? He replied: The defect of reason is the testimony of two women for one man, and the defect of faith is that one of you does not fast during Ramadan (when one is menstruating), and keep away from prayer for some daysGrading: Al-Albani: Sahih; Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Sahih; Zubair Ali Zai: Sahih Muslim (79)
8. Sunan an-Nasaʾi 2318
   It was narrated from Muadhah Al-Adawiyyah that a woman asked 'Aishah: "Should a menstruating woman make up the prayers when she becomes pure?" she said: "Are youa Haruri? We used to menstruate at the time of the Messenger of Allah then we would become pure. He told us to make up the fast, but he did not tell us to make up the prayersGrading: Abu Ghuddah: Sahih; Al-Albani: Sahih; Zubair Ali Zai: Hasan
9. Sahih Muslim 335c Read it in full
   Mu'adha said: I asked 'A'isha: What is the reason that a menstruating woman completes the fasts (that she abandons during her monthly course). but she does not complete the prayers? She (Hadrat 'A'isha) said: Are you a Haruriya? I said: I am not a Haruriya, but I simply want to inquire. She said: We passed through this (period of menstruation), and we were ordered to complete the fasts, but were not ordered to complete the prayers

Every point in this lesson rests on a verse of the Quran or a hadith, listed above. Hadith come from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, or from other collections only where every listed scholar graded them sahih or hasan. Found a mistake? Tell us.

More on ramadan & fasting

• A day of fasting, from suhoor to iftarLearn how to begin, guard, and break your daily fast with confidence.
• A practice fast before RamadanLearn how and when to try voluntary fasts to prepare your heart and body for Ramadan.
• Fasting when your family is not MuslimLearn how to uphold your fasts while showing gentle kindness and love to non-Muslim relatives.
• The nights of Ramadan and Laylat al-QadrDiscover the blessings of Ramadan night prayers and how to seek the special Night of Decree.