Fasting: Intention, Validity and Invalidators

A valid fast requires abstention from specified acts during the legally defined period and an intention meeting the rules for that type of fast. Hanafi law distinguishes Ramadan fasting from some other fasts regarding the time for intention.

A fast of Ramadan is not simply skipping breakfast. It is worship with an intention and a fixed time: from true dawn until sunset. Before dawn a student may eat suhur; during the fast the student avoids eating, drinking and other acts that invalidate it. At sunset the fast ends. The Qur'an 2:187 describes the daily boundary of fasting. Hanafi fiqh also discusses the time when the intention must be made and distinguishes Ramadan from certain other fasts. Students should learn the rule from their teacher instead of assuming every type of fast has identical conditions. Think of a pupil who forgetfully eats: an accidental act is not judged in the same way as deliberately breaking a fast. The relevant hadith on forgetful eating is in Sahih al-Bukhari 1933. The lesson must keep intention, validity, mistakes and excuses separate, so students can ask the correct question before judging a fast.