Fatwa ID: 02647

Answered by: Ustadha Umm Abdullah

Question

I work and live in Qatar. After a few days, I will be travelling home in India on vacation. As you may be aware India declares Ramadan a day after Gulf states. So my question is can I skip one fast on the day I am travelling and continue fasting in India until last day of Ramadan as my skipped fast will balance out because I started fasting a day earlier. Or do I have to make up for the day I missed fasting?
One more thing I would like to ask is mandatory to avail concession of skipping the fast while travelling or can I fast while travelling if I can bear it in travel.

Answer

In principle, it is not compulsory for a person to fast in Ramadhan whilst travelling a distance of 78km (48 miles) or more. If while travelling in Ramadhan one did not fast, one will have to make up for the missed fast later.

When travelling, one will follow the time zone of the destination country.

If a person goes to a place where there is Eid one day early, then one will follow the destination zone and keep the 29th day fast on another day.

However, if the destination country fasts for 30 days, one will have to complete 31 fasts. [1]

Only Allah Ta’ala knows best

Written by Ustadha Umm Abdullah

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

[1]

فتاويرحيميةج٧/ص ٢١٥