Section 5

Ṣawm (الصِّيَامُ): Fasting in the Month of Ramadan

5.1 Introduction to Ṣawm

Ṣawm (صِيَام) refers to abstaining from specific physical acts—eating, drinking, sexual relations—from dawn (fajr) until sunset (maghrib) with the intention (niyyah) of worshipping Allah during the month of Ramaḍān.

Fasting is one of the most spiritually and communally significant acts in Islam. It is a means of purification, spiritual elevation, and solidarity with the poor.

 يٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may attain taqwā (piety).”

(Qur’ān, Al-Baqarah 2:183)

In the Mālikī school, fasting is a farḍ ʿayn (individual obligation) upon every Muslim who is sane, mature (bāligh), and physically able. Deliberate failure to fast without valid reason is a major sin.

5.2 Legal Definition of Ṣawm (Mālikī View)

 إِمْسَاكٌ مَخْصُوصٌ بِنِيَّةٍ، عَنِ المُفَطِّرَاتِ مِن طُلُوعِ الفَجْرِ إِلَى غُرُوبِ الشَّمْسِ

“A specific abstention, with intention, from things that break the fast, from dawn to sunset.”

(Ibn Juzayy, al-Qawānīn al-Fiqhiyyah)

Fasting is not only physical abstinence but a spiritual discipline, cultivating patience, self-control, and compassion.

5.3 Qur’anic Basis for Ṣawm

The command to fast is clearly outlined in Sūrat al-Baqarah:

 شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ... فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ

“The month of Ramaḍān is the one in which the Qur’ān was revealed… So whoever among you witnesses the month, let him fast it.”

(Qur’ān, Al-Baqarah 2:185)

 وَأَن تَصُومُوا۟ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

“And to fast is better for you, if only you knew.”

(Qur’ān, Al-Baqarah 2:184)

5.4 Ḥadīth on the Virtue of Fasting

 مَنْ صَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا، غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ

“Whoever fasts Ramaḍān out of faith and seeking reward, his past sins will be forgiven.”

(Bukhārī, 1901; Muslim, 760)

 وَلِلَّهِ عُتَقَاءُ مِنَ النَّارِ وَذَلِكَ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ

“And Allah has people He frees from the Hellfire every night (of Ramadan).”

(Tirmidhī, 682)

5.5 Conditions for Obligatory Ṣawm (Mālikī School)

A person must fast if they fulfill the following:

Condition Details

Islām Must be Muslim

Bulūgh (maturity) Based on physical signs or age

ʿAql (sanity) Mentally sound

Qudrah (ability) Physically able

Niyyah Intention every night before fajr

5.6 What Invalidates the Fast (Mālikī View)

According to Mālikīs, the following break the fast if done intentionally and with knowledge:

Eating or drinking

Sexual intercourse

Intentional vomiting

Menstruation or post-natal bleeding

Apostasy (leaving Islam)

 وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ ٱلْخَيْطُ ٱلْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ ٱلْخَيْطِ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ ٱلْفَجْرِ

“And eat and drink until the white thread of dawn becomes distinct from the black thread [of night].”

(Qur’ān, Al-Baqarah 2:187)

5.7 Fidya and Qadāʾ (Making up Missed Fasts)

The Mālikī school distinguishes between making up and compensating missed fasts:

Reason for Missing Fast Ruling

Sickness or travel Make up later (qadāʾ)

Pregnancy/nursing with fear Qadāʾ and fidya

Old age/terminal illness Only fidya (feed one poor per day)

Menstruation Qadāʾ (no fidya)

5.8 Spiritual Dimensions of Fasting

Imām Mālik emphasized that fasting is more than just not eating. It is about restraining the tongue, eyes, and heart from all that displeases Allāh:

 الصيام جُنَّة، فَإِذَا كَانَ أَحَدُكُمْ صَائِمًا، فَلَا يَرْفُثْ وَلَا يَصْخَبْ

“Fasting is a shield. When one of you fasts, he should avoid indecent speech and loud quarreling.”

(Bukhārī, 1904)

Mālikī scholars highlight Ṣawm al-Khāṣṣah (special fasting) — where one refrains not only from food, but from sin, envy, slander, etc.

5.9 Tarāwīḥ and Laylat al-Qadr

While not obligatory, Tarāwīḥ prayers are highly recommended in Mālikī fiqh, prayed in 20 rakʿāt, preferably in congregation.

 مَن قَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا، غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ

“Whoever stands (in prayer) during Ramaḍān with faith and expectation, his past sins are forgiven.”

(Bukhārī, 1905)

The Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr) is in the last ten nights and worth more than 1,000 months:

 لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌۭ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍۢ

“The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.”

(Qur’ān, Al-Qadr 97:3)

Reference 

Mālik ibn Anas. (1994). Al-Muwaṭṭa’. Dār al-Fikr.

Ibn Juzayy. (2003). Al-Qawānīn al-Fiqhiyyah. Dār al-Fikr.

Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj. (2006). Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Dār Ṭawq al-Najāh.

Al-Bukhārī, M. (2001). Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Dār Ibn Kathīr.

Al-Tirmidhī, M. (1998). Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī. Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī.