Smoking Cigarette
Question :

Does smoking cigarettes invalidate one’s fast?

Answer :

Yes, it does, based on compulsory precaution.

Janabah During the Fast
Question :

If I am fasting and I slept and had ejaculated semen, what do I do so my prayers will not be invalid?

Answer :

You should perform the ghusl of janabah before you can pray, and the fast is not affected.

The Invitation of a Believer
Question :

If one fasts a recommended fast, and a believer invites him to eat, before or after the time of the Dhuhr prayer, and he does so, does he still get the reward of the fast?

Answer :

It has been reported that if one breaks his recommended fasting because of accepting the invitation of his fellow believer, Almighty Allah will give him the reward of fasting that day.

Invitation to Break the Fast
Question :

It is said that it is recommended to break one's voluntary fast if a believer invites him for food. If the host is aware that the person is fasting and the guest is also aware that the hosts knows, does the guest still get more reward for breaking the fast?

Answer :

If the intention of fasting was fulfilled, and then he was invited to break the fast, it is recommended to accept the invitation and break the fast.

Not fasting for Many Years
Question :

I have not fasted during the month of Ramadan for many years deliberately. Is there a way I can repent for this and be forgiven?

Answer :

Fasting is among the obligatory pillars that Islam was built upon. Not performing it is amongst the big sins for which Almighty Allah has threatened to punish with hellfire. However, Almighty Allah has also opened the doors of mercy for his slaves when he said: "Say: O My slaves who have wronged their own selves! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, Who forgives all sins. Lo! He is the Forgiving, the Merciful." (53:39). We ask Almighty Allah to forgive all believers and bless us all.
However, alongside this, it is obligatory to make up for all the fasts missed, as well as undertaking the Kaffara and paying the Fidya, as explained in detailed in the treatise of Islamic laws.

Excessive Headaches
Question :

Sometimes I get excessive headaches while fasting, and water is the only relief. If I drink water so as to relieve my headaches, is my fast valid, and is there a kaffara or any penalty

Answer :

You may drink the water to relieve the pain if it causes hardship, but the fast will become invalid and will need to be made up later. However, there is no kaffara in such a situation.

Invalidation of Fasts
Question :

If a person does not know that a particular action invalidates the fast, such as using liquid enema, will the fast still be invalidated? Does the same apply to masturbation without knowledge that it invalidates the fast?

Answer :

If the fasting person commits one of the things that invalidates the fast without knowing that it does, his fast is not invalidated.

Fragrance during I'tikaf
Question :

Regular soap and toothpaste has fragrance in it; can it be used by those sitting in i'tikaf?

Answer :

It is not permitted for the person during the state of i'tikaf to smell fragrance with enjoyment. Based on an obligatory precaution a person during the state of i'tikaf should completely avoid all kinds of fragrance. If the use of toothpaste causes this, one should refrain from it; if it does not then it is permissible.

One Does not Make up the Missed Days
Question :

What is the ruling if one does not make up for the days he missed in Ramadan before the next Ramadan?

Answer :

One must make up the days that he missed after the current month of Ramadan. Furthermore, a sum of 900 grams of wheat, oat, rice or the like must be given to the needy believers for each missed fast, and it is better to give wheat.

Fasting of a Pregnant Woman
Question :

Is it obligatory for a pregnant woman to fast in the month of Ramadan?

Answer :

There are three possibilities:
First: If fasting harms the pregnant woman or harms her fetus, then it is prohibited for her to fast, and she should make up the missed days later.
Second: If she is close to delivery, and fasting is a strain for her, she is permitted to break the fast and pay the fidya, and make up for the missed fasts later.
Third: If fasting does not harm the pregnant woman or her fetus, then it is obligatory on her to fast.

Two Homes
Question :

I have two homes, one in a city and another at my native village, and the distance between them is about 200 km. I mainly work and live in the city and visit my village every month or so for a few days. What is the ruling of fasting and praying there?

Answer :

As long as the native village was your hometown where you used to live and you did not abandon it – i.e. you still consider it as your home town – then your prayer must be offered in full and you can fast as well while you are staying there.

Living in two Cities
Question :

I live in two cities; the distance between is more than 4 Farsakhs – approximately 23 kilometers. I live for two days in one of them and five days in the other every week. Am I considered as a traveler?

Answer :

If the two cities are both your permanent hometowns, then you should fast in both of them. If your hometown was one of them and your connection to the other city is temporary, for a month or two for instance, then you should fast in your hometown and not fast in the other.

The Crescent
Question :

We know that the beginning of the month should be proven by the testimony of two trustworthy witnesses that they saw the crescent. However, if a person saw the crescent himself alone, while nobody else had gone out to look for it, is he obligated to begin fasting? What if others have tried to see the crescent but did not see it?

Answer :

The beginning of the month is established by physically seeing the crescent, or by the testimony of two trustworthy witnesses, among other ways. If one was certain that he saw the crescent, then he must consider it the first of the month, in both mentioned cases.

Sighting of the Moon
Question :

What is the ruling of his Eminence on the sighting of the moon? Must it be seen in the same horizon, or does the sighting anywhere in the world confirm the beginning of the new month?

Answer :

If the crescent was seen in one of the countries of Europe, Asia, Africa or Australia, then the beginning of the month is confirmed in all the countries of the world. However, if it was seen in the continents in North or South America, the month is not confirmed in other continents.

Sighting the Moon in Canada
Question :

In Canada, it is very difficult to see the New Moon of Ramadan and Shawwal with the naked eye, so can we depend on scientific calculations?

Answer :

If the new moon has been ascertained through the religiously valid way in any place in the Americas, then one should act upon it in all the regions of the Americas. If the sighting of the new moon has not been established, but there is certainty derived from scientific calculations that the new moon has reached the level where it is possible to be seen by the naked eye, then one should act upon that too. If there is no such certainty, then one should assume that the month is continuing until the completion of thirty days.

Inhaling of Thick Dust
Question :

What is the ruling on the inhalation of thick dust (or similar substances) if it enters my throat?

Answer :

Inhaling thick dust does not invalidate the fast.

Making up Prayers and Fasts
Question :

Though my father is Muslim, I was not raised in a religious household and was not taught anything about Islam until I was about twenty years old, at which point I began praying, fasting, etc. Should I make up the prayers and fasts that I missed from the time I became baligh until the time I began to practice Islam?

Answer :

It is obligatory on you to make up the prayers and fasts for the years that you missed after reaching the age of adulthood as defined by Islam. You should also pay the fidya for the delay in making up the missed fasts.

Qadha fasts
Question :

My mother has Qadha fasts to make up, maybe around 20 years. For those that she missed on purpose, how can she make them up? For those that she missed because she is sick, how will she make them up? And if she cannot make them up now because she is sick or it causes her difficulty, how could she make them up?

Answer :

She should make up the purposefully missed fasts, in addition to paying the kaffara for each day missed on purpose.
She also should make up for the days that she missed when she was sick before the next Ramadan. If she did not make up for them before the next Ramadan when she could have done so then she should make up for those days as well as pay the fidya for each day.
An amount of 900 grams of dates, wheat, floor, rice, lentils and the like for every missed fast must be given to the needy people as fidya for each day.
If she could not make up the missed fasts, she should put in her will that someone should make up for the missed fasts after her death.

Masturbation
Question :

Does masturbation during the month of Ramadan void the fast, if it does not end with ejaculation?

Answer :

If he intended to break the fast by such an act, his fasting is invalidated, whether or not ejaculation took place. He would then have to make it up later as qadha as well as pay the kaffarah. If he did not intend to break the fast, his fasting is not void. In any case, it is prohibited for the individual to masturbate even if it does not end with ejaculation. If one does so, he is required to seek the forgiveness from Allah Almighty and repent to Him.

Remaining in Janaba until Dawn
Question :

If one remains in the state of Janabah until the Adhan for Fajr prayers during the month of Ramadan out of ignorance, is his fast valid?

Answer :

If he did not know that deliberately staying in the state of Janabah until dawn nullifies the fast, then it is valid.
It is also valid if he did not know that he was in the state of Janabah until after dawn when he realized it.