Fasting

Fasting, or sawm, covers Ramadan and the voluntary fasts kept through the year. Most questions here are about the edges of the day. Readers ask what breaks a fast, who is excused, and how a missed day is made up. The pages below cover Ramadan basics, what breaks the fast, exemptions and excuses, making up missed fasts, and voluntary fasts. Every answer here is a sourced summary of a fatwa. Start with what breaks the fast if your question is about the day itself.