The Obligation of Fasting — Conditions and Breaking
fiqh
Level: basic
sawm
fqh-004
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيۡكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ
— البقرة 183
Verse: "O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you." (2:183)
Conditions for fasting obligation: Islam, puberty, sanity, ability, residency (not travel), freedom from menstruation/postpartum.
Permitted reasons to break fast: Travel, illness causing hardship, menstruation/postpartum (obligatory breaking), pregnancy/nursing (if hardship feared).
Elderly exemption: "For those who can bear it — fidya of feeding a poor person" (2:184) — feeding one poor person per day.
Wisdom: "That you may become righteous" — fasting is a school of taqwa.
Source: Al-Qurtubi (2/272); Ibn Al-Arabi (1/60); Ibn Qudama (3/3)
Question: What is the stated wisdom in the Quran for the obligation of fasting?
Answer: "That you may become righteous" — fasting is a means to achieve taqwa and discipline and purify the soul.