What fasting is

From the first light of dawn (the start of Fajr time) until sunset (Maghrib), a fasting person takes no food, no drink, and abstains from marital intimacy. Just as importantly, the Prophet ﷺ tied the fast to conduct: no arguing, no cursing, no lying. "If someone abuses you, say: I am fasting."

The point is taqwa, God-consciousness (Quran 2:183). Hunger is just the training weight. By evening you have felt what the poor feel daily, discovered you control your appetites rather than the reverse, and spent a whole day quietly aware of Allah.

Who fasts, and who is excused

Fasting in Ramadan is required from every adult Muslim who is able. The excuses are built in, and using them is obedience, not failure:

• The ill and those on essential medication: fast later when healthy, or feed a poor person per day (fidya) if the condition is permanent.
• Travellers: may break the fast and make the days up later.
• Pregnant and nursing women: excused if they fear harm; days made up later.
• Menstruating women: do not fast those days, and make them up later; this is commanded, not a concession.
• Children: not obliged before puberty, though many practise with half days.
• The elderly and chronically ill: feed a poor person for each day instead.

"Allah intends ease for you, not hardship." (Quran 2:185, revealed precisely about fasting.)

A fasting day, in practice

• Suhoor: eat before dawn, even a little; the Prophet ﷺ called it a blessed meal. Slow carbs and plenty of water. Stop when Fajr begins.
• The day: normal life. Work, study, pray. Energy dips mid-afternoon and lifts again; the first three days are the hardest of the month, then the body adjusts.
• Iftar: break the fast at sunset without delay, traditionally with dates and water, then pray Maghrib, then eat properly. The du'a of the fasting person at iftar is not rejected.
• Night: Tarawih prayers at the mosque if you can; the Quran in Ramadan is at its sweetest.

What breaks the fast, and what doesn't

Breaks it: deliberately eating, drinking, smoking, or marital intimacy during daylight.

Does not break it: eating or drinking out of genuine forgetfulness (finish your mouthful and carry on; the Prophet ﷺ said Allah fed you), swallowing saliva, brushing teeth, showering, swimming carefully, tasting food without swallowing, injections that aren't nourishment, blood tests, unintentional vomiting, and waking up mid-breakfast at dawn (stop when you realise).

Broke it deliberately without excuse? Repent, make the day up, and know the door back is always open. Anxiety about accidental breaking is the classic convert mistake; the bar for "deliberate" is high.

Your timetable

Suhoor ends when Fajr begins, and iftar is at Maghrib: the two times already shown on your dashboard for your exact location. During Ramadan those two rows become the frame of your day.

New to all of this? The first Ramadan survival guide covers what the month actually feels like, and the 30-day journey includes a practice half-fast before you ever face a full one.