Is One Intention at the Beginning Sufficient for the Entire Month of Ramadan?

Answered by Shaykh Dr. Mohammad Fayez Awad

Question

Is the intention necessary for obligatory and voluntary fasting, and when is it required? Is one intention sufficient for the entire month of Ramadan, or is an intention required each night?

Answer

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, his Family, and his Companions.

There is no doubt that fasting in Ramadan is a form of worship that Allah (Most High) has commanded us to perform, as He states: “O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you—as it was for those before you—so perhaps you will become mindful (of Allah).” [Quran, 2:183]

Fasting is not valid without intention, just like other acts of worship. This is based on the hadith: “Actions are (judged) by intentions.” [Bukhari; Muslim]

Abstaining from eating can occur out of habit, lack of desire, illness, or for exercise, so it only becomes designated as fasting through intention, similar to standing for prayer or performing Hajj.

Nawawi said that Imam Shafi‘i and his companions (Allah have mercy on them) stated that neither the fasting of Ramadan nor any other obligatory or recommended fasting is valid without intention. This is unanimously agreed upon among us. No fast is valid under any circumstances without intention. The place for intention is the heart, and it is not required to articulate it verbally, unanimously agreed. It is not sufficient to have the intention only in the heart without verbal expression, unanimously agreed, but it is recommended to pronounce it along with harboring it in the heart, as previously mentioned regarding ablution and prayer. [Nawawi, al-Majmu‘]

Definition of Intention

Intention is the purpose of fasting, located in the heart. Pronouncing it verbally is not sufficient, nor is it required. The evidence for the necessity of intention comes from the Prophet’s saying, “Actions are (judged) by intentions.”

For the intention of fasting during Ramadan, the following aspects are required:

1. Overnight Intention

This means having the purpose in mind during the night, i.e., before the dawn breaks. If the intention for fasting is made only after the dawn has risen, the intention—and thus the fast—is invalidated.

Evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace): “Whoever does not intend to fast before dawn, there is no fast for him.” [Ibn Khuzayma; Abu Dawud; Nasa‘i; Tirmidhi]

Ibn Qudama stated in “al-Mughni”: “The meaning of intention is the purpose, which is the heart’s conviction to act upon something and its firm decision to do so without hesitation. When it crosses his heart at night that tomorrow is Ramadan and that he will be fasting, then he has made the intention.”

The act of waking up to eat Suhur every day during Ramadan can be considered an implicit intention, as one does not do this outside this blessed month, hence it is permissible to regard it as a sufficient intention.

2. Repetition

This means that one should intend each night before dawn for fasting the following day. A single intention is not sufficient for the entire month because fasting during Ramadan is not a single act of worship but repeated acts, and each act of worship must have its own separate intention.

Nawawi said: “The intention is required every day, whether in Ramadan or otherwise, and this is unanimously agreed upon among us. If one intends on the first night of Ramadan to fast the entire month, this intention is not valid except for the first day.”

Therefore, a separate intention for each day is necessary according to the Hanafi and Shafi‘i Schools and a reliable opinion among the Hanbalis because the fast of each day is an independent act of worship and thus requires its own intention.

The Maliki School, however, holds that a single intention made at the start of the month suffices for fasting the entire month of Ramadan and for any continuous fasting, such as the expiation for intercourse during the daytime in Ramadan, provided that it is not interrupted by travel, illness, or a condition that permits breaking the fast, such as menstruation or postpartum bleeding; in such cases, renewing the intention is necessary. [Dardir, al-Sharh al-Kabir]

Voluntary Fasting

As for voluntary fasting, it does not require overnight intention or specification. It can begin with an intention made before midday, and it is valid with an unspecified intention. [Nawawi. al-Majmu‘]

The evidence for this comes from what was narrated by ‘Aisha (Allah be pleased with her), who said: One day the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) asked me, “O ‘Aisha, do you have anything (to eat)?” She said: I replied, “O Messenger of Allah, we have nothing.” He said, “Then I am fasting.” [Muslim; Ibn Khuzayma; Ibn Hibban]

So, we summarize that intention is a fundamental pillar for the validity of fasting and must be made before dawn each day. Some allow one intention for the entire month with the mentioned condition, and there is no harm in following this opinion to avoid forgetfulness.

It behooves Muslims to be diligent in their worship, as commanded by Allah, the Most Exalted, and as elucidated by the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace).

May Allah accept our fasting and our prayers and grant us sincerity and acceptance, for He is the All-Hearing, the All-Responsive.

[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad

Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Fayez Awad, born in Damascus, Syria, in 1965, pursued his Islamic studies in the mosques and institutes of Damascus. A graduate of the Islamic University of Medina in 1985, he holds a Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from Bahauddin Zakariya University in Pakistan.

He has extensive experience developing curricula and enhancing the teaching of various academic courses, including conducting intensive courses. Shaykh Awad has taught Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Quranic sciences, the history of legislation, inheritance laws, and more at several institutes and universities such as Al-Furqan Institute for Islamic Sciences and Majma‘ al-Fath al-Islami in Damascus.

He is a lecturer at the Sultan Muhammad al-Fatih Waqf University in Istanbul, teaching various Arabic and Islamic subjects, and teaches at numerous Islamic institutes in Istanbul. Shaykh Awad is a member of the Association of Syrian Scholars, a founding member of the Zayd bin Thabit Foundation, a member of the Syrian Scholars Association, and a member of the Academic Council at the Iman Center for Teaching the Sunna and Quran.

Among his teachers from whom he received Ijazat are his father, Shaykh Muhammad Muhiyiddin Awad, Shaykh Muhiyiddin al-Kurdi, Shaykh Muhammad Karim Rajih, Shaykh Usama al-Rifai, Shaykh Ayman Suwaid, Shaykh Ahmad al-Qalash, Shaykh Muhammad Awwama, and Shaykh Mamduh Junayd.