The Obligatory Elements
Who must fast: Legally responsible (mukallaf) Muslims — adult, sane, resident, healthy, non-traveling. The following are exempt: the ill, travelers, the elderly who cannot fast without harm, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and those whose work requires exceptional physical exertion. Those who break fast due to permanent inability feed a poor person (fidya) for each day. Those who miss days for temporary reasons make them up.
What breaks the fast (muftirat): Eating, drinking, sexual intercourse, deliberate vomiting, and (by scholarly consensus) certain medical interventions. Forgetting and eating does not break the fast; swallowing own saliva does not; using eyedrops, blood tests, or injections is debated by school.
The intention (niyya): Made each night for the following day’s fast. Without niyya, the fast is invalid in most schools.
The Legal Framework of Ramadan
The month begins with confirmed sighting of the new moon (ru’yat al-hilal) — either by naked eye, telescope, or astronomical calculation depending on the school and community. Dawoodi Bohra tradition follows a lunar calendar in conjunction with the Da’i al-Mutlaq’s announcement for the start of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
The breaking of the fast (iftar) is done at sunset — Maghrib — ideally with dates and water following prophetic sunnah, then the Maghrib prayer, then the meal.
Laylat al-Qadr and the Last Ten
“The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.” (97:3) The Prophet recommended seeking Laylat al-Qadr on the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan — the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, and 29th. I’tikaf — spiritual retreat in the mosque — during the last ten days is the sunnah practice for those who can sustain it.
See also: Al Qadr, Understanding Namaz, Fiqh Al Tahara, Sulook, Tazkiyah, Quran Sciences