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If a Muslim moves to another country during Ramadan

12-12-1998

Question 1277

What should a Muslim do if he moves from one country to another during Ramadan, where the people started fasting on a different day?

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

If a person finds himself in a country where the people have already started fasting, he must fast with them, because he must follow the ruling of the country he is in. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Fast when the people fast, break your fast when the people break their fast, and offer your sacrifice when the people offer their sacrifice.”

(Reported by Abu Dawood with a jayyid isnaad; there are corroborating reports narrated by Abu Dawood and others).

Suppose that he moved from a country where he had begun fasting with the people there, and went to another country. He has to either break his fast or continue fasting according to the ruling of the people in the country to which he has travelled, even if they end their fast earlier than the country where he started fasting. But if it turns out that he has fasted less than twenty-nine days, he must make up the fasts later on, because the hijri month cannot be less than twenty-nine days.

Fasting of the Traveler
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