If someone breaks the fast in Ramadan by doing something other than having intercourse, he does not have to offer expiation or compensation

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

The one who breaks the fast one day in Ramadan without an excuse has committed a major sin and exposed himself to divine wrath and punishment, and he must repent sincerely.

He only has to make up the day on which he broke the fast, if he broke the fast by doing something other than having intercourse. This is the view of most of the scholars, and some of them narrated that there was consensus on this point.

For more details, please see the answer to question no. 234125.

Secondly:

With regard to the view that he must “must make it up by fasting sixty consecutive days”, perhaps what the one who said that is referring to is the obligation to offer expiation (kafaarah) for that, which is by fasting for two consecutive months.

If that is the case, then the fuqaha’ differed as to the expiation required of one who breaks the fast in Ramadan by doing something other than having intercourse. There are several views:

The Shaafa‘is  and Hanbalis are of the view that the one who breaks the fast in Ramadan by doing something other than having intercourse does not have to offer expiation (kafaarah) or compensation (fidyah); rather he has to make up the day on which he broke the fast, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever made himself vomit deliberately, let him make up that day.” Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (720); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.

And because the basic principle is that no expiation or compensation is required except in the cases mentioned in the religious texts.

And because he broke the fast by doing something other than having intercourse, so no expiation is required, and it is not valid to make an analogy with intercourse, because the need for a deterrent in the latter case is more important.

This is the view of Sa‘eed ibn Jubayr, Ibn Seereen, an-Nakha‘i, Hammaad ibn Abi Sulaymaan, and Dawood.

The Hanafis are of the view that he must offer expiation if he broke the fast by causing something intended for nourishment or medication to reach his stomach through the mouth, because by doing so he satisfied the desire of the stomach, just as by having intercourse he satisfied the desire of the private part.

Ibn Qudaamah said: It was narrated from ‘Ataa’, al-Hasan, az-Zuhri, ath-Thawri, al-Awzaa‘i and Ishaaq that breaking the fast by eating and drinking makes obligatory that (expiation) which becomes obligatory by having intercourse.

As for that which was not intended for nourishment or medication, such as swallowing pebbles, dust, date stones and the like, no expiation is required for that, according to the Hanafis. The same applies if a person engages in intimacy without having intercourse and ejaculates, or masturbates.

The Maalikis are of the view that expiation is required for that if certain conditions are met, such as breaking the fast deliberately, and doing so voluntarily, and consuming food or drink via the mouth, and breaking the fast in Ramadan, and being aware that what he did is forbidden, even if he was unaware that expiation is required in that case.

The expiation that is required in this case according to the Maalikis is the same as the expiation that is required in the case of intercourse, because breaking the fast of Ramadan is like having intercourse, in the sense that in both cases, the sanctity of the fast during the day in Ramadan has been transgressed by doing an act of disobedience.

See: al-Ikhtiyaar li Ta‘leel al-Mukhtaar (1/131), al-Qawaaneen al-Fiqhiyyah (p. 83); Rawdat at-Taalibeen (2/377); Kashshaaf al-Qinaa‘ (2/324); al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaitiyyah (32/71).

The view that is most likely to be correct is:

that it is not obligatory to offer expiation for the one who breaks the fast in Ramadan by doing something other than having intercourse, because the basic principle is that no expiation or compensation is required except in cases mentioned in the religious texts, and there is nothing in the religious texts to suggest that expiation is required in any case other than intercourse. It is not valid to draw an analogy between eating and drinking, and intercourse.

Similarly, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stated with regard to one makes himself vomit deliberately that he is only required to make up that day, and he did not mention expiation. And he said: “Whoever makes himself vomit deliberately, let him make up that day.” Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (720); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.

The view that expiation is not required of one who breaks the fast in Ramadan by doing something other than having intercourse is the view favoured by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta’, and of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz and Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on them).

In Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (9/221) it says: If the fast in Ramadan was broken by doing something other than having intercourse, then no expiation is required for that according to the correct view. Rather what is required is to repent and to make up the day on which the fast was broken. End quote.

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If the fast was broken by doing something other than having intercourse – rather it was by drinking water, or eating something, and the like – then he does not have to offer expiation; rather he has to make up that day.

End quote from Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb (16/331).

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen was asked: If a fasting person masturbates, does he have to offer expiation?

He replied: If the fasting person masturbates and ejaculates, he has broken the fast, and he must make up the day on which he masturbated, but he does not have to offer expiation, because expiation is only required in the case of intercourse.

End quote from Majmoo ‘ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il al-‘Uthaymeen (19/233).

Conclusion:

The one who broke the fast one day in Ramadan without an excuse has committed a major sin, and he must repent sincerely.

If he broke the fast by doing something other than having intercourse, all he has to do is make up that day on which he broke the fast. He does not have to offer expiation or compensation.

And Allah knows best.