Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (6/333)

Al-Sharḥ al-MumtiʿIbn al-'Uthaymin

The view of the majority of scholars is that making up the fast is obligatory in this case—that is, when the testimony is established during the day. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, however, held that they must abstain for the remainder of the day but are not required to make it up. His reasoning is that their eating and drinking before the testimony was established had been permissible: Allah had permitted it for them, so they had not violated the sanctity of the month. Rather, they were unaware and acted upon the presumption that Sha'ban was still ongoing. They therefore fall under the general purport of Allah’s saying:

“Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake.”

Their case is thus like that of one who eats thinking that the night remains, only to discover that dawn had already broken, or who eats thinking that the sun has set, only to discover that it had not set. It is authentically reported in Sahih al-Bukhari from Asma' bint Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said: “We broke our fast on a cloudy day during the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and then the sun appeared.” (1) It has not been reported that they were instructed to make up the fast.

He also answered the objection that they had not formed the intention before dawn by saying that intention follows knowledge, and they had no knowledge that the month had begun. What lies beyond their knowledge is beyond their capacity, and Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. This is why, had they delayed forming the intention until after learning that the month had begun, their fast would not have been valid.

His reasoning and response, may Allah have mercy on him, are strong; nevertheless, the soul is not entirely at ease with his view. His analogy with one who eats thinking that the night remains or that the sun has set is open to question, for such a person had intended to fast, but ate thinking that the night was still ongoing or that it had begun. This is why the disagreement in these two cases is more well known than the disagreement in the first case.

(1) Narrated by al-Bukhari in The Book of Fasting, chapter: “If One Breaks the Fast in Ramadan and Then the Sun Rises” (1959).

ووجوب القضاء في هذه المسألة ـ أي: ما إذا قامت البينة أثناء النهار ـ هو قول عامة العلماء، وقال شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية: يلزمهم الإمساك ولا يلزمهم القضاء ووجه ذلك أن أكلهم وشربهم قبل قيام البينة كان مباحاً، قد أحله الله لهم فلم ينتهكوا حرمة الشهر، بل كانوا جاهلين بنوا على أصل وهو بقاء شعبان فيدخلون في عموم قوله تعالى: ﴿رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِيْنَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا﴾ فهم كمن أكل ظاناً بقاء الليل فتبين أن الفجر قد طلع، أو أكل ظاناً غروب الشمس فتبين أنها لم تغرب وقد ثبت في صحيح البخاري عن أسماء بنت أبي بكر ﵄، قالت: أفطرنا في يوم غيم على عهد النبي ﷺ ثم طلعت الشمس (١)، ولم ينقل أنهم أمروا بالقضاء. وأجاب ﵀ عن كونهم لم ينووا قبل الفجر بأن النية تتبع العلم ولا علم لهم بدخول الشهر، وما ليس لهم به علم فليس بوسعهم، ولا يكلف الله نفساً إلا وسعها، ولهذا لو أخروا النية بعد علمهم بدخول الشهر لم يصح صومهم. وتعليله وجوابه ﵀ قوي ولكن لا تطيب النفس بقوله، وقياسه على من أكل يظن بقاء الليل أو غروب الشمس، فيه نظر؛ لأن هذا كان عنده نية للصوم لكن أكل يظن الليل باقياً أو يظنه داخلاً، ولهذا كان الخلاف في المسألتين أشهر من الخلاف في المسألة الأولى.

(١) أخرجه البخاري في الصوم/ باب إذا أفطر في رمضان ثم طلعت الشمس (١٩٥٩).