a journey.’ Abu ʿUmar—namely Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr—said: “This is the soundest of their opinions on the matter. Had eating with nothing more than the intention to travel obligated an expiation, the fact that he had not yet set out would have done nothing to remove that liability once he actually departed. Ponder this and you will find it so, God willing.”

Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr then cited those who maintained that the fast must not be broken and that, if it is, an expiation is due, and he remarked:

“This view amounts to nothing, for Allah—exalted be He—has permitted breaking the fast in both the Quran and the Sunnah. As for their statement, ‘He must not break the fast,’ that is merely a recommended course in light of the resolve he first formed. Should he avail himself of Allah’s concession, he must only make up the day; there is no ground whatsoever for an expiation. Whoever imposes it has imposed what neither Allah nor His Messenger ﷺ has imposed.”

This is likewise the position favored by the distinguished scholar al-Ṣanʿānī in Subul al-Salām (2/629).

It is the conclusion we decisively adopt, for the authentic hadith is unequivocal on the point.