—a stance that runs counter to the established principle concerning what nullifies the fast.
Yet their claim is overturned by an explicit, sound text that is reinforced by an independent Islamic maxim affirmed by many noble evidences: “He is All-Knowing” (Al-Baqarah 2:268); His words, “But He will hold you accountable for what your hearts have earned” (Al-Baqarah 2:225); and the ḥadith, “My community has been excused for mistakes and forgetfulness.”
Divine justice dictates that Allah only calls to account the one who intended and deliberately committed the act.
Scholarly disagreement
The jurists differed regarding a person who has intercourse while forgetting that he is fasting. The well-known view in the school of Imām Aḥmad and others is that he must both make up the fast and offer the expiation, for the Messenger ﷺ did not enquire further about the man who exclaimed, “I am ruined!” Another report from Imām Aḥmad, however, holds that no make-up or expiation is due, because expiation erases sin, and in cases of forgetfulness, coercion, or ignorance there is no sin to erase.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said: “The correct view is that intercourse, under coercion or ignorance, is to be treated like eating.” Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn (Ibn Taymiyyah) adopted this conclusion as well, stating that it follows logically from the legal principles of Aḥmad and others.
Accordingly, the Prophet’s words “whoever forgets and eats or drinks” are no more than two illustrative examples. This understanding is supported by the report of al-Ḥākim (1557) from Abū Hurayrah: “Whoever breaks his fast in Ramadan forgetfully, no make-up is required of him and no expiation.” The verb “breaks his fast” (aftara) is general, covering intercourse and all other forms, while the phrase “no expiation” clearly points to intercourse, for expiation is legislated only for that. Eating and drinking were mentioned simply because they are the most common lapses of forgetfulness.
Two supplementary points
First: Acts that nullify the fast
- Intercourse—the actual insertion of the glans into the front or rear passage, even if no ejaculation occurs. This is the most serious nullifier, for it ordinarily entails expiation in addition to making up the fast.
- The deliberate emission of semen, even without intercourse.