Intention in the Fast of Ramadan

Question: I sometimes start the fast without formulating the intention. Is intention a condition for every single day, or is it sufficient to intend once at the beginning of the month?

Answer: Fasting—and every other act of worship—must be founded upon intention. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Actions are only by intentions, and each person shall have only what he intended,” and in another narration, “No deed is accepted without an intention.” Consequently, the fast of Ramadan requires an intention made during the night: one must resolve, before the break of dawn, to fast that coming day. The woman asking the question says that dawn had already broken and she did not form her intention until after dawn. What, then, is the ruling concerning her fast for that day?

Answer: She must make up that day, because part of it elapsed without an intention. In Ramadan an intention is necessary for each day on its own, for every day is an independent act of worship that needs its own intention. Thus, one must intend each day’s fast during the night. If dawn arrives and a person has not intended—like the questioner—and he then forms the intention afterwards, his fast does not count for the obligatory fast of Ramadan; he must make up that day, whether he omitted the intention deliberately or out of forgetfulness. However, if he did make the intention during the night but later became distracted, forgot it, and it slipped from his mind—while in fact he had already intended—this incidental lapse does not harm him, so long as he has not revoked his original intention. The incidental