Hard labour is not a valid excuse for breaking the fast in Ramadan

Question: I was working in one of the Arab countries. When I arrived, the Ramadan before last had just begun. I fasted the first few days, but because I was doing very strenuous work I broke the fast for the remaining days of the month, as I badly needed the job. After that I took on other jobs, all of them physically demanding, and I was unable to make up the days I had missed until the following Ramadan came. During that second Ramadan I again fasted the first few days and broke the rest. I am still engaged in hard labour to this day. Must I both make up the missed fasts and offer an expiation, or is making them up enough? Please advise—may Allah reward you.

Answer: A Muslim must give proper attention to his religion, especially to the five pillars of Islam such as fasting the month of Ramadan. He should not take them lightly or go looking for pretexts to abandon the fast and eat during the daytime in Ramadan. Allah, exalted be He, has only permitted breaking the fast for the sick, the traveller, and for women who are menstruating or in post-natal bleeding. These are the people to whom Allah has granted permission to break the fast. Likewise, a person with a chronic illness and the very elderly are also allowed to eat in the daytime of Ramadan. As for strenuous work, it is not a licence to break the fast.

A Muslim has to arrange his work in a way that accommodates the fast: let the job be subordinate to the fast, not the fast to the job. He should fast Ramadan and engage only in work that still allows him to fast. He must not impose on himself work that makes fasting impossible; if the work is too taxing, he should leave it during Ramadan.

As for what you have done—abandoning the fast for two years because of strenuous work as you described—this was an error on your part. You should have sought a ruling before