Is it permissible for a traveler to fast during Ramadan?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Fasting
Primary text
The permission to break the fast for a traveler is established by explicit text (Nass) and scholarly consensus (Ijma'). The majority of scholars hold that if the traveler chooses to fast, the fast is valid and suffices. Evidence for this is found in the report of Hamza ibn 'Amr al-Aslami asking the Prophet (peace be upon him) if he should fast while traveling, to which the Prophet replied, 'If you wish, fast, and if you wish, break your fast.' Another narration states, 'This is a concession from Allah; whoever takes it is good, and whoever loves to fast, there is no blame upon him.' Anas reported that they traveled with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and neither the faster criticized the one who broke the fast, nor the one who broke the fast criticized the faster (Agreed upon).
Supporting text
A narration exists from Abu Hurayrah stating that the fast of a traveler is invalid. Al-Hasan stated that 'Umar and Abu Hurayrah commanded those who fasted in travel to repeat the fast. Al-Zuhri narrated from Abu Salama, from his father 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf, that he said: 'The faster while traveling is like the one who breaks his fast while resident.' Some literalists (Ahl al-Zahir) hold this view based on the Prophet's saying, 'It is not righteousness to fast while traveling' (Agreed upon), and because the Prophet (peace be upon him) broke his fast while traveling, and when it reached him that some people fasted, he said, 'Those are the disobedient ones.' Ibn Majah also narrated a tradition from the Prophet (peace be upon him) stating: 'The faster in Ramadan while traveling is like the one who breaks his fast while resident.' However, the general body of scholars disagrees with this position, and Ibn 'Abd al-Barr stated that this opinion narrated from 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf has been abandoned by all jurists, and the Sunnah refutes it. Their evidence rests on the traditions that permit both fasting and breaking the fast, which are interpreted as indicating that breaking the fast is superior.