Dehydration and breaking fast
Question
I was fasting and went to play for a league cricket match. I started feeling very tired and dehydrated to the point that I got a severe headache and had to break my fast. I am feeling a lot of guilt inside me. What is the kaffārah for this and how do I seek repentance?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Answer
It is necessary to make qaḍāʾ of the fast. However, there is no kaffārah.
If a person knows that playing a sport will result in breaking the fast, he must avoid the sport whilst fasting.
قال ابن مازۃ في المحیط البرهاني (۲: ۳۹۱): المريض إذا خاف على نفسه التلف أو ذهاب عضو منه يفطر بالإجماع، وإن خاف زيادة العلة وامتداده فكذلك عندنا، وعليه القضاء إذا أفطر لقوله تعالى: ومن كان مريضا أو على سفر فعدة من أيام أخر۔
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir
9 Dhū al-Qaʿdah 1438 / 2 August 2017
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmad and Mufti Muhammad Tahir
