May I break a voluntary fast to eat with a friend?
2026-09-20
F13 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn
الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
The complete printed question concerns deliberately breaking a Thursday voluntary fast to eat with a visiting friend. The entire answer first explains eating forgetfully or in ignorance, then returns to the actual guest scenario. The preference for completing a voluntary fast and breaking it only for a sound purpose is retained.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
في يوم الخميس كنت في صيام تطوع، وفي وقت الغداء جاءني صديق، فقدمت له الغداء، ونويت الإفطار، وأكلت معه، وقد سمعت بأنها سنة، هل هذا صحيح؟ وهل أستمر في الأكل والشرب أم أمسك إلى الليل، أم ماذا أفعل؟
الجواب
إذا أكل الإنسان في اليوم وهو صائم فإن صومه يفسد، ولا يمكن أن يصح إلا أن يقع ذلك نسيانا أو جهلا، فإن وقع نسيانا أو جهلا فإن صومه تام، فحديث أبي هريرة الثابت أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: «إذا نسي فأكل وشرب فليتم صومه، فإنما أطعمه الله وسقاه».
وكذلك لو كان جاهلا، مثل أن يظن أن الشمس قد غربت فأكل، ثم تبين أنها لم تغرب، فصيامه صحيح، ولا قضاء عليه؛ لما رواه البخاري عن أسماء بنت أبي بكر رضي الله عنهما وعن أبيها قالت: «أفطرنا على عهد النبي ﷺ يوم غيم، ثم طلعت الشمس». ولم يأمرهم النبي ﷺ بالقضاء، ولو كان القضاء واجبا لأمرهم به، ولو أمرهم به لنقل؛ لأن الشريعة -والحمد لله- محفوظة لا يمكن أن يضيع شيء منها، والحاصل أن إفطارك مع هذا الصديق الذي دخل عليك فأفطرت حين قدمت له الغداء، إفطارك هذا جائز، ولا حرج فيه؛ لأن صوم النفل إن شاء الإنسان أتمه، وإن شاء أفطر، ولكن الأفضل أن يتم، ولا يفطر إلا لغرض صحيح.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited complete Arabic answer; not an official translation.
Original question
On Thursday I was observing a voluntary fast. At lunchtime a friend came to me, so I served him lunch, intended to break my fast and ate with him. I have heard that this is a Sunnah; is that correct? Should I continue eating and drinking, refrain until nightfall, or do something else?
Answer
If a person eats during the day while fasting, his fast is invalidated. It can remain valid only if he did so out of forgetfulness or ignorance. If he did so out of forgetfulness or ignorance, his fast is complete. In the established hadith of Abu Hurayrah, Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “If someone forgets and eats and drinks, let him complete his fast, for Allah has fed him and given him drink.”
The same applies if he acted in ignorance—for example, if he thought the sun had set and ate, then discovered that it had not set. His fast is valid and he does not have to make it up. Al-Bukhari narrated that Asma bint Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with her and her father, said, “We broke our fast on a cloudy day during the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime, then the sun appeared.” The Prophet ﷺ did not command them to make it up. Had making it up been obligatory, he would have commanded them to do so; and had he commanded them, that command would have been transmitted, because the revealed law—praise be to Allah—is preserved, and nothing of it can be lost. In conclusion, breaking your fast to eat with this friend who came to you, when you served him lunch, was permissible and involves no wrongdoing. With a voluntary fast, a person may complete it if he wishes or break it if he wishes. It is better, however, to complete it and to break it only for a sound purpose.
Source and editorial notes
Fatāwā Nūr ʿalā al-Darb, Ibn Uthaymeen Foundation, 1st edition, 1434 AH, vol.9, question 2967, pp.335–336
فتاوى نور على الدرب
Fatāwā Nūr ʿalā al-Darb
Full original question and entire answer transcribed and collated from Ibn Uthaymeen Foundation, Fatawa Nur ala al-Darb, 1st edition 1434 AH, volume 9, printed pp.[335, 336]; source-completion replaces the historical excerpt, preserving F13.