Pilgrim doing ‘umrah in Ramadan not fasting if he has come from far away
Question If a family does ‘Umrah in the month of Ramadan, is it permissible for them not to fast during their stay in Makkah al-Mukarramah, or should they stop eating as soon as they arrive in Makkah?. Praise be to Allah. If the pilgrim doing ‘Umrah in Ramadan comes from a far land such as…
Question
Praise be to Allah.
If the pilgrim doing ‘Umrah in Ramadan comes from a far land
such as Najd or elsewhere, then he is a traveller and he may break the fast
on the road, whether he is coming from Riyadh or al-Qaseem or Haa’il or
Madeenah. He may break the fast on the road and in Makkah. But if he has
decided to stay for more than four days, then when he reaches Makkah, to be
on the safe side he should fast and it is better to fast, because the
majority of scholars are of the view that if he has made a firm decision to
stay for more than four days, then he must offer the prayers in full and not
break the fast.
But if he has decided to stay for two or three or four days
and no more, then he may break the fast or he may fast, he may shorten the
four-rak’ah prayers to two rak’ahs, or he may offer the prayers in full with
the people. If he is alone, he should pray with the congregation, but if
there are other people with him, he has the choice: if he wishes he may pray
two rak’ahs with the people who are with him, or if they wish they may pray
four rak’ahs with the people in congregation. If their stay is more than
four days, then they should fast and offer the prayers in full, according to
the majority of scholars. End quote.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him).
