Fasting Rulings: Quranic Foundations

The primary Quranic text for the rules of Ramadan fasting is Surah al-Baqarah (2:183-187), and al-Tahawi examines these verses with close attention to their legal implications. Verse 183 establishes the obligation: 'O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may be God-conscious.' The comparison with earlier communities is noted by al-Tahawi as a reminder that fasting is among the universal obligations of the prophetic religions, though its specific form differs. Verse 184 then permits the sick and traveler to break the fast and make up the missed days, and establishes the option of ransom (fidyah) for those who can afford it, though al-Tahawi records the Hanafi interpretation that this ransom option was for those capable of fasting who found it extremely difficult, and was later abrogated by verse 185.

The abrogation sequence in these verses is a matter of significant scholarly discussion that al-Tahawi addresses directly. Initially, Muslims had the choice between fasting and paying fidyah; this was then abrogated by the clear command to fast the entire month. The verse also contains the ruling that those with a valid excuse may break the fast and must make it up: 'whoever among you is ill or on a journey, then an equal number of other days.' Al-Tahawi derives from this the Hanafi ruling that making up missed days is an obligation that becomes due as soon as the excuse is removed, though it need not be done consecutively. The continuity requirement (tatabi'iyah) for qada fasting is not derived from the Quran but from the principle that the obligation simply requires an equal number of days without further specification.

Verse 185 ('Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent down') is used by al-Tahawi to emphasize the special status of Ramadan and the communal dimension of fasting: the entire Muslim community fasts together, which is part of the month's distinguishing character. He then turns to verse 187, which contains several distinct rulings: the permission for husbands and wives to be intimate during the nights of Ramadan (overturning an early practice of the companions), the command to eat and drink until the white thread of dawn is distinguished from the black thread, and the prohibition of relations 'while you are making retreat in the mosques.' From this last phrase, al-Tahawi derives the Hanafi ruling on i'tikaf (retreat in the mosque) and the conditions under which marital intimacy invalidates the i'tikaf.

Al-Tahawi's Hanafi interpretation of the fasting conditions includes a significant ruling derived from the phrase 'until you complete the count' (2:185): the Hanafi school holds that sighting the new moon is a communal obligation, and the testimony of a single reliable witness suffices to establish the beginning of Ramadan, reflecting the prophetic practice of accepting one witness's testimony for the moon's sighting at the start of the month even if the sky is clear. For the end of Ramadan, two witnesses are required. This ruling on moon sighting derived from Quranic and Sunnah evidence reflects al-Tahawi's method of using the Quran as a framework and the Sunnah as the mechanism for precise application, producing the detailed legal structure that characterizes Hanafi fiqh in the area of ritual obligations.