Can I skip fasting while traveling?
Yes. If you're traveling during Ramadan, you're allowed to break your fast and make up the missed days later. This concession is in the Quran itself. You can also choose to keep fasting if it's easy for you; both are valid.
A concession from Allah
The Quran mentions the traveler right in the verses on Ramadan: whoever is ill or on a journey makes up the same number of days later (Quran 2:184). The next verse explains why.
When a Companion asked whether he should fast while traveling, the Prophet ﷺ replied that he could fast if he wished, or not fast if he wished (Sahih al-Bukhari 1943). On one journey in Ramadan, some Companions fasted and some didn't, and neither group criticized the other (Sahih Muslim 1116).
What counts as travel
The rules match those for shortening prayer. For most scholars, it's a trip of roughly 48 miles (about 80 km) or more, with small differences in how each school measures it. Your daily commute doesn't count, even if it's long. You become a traveler once you've left your town, and you stop being one when you return home, or when you plan to stay somewhere long enough to count as a resident (the length differs between schools). See How do I pray while traveling home for the holidays?
One detail: most scholars say that if you begin the day fasting at home and set off later, you should complete that day's fast, while the Hanbali school allows you to break it once you've left town. If you leave before dawn, you can start the day not fasting.
Is it better to fast or not?
If fasting is easy, the Hanafi, Maliki and Shafi'i schools say fasting is better, citing the words "to fast is best for you" (Quran 2:184) and the fact that the Prophet ﷺ himself fasted on a very hot journey (Sahih al-Bukhari 1945). The Hanbali school prefers taking the concession. Everyone agrees that if fasting becomes hard, breaking it is better: the Prophet ﷺ saw a fasting traveler being shaded by a crowd and said it isn't righteousness to fast on a journey (Sahih al-Bukhari 1946).
Today, a short flight in an air-conditioned cabin may be easy, while a 14-hour trip with layovers may not. Be honest with yourself and choose what's easier.
Making up the days
- When: any time before the next Ramadan, except the days of Eid.
- How: one day for each day missed; they don't have to be in a row.
- No fidya: travelers make up the days; they don't pay instead.
If you're new to fasting, take it step by step. See Do I have to fast Ramadan in my first year as a Muslim?
- Travelers may break the Ramadan fast and make it up later.
- Travel follows the same distance as shortening prayer.
- If fasting is easy, most schools say fasting is better.
- If it's hard, take the concession without guilt.
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