Rules of Fasting Related to Travel... I would like to know the rules concerning exemption from fasting while traveling. What are the criteria to break the fast in terms of the distance, mode of transportation, time of travel, purpose of the trip or any other relevant matters. I am planning to travel a long distance (1000 km) by car to visit a non-muslim friend. I would like to know if I can eat while traveling, and once I get to my destination. Wassalam A. Hannoufa Reply The Qur'an has clearly allowed us to miss the fasts (and complete the number later) that fall during the time in which we are ill or on a journey. The details of the illness and that of the journey during which a person may take advantage of this allowance have not been specified by the Shari`ah (i.e. the Qur'an or the Sunnah of the Prophet). In other words, it has been left to the individual to decide, keeping in view the gravity of the ailment or the conditions of the journey, whether he should take advantage of the allowance of not. If a person feels that it will become quite cumbersome for him to complete the fast due to any journey or ailment, he may take advantage of the allowance. On the contrary, if the individual feels that the nature of his ailment or the conditions that he is likely to encounter in a journey are such that he does not need to take advantage of this allowance, he may then opt for not doing so. The lack of specification of the nature of the ailment or that of the journey in the Qur'an is not without wisdom. We know that traveling conditions as well as health-care facilities cannot be standardized for all times to come and for all places. A journey of twenty miles that could have been considered quite cumbersome fourteen hundred years ago, may easily be perceived as routine commuting in our times. Likewise, traveling conditions may also vary from one place to another and from one mode of travel to another. A distance of over a thousand miles covered in the comfortable environment of an aircraft may be far less cumbersome than a distance of a hundred miles covered in public transport (bus) in a third-world country like Pakistan. In view of the above explanation, it should be quite clear that the Shari`ah has allowed us to defer the completion of the number of fasts if we suffer from an ailment or are on a journey. As far the details of the ailment and the distance of the journey is concerned, the Shari`ah is silent on that. The individual, under his specific ailment and conditions should decide for himself whether he should take advantage of the allowance of the Qur'an. I hope this helps. In case any aspect of my answer remains unclear, please feel free in writing back to me at your own convenience. May the Almighty guide us all to the path of His liking. Regards The Learner