FASTING CHAPTER · 46 – THE DISTANCE THAT MAKES BREAKING THE FAST POSSIBLE
It is narrated from Mansur al-Kalbi:
Dihya bin Khalifa, may Allah be pleased with him, once set out during Ramadan on a journey from a village near Damascus to a distance of what is between Fustat and Akaba – which is three miles.
Then he and some who were with him broke their fasts. And others considered it preferable not to break their fasts. When he returned to his village, he said: I swear by Allah that I saw something I never thought I would see today. Indeed, a group turned away from the sunna of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and his companions – and he said this concerning those who did not break their fasts. Then he said: “O Allah, take me to Yourself, take my soul.”
EXPLANATION
This hadith is not strong (lā qawī).
This hadith is evidence for those who say that there is no allowance (rukhsa) for breaking the fast during travel, and that one may eat in every journey, whether near or far. But the jurists (fuqaha) and people of knowledge said: The journey for which fasting is permitted is the amount of distance for which it is permissible to pray the obligatory prayers with two rak’ahs. And that is at least 90 kilometers.
Nafi related that Ibn Umar would go out to Ghab (a place near Medina) without breaking his fast and without shortening his prayer.