SECTION ON FASTING · 1 – THE OBLIGATION OF FASTING
2313 – It is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him): “O you who have iman (faith), fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you...” (al-Baqara 2:183). At the beginning of Islam, during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), after performing the night (ʿishāʾ) prayer in Ramadan, it was forbidden for people to eat, drink, and have relations with women. They would fast until the next day (evening). A man betrayed his nafs (the lower self) and, even though he had performed the night prayer, had intercourse with his wife. He also did not break his fast. The Mighty and Majestic Allah, desiring to make things easier, grant permission, and benefit for those who came after, revealed: (Allah knows that you used to betray yourselves...) Thus, this became one of the things by which Allah benefited people, granted them permission, and made things easier for them.
2314 – It is narrated from al-Barāʾ (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: If a person fasted and (at sunset) fell asleep, he would not eat anything until the next evening. Sirma bin Yas al-Ansārī, while fasting, came to his wife and said, “Do you have anything to eat?” She replied, “No, but I will go and perhaps seek something to eat.” The woman went out, but sleep overcame the man. When she returned, she said, “What you wanted did not happen; you have missed out.” That day, he had been working in his field, and before midday he fainted. The woman told this to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him), and then the verse was revealed: “It has been made lawful for you to go in unto your wives on the nights of fasting...” and he recited the verse up to the phrase, “...and eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread at dawn...” (al-Baqara 2:187) [243]