Common Mistakes During Ramadan

By Sheikh Ahmad Musa Jibril (May Allah hasten his release)

Bismillah Wasalatu wasalam A’la Rasulillah. Ama Ba’ad

Common Mistakes During Ramadan:

1. Focusing on food; to the extent that people begin to worry about eating more then actually fasting. This also goes along with spending tons of money on Iftars even though a person does not need to eat that much food.
2. Making Suhr way before Fajr. Some people eat Suhr a few hours after Tarawih or Isha Salah, this is wrong. It should be eaten closer to the time of Fajr.
3. People don’t make Niyyah [intentions] to fast for Ramadhan. This is something in the heart and does not need to be verbal. Also it only needs to be done once, at the beginning of Ramadhan and not every single day.
4. If you find out late that Ramadhan started, you should stop eating and fast for that day, making that day up after Ramadhan/Eid ends.
5. Many people don’t think you pray Tarawih on the first night of Ramadhan. They believe you pray it after the first day you actually fast. They forget that the Islamic calendar runs on the moon, maghrib is the start of the new day.
6. Many people believe if you eat or drink on accident this breaks your fast. This is false, if you do this on accident then you continue fasting and do not need to make up the day.
7. Some people take the opinion that if they see someone eating or drinking they should not remind the person that he/she is fasting. According to Shaykh Bin Baz [ra], this is incorrect and it is an order from Allah for us to ordain the good and forbid the evil. Thus we tell the person, because we are forbidding the evil this way.
8. Many sisters believe they cannot use Hennah while fasting. This is incorrect, they are allowed to use it during Ramadhan.
9. Some people believe when you are cooking you cannot taste the food to see if it has the right spices/flavors. This is false, and allowed in Islam as long as the person cooking is not eating the food. Rather they can taste it to see if it needs salt, or more spices.
10. Many people think you cannot use a Miswak or toothbrush during Ramadhan. This is false, for the Prophet [saw] used to use a miswak during Ramadhan. Also you CAN use toothpaste; the reasoning by the scholars is that the Miswak has flavor, thus toothpaste is okay to use [if you are not eating it].
11. Some people make the Fajr Adhan early. They do this so people will stop eating before Fajr and not invalidate their fast. This is wrong and something we should not do.
12. Some people make the Maghrib Adhan late. They do this so people will start eating late, just incase Maghrib has not come in yet. This too is wrong and we should not do this.
13. Many many people believe you cannot have intercourse with your spouse during the whole month of Ramadhan. This is false, you cannot do this only during the times when you are fasting. Between Maghrib and Fajr it is permissible to do.
14. Many women believe that if their period has just ended and they did not make Ghusl, they cannot fast that day [considering their period ended at night, and they went to bed without Ghusl, waking up without having a chance to make it]. This is incorrect, if a women has not made Ghusl she can still fast.
15. Many men believe that if he has had intercourse with his wife and did not make Ghusl [similar to the above] then he cannot fast the next morning. This is also incorrect, for he can fast even if he has not made Ghusl.
16. Some people pray Dhur and Asr prayers together during Ramadhan. (mainly in Arab countries) This is incorrect and should be avoided.
17. Some people believe you cannot eat until the Muadhthin is done calling the Maghrib Adthan. This is incorrect, as soon as he starts a person can break their fast.
18. Many people don’t take advantage of making D’ua before they break their fast. This is one of the three times when Allah accepts a person D’ua.
19. Many people make the mistake of spending the later part of Ramadhan preparing for ‘Id, neglecting Ramadhan. This is incorrect and these people lose the concept of what Ramadhan is about.
20. Many parents do not let their children fast during Ramadhan [young children]. This is something counter productive to a child. By allowing him to fast he will grow up to know he must do this act.
21. Many people think Ramadhan is just about not eating and forget about controlling their tempers and watching what they say. In actuality we are supposed to control our tempers and mouths even more during Ramadhan.
22. People often waste their time during Ramadhan. They go to sleep during the day and get nothing done. We should be taking advantage of this blessed month by doing extra Ibadat.
23. Some people don’t go on trips or travel during Ramadhan. They think they have to break their fast when traveling. This is actually optional, if you want to break your fast while traveling you can [with making it up later], and if you don’t you can continue fasting.
24. Many people who are able don’t make I’tikaf at the masjid. We should take advantage of our good health and spend lots of time at the Masjid, especially the last 10 days of Ramadhan.
25. Some people believe they cannot cut their hair or nails during Ramadhan. This is also false.
26. Some people say you cannot swallow your spit during Ramadhan. This too is false. However you cannot swallow mucus that has entered your mouth.
27. Some people say you cannot use scented oils or perfumes during Ramadhan. This too is false.
28. Some people believe bleeding breaks the fast. This is not true.
29. Some people believe if you throw up on accident it breaks your fast. This is not true, however if you do it intentionally it does.
30. Some people think you cannot put water in your nose and mouth during wudhu in Ramadhan. This too is incorrect.