Question:

Suppose you pray but don't fast?

Fatwa:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, may Allah exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

The person who does not fast in Ramadan commits a major great sin no matter how punctual he is with the prayers. In fact, fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims should observe it and should give it a great importance. Anybody who does not fast in Ramadan should make up for what he has missed. He should also abundantly seek the forgiveness of Allah.

As for the prayer of a person who does not fast, it is valid according to those scholars who do not believe that giving up fasting is synonymous to disbelief. The opinion of these scholars is the preponderant one as there is no evidence proving that abandoning fasting reaches the level of becoming a disbeliever. But, as we said, it is a major great sin and you should repent from it immediately and make up for all the days you have missed.

Allah Knows best.

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb