used to spend most of my time with them. I used to go out with them
during the day in Ramadan, and I used to break the fast andeat food
and smoke cigarettes, etc. I also used to do the secret habit.
I do not remember how many days I broke the first, as it never
occurred to me that I would have to make them up. I also did not know
that the secret habit is haraam. What should I do now? Can you give me
any advice? Can observing naafil fasts take the place of making up
fasts?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Islamic duties are not obligatory for a boy until after he reaches
puberty, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "The Pen has been lifted from three: from the insane one
who has lost his mind until he comes to his senses; from the sleeper
until he wakes up;and from the child until he reaches puberty."
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4399; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood.
The sign of puberty for males is when one of three things happen:
emission of maniy (semen), growth of coarsehair around the private
part, or reaching the age of fifteen.
In the case of females, puberty is reached when one of these three
signs appear; in addition there is a fourth sign, namely menstruation.
It is not essential that all of the signs appear; ratherthe appearance
of one of them is sufficient to rule that the individual has reached
puberty.
It should be noted that the years that count with regard to reaching
puberty are hijri years (Islamic lunar calendar). If your age at the
time you mentioned was fourteen years according to the Gregorian
calendar, then your age according to the Hijri calendar will be
approximately half a year more than that; in this case it is likely
that you had reached the age of accountability.
All of this applies so long as the other signs had notappeared in your case.
Based on that, if you broke the fast in Ramadanwhen you had not yet
reached puberty, then youdo not have to do anything, because fasting
was not obligatory for you (at that time).
But if you broke the fast during the day in Ramadan when you had
reached puberty at that time according to one of the signs of puberty
mentioned above, then what you have to do is repent and regret it, and
resolve not to go back to that grave sin again.
With regard to making upthe fasts, if you broke the fast during the
day after having started to fast it, then you have to make upthe fast,
but if you did notfast at all, then you do nothave to make it up and
it is sufficient to repent sincerely, in sha Allah.
You have to do a lot of voluntary fasts, because that will make up for
the shortcomings that occurred with regard to the obligatory fast.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim) was asked about
theruling on breaking the fast during the day in Ramadan without any
excuse.
He replied:
Breaking the fast during the day in Ramadan without any excuse is
oneof the gravest of major sins, and the individual becomes a faasiq
(rebellious evildoer) thereby. He has to repent to Allah and make up
thatday on which he broke the fast. In other words, if he fasted and
during the day he broke the fast withno excuse, then he has sinned. He
has to make upthat day on which he broke the fast, because when he
started to fast it became binding upon him; because he started it on
the basis that it was obligatory, he has to make it up, like a vow
that must be fulfilled. But if he deliberately did not fast at all
with no excuse, then the more correct view is that he does not have to
make it up, because it will not benefithim at all, as it will never be
accepted from him. The basic principle with regard to the act of
worship that are connected to a specific time is that if it is
delayeduntil that specific time hasended with no excuse, it will not
be accepted, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "Whoever does an action that is not part of this matter of
ours will have itrejected." And because he has transgressed the limits
set by Allah, and transgressing the limits set by Allah is wrongdoing,
and good deeds are not accepted from the wrongdoer. Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of themeaning):
"And whoever transgresses the limits ordained by Allah, then such are
the Zalimoon (wrong-doers, etc.)"
[al-Baqarah 2:229].
And just as if he did this act of worship before the time for it
began, it wouldnot be accepted from him,by the same token if he does
it after the time for it has ended it will not be accepted from him
unless he had an excuse.
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