Fasting, - Doupht&clear, - Time forImsaak (Starting the Fast) when the Calendar Timesare Different

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There are apparent discrepancies in the times of Salaat-ul Fajr stated on the different timetables distributed by the various mosques of the same town or city. Would it be a ‘safer’ practice if one was to follow the earliest of those times for the purpose of Imsaak (abstaining from eating, drinking, etc.)?
It is permissible to eat, drink, etc. until one is certain of the time of Fajr (interpretation of the meaning): “…eat and drink until the time where the ‘white’ and ‘black’ thresholds of Al-Fajr is evident to you…” [Soorat-ul Baqarah]
So, this means it is permissible to continue eating and drinking unless it is evident for one that it is time for Fajr. Fajr can be defined as the ‘white’ light spreading across the horizon from the eastern side. If one was unable to sight Al-Fajr and there was no one else who could tell him about it through means such as raising the Azaan (The call to prayers), then one should follow the timetable that, according to the best of his knowledge, is the most accurate. This accuracy is usually established through experience or by asking experts or the earlier Muslim residents of the area.

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Fasting, - Doupht&clear, - He Completed Fasting 30 DaysThen Arrived ina Country Still on their 30th day

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If I were to travel on the 30th day of Ramadaan from London just after Magrib time, after having broken my fast and I were to arrive at my destination in the USA but to find that they are still in the day time of their 30th day of Ramadaan, what should I do?
The reply to your question in brief is: your state should be similar to that of the [Muslim] inhabitants of where you are. So, if they were still observing fasting then you should observe fasting with them even if that means you would be fasting for more than 30 days [the max. number of days, normally observed in the month of Ramadaan]. This is the opinion of Shaikh Abdul-Azeez Ibn Baaz.

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Fasting, - Doupht&clear, - When toStart Ordering the Young to Fast

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The young is told to start praying when they are seven year old and they are to be punished for not performing prayer when they ten, according to Sunnah. Does the same rule apply for fasting?
The young boy is ordered to fast when he reaches the age of 7 is if he is physically capable of bearing it. (Some Muslim scholars that he should be physically reprimanded if he does not fast by the age of 10, which is the same rule that is applied to prayer; refer to Al Mughni 3/90). The boy will get a reward for fasting and his parents will get a reward for teaching him well and guiding him to that which is good. Al Rubayyi’ bint Mu’awwadh (may Allaah be pleased with her) said about fasting ‘Aashouraa’ at the time when it was mandatory to fast it and not voluntary: we used to make our young boys fast, and we made them a toy made out of wool. If one of the boys cried [wanting] food, we would give him [the toy to distract him] until it was time to break the fast." (Al Bukhari Fath # 1960). (Ashouraa is the tenth day of the month of Muharram. Although fasting this day is now voluntary the majority of Muslims usually fast.) Some people are quite lenient and lax when it comes to making their children fast. A situation may even arise where the young child feels enthusiastic and chooses to fast and is physically capable of doing so, then his father or mother order him to break his fast claiming that it is out of sympathy. Little do they know that real sympathy is in stressing the importance of fasting and teaching the child about it. Allaah said in Surat ul-Tahreem (interpretation of the meaning): "O you who believe! Ward yourselves and your families off from a fire (Hell) whose fuel is of men and stones, over which are appointed angels stern and severe, who do not disobey the commands they receive from Allaah, and execute that which they are commanded." We must pay extra attention to the young girl when she first starts fasting after she reaches puberty. There is a possibility that she will fast while she has her period (the first time) out of shame or shyness, and end up not making up the days later on.
Also see the Book "70 Matters Related to Fasting".

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For children, - Spiritual Stories for Children: Do not Do Evil to anyoneWhat Goes Around Comes Around

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There was a man in Isfahan who used to beat his wife but unfortunately she succumbed to his beating though he had not intended to kill her. But when she was dead he became fearful of her relatives. In a state of anxiety he came out of his house and met an acquaintance to whom he posed his problem.
The friend told him to invite a young man to his house and behead him and put the severed head next to the wife's corpse. Then he would tell the wife's relatives that he had found them together in bed and was unable to control his ire, and slew them both. The man liked the idea and sat at the doorway in anticipation of a young man. After sometime a handsome youth passed by his house. He invited him inside and beheaded him.
Then he summoned the wife's relatives and told them the fictitious story. They were satisfied but the person who had devised this plan had a teenage son who did not reach home that day. The man was worried and when the son failed to turn up he came to the house of the one whom he had offered evil advice and asked him if he carried out the plan suggested by him. Yes, said he and took him near the dead bodies. He was shocked when he saw that the youth he had killed was his own son.
His evil advice caused the death of his own son.
The moral of this story is that one who digs a pit for others falls into it himself. History is replete with such incidents.
According to Tafserul Mizan the following saying was common among the Arabs: One who digs a hole for his brother; Allah throws him headlong into it. A similar proverb is present in Persian also: Do not do evil to anyone the same evil will turn towards you.
Reference: Greater Sins Vol. 3 (English) by Ayatullah Dastagaub Shirazi

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