sufficiently long time, she is given the benefit of the relaxation. Sickly people and those who are too weak to bear the burden would be dealt with as sick. Ibn Taimiyah further extends the principle that the fast may be deferred in cases of hardships, and holds that those engaged in war may not fast, though they may not be journeying, for, he adds, the hardships of war are greater than the hardships of travel (ZM. I. pp. 165, 166). From this it may be argued that, in unavoidable cases of very hard labour, the choice of postponing the fast may be given to those who are engaged in such labour.
To define the limits of sickness or travel is rather difficult. ‘Aṭā was of opinion that whatever the ailment, great or small, it entitled a person to the benefit of the exception (Bu. 65, sūrah 2, ch. 25). But generally it has been held that only such sickness as is likely to cause harm comes under the exception. As regards travel, there is nothing on record from the Holy Prophet as to its limit (Zm. I, p. 166). A certain Companion, Diḥyā, is reported to have travelled to a village which was about three miles distant from his own place and to have broken the fast, and some people followed his example but others did not (AD. 14:46). But it has been held that the proposed journey must be one that extends over more than a day, i.e., twenty-four hours; according to others, it must extend over two days; and others still think it necessary that it should extend over three days at least. But when the journey is actually started, the fast may be broken, whatever the distance travelled over may be. Thus of Abū Baṣra Ghifārī, a Companion of the Holy Prophet, it is related that he took a boat from Fusṭāṭ to Alexandria, and broke the fast while yet the buildings of Fusṭāṭ had not disappeared (AD. 14:45). I would interpret the exception relating to sickness and travel as meaning a sickness or journey which causes inconvenience to the subject of it, as the exception is followed by the words, “Allāh desires ease for you, and He desires not hardship for you” (2:185).
The permission to break the fast for sickness or journey is meant for the convenience of the person who is under an obligation to keep the fast, as the words quoted above show. There is, however, a strong opinion that the permission granted by God must be made use of, just as in the case of prayer the traveller must shorten his prayer. The case of prayer and fasting do not, however, stand on a par, because, if