Fasting While Traveling: What Should a Muslim Do When the Fast Becomes Longer?

A common question arises during Ramadan:
What happens when a fasting Muslim travels from a place where the fast is shorter to a destination where the fast is significantly longer?

For example, someone who normally fasts 13 hours leaves his hometown after fasting for 8 hours, but upon arrival discovers that the people there still have 8 hours remaining before Maghrib.
This means his fast will end up much longer than usual.

So, what should he do?
Islam provides a clear and practical answer backed by Qur’an, Sunnah, and scholarly consensus.

Follow the Fasting Time of the Place You Are In

The general Islamic principle is that a Muslim must follow the prayer and fasting times of the location he is currently in, not the place he came from.

This is based on the maxim:
“The fasting person follows the land he is in.”

Therefore, when he arrives at his new destination, he must continue fasting until Maghrib in that place, even if it makes his fast longer than what he is used to.

Qur’anic Evidence

“Then complete the fast until the night.” — Qur’an 2:187

Allah did not specify how many hours one must fast, but rather instructed believers to fast until the night.
“Night” here refers to sunset (Maghrib) in the location where the person currently is.

This makes the ruling location-based, not hometown-based.

Prophetic Proof: The Hadith of Kuraib

The strongest evidence comes from a famous hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim.

A companion named Kuraib reported that he saw the moon of Ramadan in Sham on a Friday night. When he returned to Madinah, he told Ibn Abbas that the people of Sham had begun fasting a day earlier.

But Ibn Abbas insisted:

“This is how the Messenger of Allah commanded us—to follow the sighting and fasting of our own land.”
— Sahih Muslim

Understanding the ruling

This hadith proves that:

  • Islamic timings such as fasting, breaking fast, and Eid follow the local community.
  • Even if another region began earlier or later, a Muslim follows the timings of the place he is currently in.

Thus, when someone travels, he adjusts to the new location’s fasting schedule.

Scholarly Opinions

The ruling is supported by major contemporary and classical scholars:

Sheikh Ibn Baz

“If a fasting person travels to a land where the day is longer, he must fast with the people of that land until sunset.”

Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen

“A Muslim follows the prayer and fasting times of the land he is in. If the fast becomes longer due to travel, he must still complete it.”

The Permanent Fatwa Committee (Lajnah Da’imah)

“He must continue fasting until sunset in the place he has arrived in, even if his fasting hours increase.”

Imam al-Nawawi (Shafi’i school)

“When one enters a land with a later sunset, he completes the fast according to that place.”

This forms a strong consensus across schools of thought.

But What If the Fast Becomes Too Long or Hard?

Islam offers flexibility and ease.
If fasting becomes extremely difficult due to the longer hours, the traveler may use the concession to break the fast.

Evidence from Qur’an 2:185:

“Whoever is ill or traveling, let him fast another number of days.”

This means he can break the fast and make it up later, as long as there is a genuine hardship.

⭐ Final Verdict

When a traveler ends up in a place with a longer fasting day:

✔ If he can fast without severe difficulty:

He must complete the fast until Maghrib in the new destination.

✔ If the long hours cause hardship:

He may break the fast using the traveler’s concession, and make it up after Ramadan.

This ruling combines the wisdom of following local Islamic practice with the mercy and ease that Allah has placed in the laws of fasting.

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