Tajik Mufti Again Allows Not Fasting During Ramadan

News:

Saidmukarram Abdulkodirzoda, Chairman of the Council of Ulema of Tajikistan, told the state news agency Khovar that Rogun workers may not observe the fast of the month of Ramadan, but make up for it on days off from work. "People who perform extremely hard work, especially workers of the Rogun hydroelectric power station, who are currently working in tunnels and above-ground and underground structures and bear great responsibility for the execution of construction work, and the state of severe hunger or thirst poses a danger to their health, may not observe the fast on working days and make up for their fast at another convenient time for them, observing the fast for an equal number of days", - Saidmukarram Abdulkodirzoda said. He also emphasized that the work of Rogun employees is "extremely hard" and it is better for them not to observe the fast.

Comment:

Similar calls have been made in Tajikistan before. For example, in 2020, Emomali Rahmon called on residents of Tajikistan working in the fields to postpone the fast in the month of Ramadan to another time. The press service of President Rahmon published his address to the people at that time. “Now I will once again remind my dear compatriots that the month of Ramadan this year, in addition to the dangerous coronavirus pandemic, coincided with the time of spring field work and the harvest of early crops,” Rahmon said at the time.

As for the mufti, the council of ulema and imams serving the Rahmon regime, they have been legitimizing the regime’s policies against its people for decades, each time justifying the dictator’s actions from an Islamic perspective.

Obviously, in this case, Saidmukarram Abdulkadirzoda's statements completely contradict Islamic law. All Islamic madhhabs, including the Hanafi, are unanimous in the fact that fasting in the month of Ramadan is the duty of every mature Muslim (reached puberty). Only the categories of people listed in the verse may not fast:

[يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ * أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَاتٍ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُ وَأَن تَصُومُواْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ * شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ]

“O believers! Fasting is prescribed for you—as it was for those before you—so perhaps you will become mindful ˹of Allah˺. ˹Fast a˺ prescribed number of days. But whoever of you is ill or on a journey, then ˹let them fast˺ an equal number of days ˹after Ramaḍân˺. For those who can only fast with extreme difficulty, compensation can be made by feeding a needy person ˹for every day not fasted˺. But whoever volunteers to give more, it is better for them. And to fast is better for you, if only you knew. Ramaḍân is the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guide for humanity with clear proofs of guidance and the decisive authority. So whoever is present this month, let them fast. But whoever is ill or on a journey, then ˹let them fast˺ an equal number of days ˹after Ramaḍân˺. Allah intends ease for you, not hardship, so that you may complete the prescribed period and proclaim the greatness of Allah for guiding you, and perhaps you will be grateful.” [2:183-185].

Thus, all people except the sick and travelers are obliged to fast during the month of Ramadan. Also, according to other Sharia texts, postponing the fast is allowed for pregnant and nursing women.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Muhammad Mansour