He broke the fast at home before travelling, then had intercourse with his wif

Ron-Kid

HasbunAllahu wa ni`mal Wakil '
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah, and
scholarly consensus, indicates that the traveller may
break the fast of Ramadan, then make up the
number of days that he did not fast. Allah, may He be
exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “and
whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number
(of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts)
must be made up) from other days” [al-Baqarah
2:185] .
If a person is in his home, then he decides to travel,
he is not called a traveller until he has passed beyond
the built-up area of his city. So it is not permissible
for him to avail himself of the concessions of travel,
such as not fasting and shortening the prayers, just
because he has the intention of travelling. That is
because Allah, may He be exalted, has only made
breaking the fast permissible for the traveller, and he
is not a traveller until he has passed beyond (the
boundary) of his city.
Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni (4/347), after
mentioning that the one who travels during the day
may break the fast: … it is not permissible for him to
break the fast until he has left the houses behind,
i.e., he has passed beyond them and emerged from
the built-up area. Al-Hasan said: He may break the
fast in his house, if he wishes, on the day that he is
going to depart. Something similar was narrated from
‘Ata. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: The view of al-Hasan is an
odd ( shaadhdh) view; no one who is not travelling
has no right, on the basis of either rational thinking
or reports, to break the fast; and the opposite was
also narrated from al-Hasan.
Then Ibn Qudaamah said: (That is also) because
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning): “So whoever of you sights (the crescent
on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e.
is present at his home), he must observe Sawm
(fasts) that month” [al-Baqarah 2:185] . This one
who is present at his home (and is not travelling) is
not described as a traveller until he has left the city.
So long as he is in the city, he comes under the
heading of those who reside there (and are not
travelling), hence he may not shorten the prayers.
End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on
him) was asked about a man who decided to travel,
and he broke his fast at home because he was
unaware (of the ruling), then he set out. Does he
have to offer expiation?
He replied: It is haraam for him to break the fast
when he is in his house, but if he broke the fast
before leaving his house, then he only has to make
up the fast. End quote from Fataawa as-Siyaam , p.
133
Secondly:
The one who has intercourse during the day in
Ramadan when he is fasting and not travelling has to
offer a heavy expiation, which is to free a slave; if
that is not possible then he has to fast for two
consecutive months; if he is not able to do that, then
he has to feed sixty poor persons. He also has to
repent and make up that day.
His wife also has to do the same if she was willing. It
makes no difference whether ejaculation occurred or
not; if intercourse, i.e., penetration occurred, then
expiation must be offered.
Thirdly:
The kind of ignorance for which one may be excused
is ignorance of the ruling. If a person failed to do an
obligatory duty and did not know that it is obligatory,
or he did something forbidden and did not know that
it is forbidden, this is the one who is ignorant and
may be excused for his ignorance.
You may only be excused in your case if you did not
know that this action of yours was haraam in the first
place, or you thought that the one who has decided
to travel can do that when he is still in his house.
But in the case of one who knew that this action is
forbidden, and he did it but was unaware of the
punishment that results from it, this is not regarded
as an excuse, because in this case the person went
ahead and committed the sin and transgressed the
sacred limits knowingly.
Hence in the case of the Sahaabi who had intercourse
with his wife during the day in Ramadan, the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed
him to offer expiation, and he did not let him off
because of his ignorance of (the punishment), as was
narrated by al-Bukhaari (1834) and Muslim (1111),
because he had done it deliberately, knowing that it
was forbidden. This was stated by al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar
in al-Fath (4/207), based on the fact that he said “I
am doomed” or “I am burnt”.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on
him) said:
If someone were to say: Wasn’t the man who came to
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) ignorant?
The answer is: He was ignorant of what he was
required to do (after breaking the fast); he was not
ignorant of the fact that it was haraam. Hence he said
“I am doomed.” If we say that ignorance is an excuse,
we are not referring to ignorance of the
consequences of this haraam action; rather what we
are referring to is ignorance of whether this action is
haraam or not. … Ignorance of the consequences of
the haraam action is not an excuse; ignorance of
whether the action is haraam or not is an excuse.
End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti ‘, 6/417
To sum up:
You have to make up that day, and you have to offer
expiation, so long as your breaking of the fast
occurred when you had not yet begun your journey.
Our advice to you is to try to fast the two consecutive
months on cold or moderate days when the day is
shorter and there will be less difficulty involved, or
during the days of annual leave from work and other
times when you have the opportunity to do what is
required of you. If you are genuinely unable to fast,
then it is permissible for you in that case to feed sixty
poor persons, giving them one meal, or giving several
meals until you complete the number required.
Your wife also has to fast, and if she is not able to,
she should feed sixty poor persons and not ten poor
persons as mentioned in the question.
 
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