Ruling 1717. It is recommended for five types of people – even if they are not fasting – to abstain from things that invalidate a fast in the month of Ramadan:

1. a traveller who has done something that invalidates a fast and who reaches his home town or a place where he intends to stay for ten days before ẓuhr;

2. a traveller who after ẓuhr reaches his home town or a place where he intends to stay for ten days;

3. a sick person who gets better after ẓuhr; similarly, if he gets better before ẓuhr and has done something that invalidates a fast. In case he has not done anything that invalidates a fast, then based on obligatory precaution, he must fast on that day;

4. a woman whose ḥayḍ or nifās stops during the day;

5. a disbeliever who becomes a Muslim and who had done something that invalidates a fast before becoming a Muslim.

Ruling 1718. It is recommended for a fasting person to perform maghrib and ʿishāʾ prayers before breaking his fast. However, if someone is waiting for him or he is very drawn to food – such that he cannot pray with presence of heart – it is better that he first break his fast. However, as much as he possibly can, he should perform the prayers within their prime time (waqt al‑faḍīlah).[1]