What Is the Ruling on Marital Relations During Daytime Fasting If One Forgets They Are Fasting?

Ramadan 1446 H/2026 is now upon us. Like other forms of worship, fasting has rules established by Islamic law, encompassing what is obligatory, recommended, permissible, discouraged, and prohibited. One of the acts that invalidates the fast is marital relations. But what is the ruling if a married couple forgets because it is only the first day of fasting?

According to Imam Shafi’i and Imam Abu Hanifah, as recorded in the book Bidayatul Mujtahid wa Nihayatul Muqtashid by Ibn Rushd, if a person engages in intimate relations whilst fasting due to forgetfulness, they are not obliged to make up the fast (qadha). They are also not required to pay any expiation (kafarat) whatsoever.

The scholars of various schools who share this opinion include Hasan al-Bashri, Mujahid, Abu Hanifah, Ishaq, Abu Thawr, Dawud, and Ibn al-Mundhir. However, scholars from two other groups, such as al-Awza’i and al-Layth, hold that the person concerned must perform make-up fasting. According to them, engaging in sexual relations due to forgetfulness cannot be equated with the case of eating or drinking.

According to Imam Ahmad, as well as scholars from the Maliki school, the person concerned is only obliged to perform make-up fasting and is not required to pay expiation. Meanwhile, scholars from the Zahiri school hold that they must both perform make-up fasting and pay expiation. The divergence of opinion regarding make-up fasting for the forgetful person arises from the conflict between the literal meaning of the hadith and analogical reasoning (qiyas).