1. “Insofar as I am concerned, I do not leave a fast unless it is likely to cause my death; I don’t feel inclined to leave a fast. These are blessed days and are the days of the showerings of God’s blessings and mercy” (Al-Hakm 24.1.1901).
2. “Ramadhan is a blessed month, a month of prayers”. (Al Hakm, 24.1.1901).
3. It is reported in Hadith that two types of people are the most unfortunate: one who lived through Ramadhan and failed to have his sins forgiven; the other who had his parents and they passed and he was unable to have his sin remitted. While a child is in the care of his parents, they bear all his worries and troubles. A man comes to know the value of his parents when he himself becomes responsible for his own affairs. In the Holy Quran, God has given a degree of preference to a mother, for a mother bears the hardship for her child. How­ever infectious a disease a child may catch, maybe smallpox, cholera or plague, a mother never leaves her child. Once my daughter had cholera and her mother used to handle her vomissions and other secretions with her own hands. A mother partakes of all her child’s afflictions. This is out of natural love of which there is no parallel.” (Majmooa Fatawa Ahmadiyya, Vol. I, p. 182).
4. Once the Promised Messiah was asked about fasting while travelling. The Promised Messiah replied: ”As far as the Holy Quran is concerned, it says: ‘Whoso among you is sick or is on a journey shall fast the same number of other days’. This means that a sick person or a traveller must not fast. This is an order and there is no option from God Almighty. In my view, a traveller should not fast. However, some people do keep fasts as a matter of course and if they do so while travel­ling in pursuit of this practice. there is no prohibition although one must still have regard for the injunction: “shall fast the same number of other days”. A person who goes to consider­ able trouble in keeping a fast while travelling tries to please God by force rather than earning His pleasure by following His commandment. This is a mistake. True belief consists of following the injunctions and prohibitions of Allah”.(Maj mooa Fatawa Ahmadiyya, Vol. I p. 179).
5. A person told the Promised Messiah that while he was at home he honestly believed that there was still some time before the starting of the fast and therefore he ate something with the intention of keeping the fast on that day. Later on he had learnt from someone else that dawn had already occurred by that specified time. This person therefore asked whether be could continue with the fast of that day. The Promised Messiah replied: In these circumstances, he had a legitimate fast and there was no need for substitution on another day, for he did his best and his intention was perfect”. (Majmooa Fatawa Ahmadiyya.Vol. I, p. 183).

Perhaps, we should also add here a word of caution. It is the practice among some ill-informed Muslims that they encourage very young children to fast. In fact, some people have been so orthodox that deaths of young children have occurred in some families. This is not what God Almighty requires. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II, the son of the Promised Messiah, recalls that the very first fast he kept was at the age of 12 to 13 years. At that time, he kept only one fast for the whole month. It appears from the practice of the Promised Messiah therefore that fasts should not be encouraged among children who have not reached their teens. By the age of 18 or 19 years, a Muslim boy or girl may be encouraged to fast for a whole month. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II, then states that these age guidelines he had given should obviously be varied according to the pbysical growth of the child as a child may be 16 years of age, but physically it may be of an equivalent age of say a 14 year old. It is quite wrong to assume that forcing a young child, of say eight years of age, to fast will earn the parents any reward. On the contrary, it will invite God’s displeasure.