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A Traveler is Obliged to Fast with the People of the Country where he is

Answered as per Shafi'i Fiqh by Darul Iftaa Jordan
I was in Turkey, and was scheduled to head to Amman at 11:00 a.m. That day was the first day of Ramadan in Turkey, but not in Jordan. Therefore, neither me nor my family offered fast during that day, should we observe fast according to Turkey, or Jordan ?

Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad: It is imperative that a Muslim depends, in fast and in breaking fast, on sighting the moon in the country where he is regardless of the country to which he intends to travel. However, once he reaches the country of destination, he is obligated to adhere to the rulings of that country. Abu Hurairah reported that Prophet Mohammad(PBUH) said : “Fasting is the day when you (collectively) fast, breaking fast is the day when you (collectively) break your fast and sacrifice is the day when you (collectively) offer your sacrifice…" [At-Tirmithi/graded as Hasan]. Some Muslim scholars said that this Hadith indicates that one must follow the majority of people as regards observing fast or breaking it. Accordingly, you should have offered fast in Turkey since it was the first day of Ramadan there before your leaving it. Therefore, you should make up for that day as you were ignorant of the Sharia ruling in that regard

This answer was collected from the official government Iftaa Department of Jordan.

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