Recommended to break fast when one is travelling

Breaking fast is sunnah for one traveling in a manner which allows joining and shortening of prayers. The type of traveling that allows you to shorten you prayers is the one where breaking your fast recommended.<>

The Prophet (saw) said, “It is not righteousness to fast while you are traveling.” It is recommended for the person not to fast while he/she is traveling because of this hadeeth. The meaning of the hadeeth quoted above is that it necessarily isn’t wrong if one fasts but whether he fasts or not, the reward is the same.

The Sahaaba themselves had difference of opinion regarding this. Some really preferred to fast even though they were traveling, while the others thought that they should not fast because Allah has provided them with a facility. We have the narration of Hamza ibn Amr Al Aslami (r.a), a companion of the Prophet (saw), who asked the Prophet (saw), “Should I fast while traveling?” and the Prophet (saw) replied, “If you wish fast, if you wish break your fast”

Also, the Prophet (saw) said “Upon you is the permission of Allah granted to you, so accept it from Him.” And the Prophet (saw) also said, “It is a permission from Allah, so whoever takes this permission that is good and whoever chooses to fast there is no sin upon him” Allah is offering a traveler this permission and one shouldn’t turn it down as Allah is offering something and it is better if one does not reject an offer from Allah.

If you put all those together it comes down to your own choice as to what you want to do and what you feel is closest to the truth. And we shouldn’t look upon the others and say or think in our minds like “Why are you doing that?” because the sahaaba themselves followed either one of these opinions and never questioned each other or criticized each other for it. It doesn’t matter which opinion one follows but from the evidence provided here the second one seems to have a more proof supporting it. And we know this from the Shariah that Allah doesn’t encourage over zealous behavior when it comes to the deen. One should do all that he can to practice the deen and take all the facilities provided to him by the Shariah.