In general, there is no expiation for a traveler's fast and he must only make up for it. However, in some circumstances, a traveler must make up for his fast. For example, if a traveler breaks his fast before reaching the prescribed limit, he must make up for his fast. The expiation for a traveler's fast is to feed 60 poor people or fast for 60 days. Keep in mind that the 60 days of fasting in the first month and one day of it must be uninterrupted and consecutive, but the remaining days can be in different months.

In the following conditions, travelers can observe their fast and be sure of its validity.

If a traveler reaches his destination before noon and does not commit any of the invalidating fasts, his fast is valid.

A traveler's fast while traveling with the intention of fulfilling a vow is valid.

A person who does not know that a traveler's fast is invalid should fast, and if he realizes this ruling at the time of Maghrib, his fast is valid.

A traveler who begins his journey in the afternoon, his fast is valid.

In order to observe his fast, the traveler must begin his journey in the afternoon and intend to stay for ten days.

"The rest of our captives must be returned from Gaza in one batch, and we will not allow Netanyahu to sacrifice them," the families declared in a joint statement on Saturday.

They also urged Donald Trump, president of the United States, the regime’s biggest and most supportive ally, to intervene, while reiterating, "Netanyahu is ruining the deal for political reasons, and we will not allow him to do so."

Outrage over the handling of the issue has intensified among the regime’s illegal settlers, especially among the captives’ next of kin, with thousands of the settlers taking to the streets in protest on the same day.

According to the regime’s Channel 12, massive demonstrations erupted outside the regime’s ministry for military affairs in the city of Tel Aviv, where the demonstrators demanded a comprehensive exchange process with Hamas that ensures the release of all of the captives.

"Netanyahu tried to undermine the agreement this week and chose to bury the rest of our captives in [Hamas’] tunnels," the statement by the families added.

They were apparently referring to the Israeli premier’s asking Hamas to extend the initial phase of the ceasefire, a proposal that the resistance movement roundly rejected as "unacceptable."

Delivering the rejection, Hamas’ spokesman Hazem Qassem, meanwhile, condemned Tel Aviv for evading its commitment to a full withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent cessation of the regime’s aggression against the coastal sliver, while constantly trying to up the ante.

Now, the remaining captives’ families fear that Netanyahu’s political maneuvering could derail further negotiations, leaving the captives in indefinite captivity, despite underway efforts by mediators to push for a resolution.

Press TV’s website 

The month of Ramadan is the ninth month of the lunar calendar and the best of months in the sight of Allah; its days are the best of days, its nights are the best of nights, and its hours are the best of hours. This month is very virtuous and is different from all other months.

The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

شَهرُ رَمَضانَ شَهرُ اللّه عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ هُوَ شَهرٌ یُضاعِفُ اللّه‏ُ فیهِ الحَسَناتِ وَ یَمحو فیهِ السَّیِّئاتِ وَ هُوَ شَهرُ البَرَكَةِ؛

The month of Ramadan is the month of God, and it is the month in which God increases good deeds and purifies sins, and it is a blessed month. (Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 96, p. 340, h. 5)

The advice of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to the nation is to make more efforts in this month.

The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

مَنْ صامَ شَهْرَ رَمَضانَ فَاجْتَنَبَ فیه الْحَرامَ وَالْبُهْتانَ رَضِىَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَاَوْجَبَ لَهُ الْجِنانَ.

Whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan and abstains from forbidden acts and slander, God will be pleased with him and will make Paradise obligatory for him.

Allah says:

«فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ وَ لَوْ کُنتَ فَظّاً غَلِیظَ الْقَلْبِ لاَنفَضُّواْ مِنْ حَوْلِکَ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَ اسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَ شَاوِرْهُمْ فِی الأَمْرِ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَکَّلْ عَلَی اللّهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ یُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَکِّلِینَ»؛[1]

It is by Allah’s mercy that you are gentle to them; had you been harsh and hardhearted, they would have surely scattered from around you. So excuse them and plead for forgiveness for them, and consult them in the affairs, and once you are resolved, put your trust in Allah. Indeed Allah loves those who trust in Him.

The Merciful God has introduced the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in various places in the Holy Quran and in different ways. One of them is the introduction of the Prophet in this verse.

Although these attributes are not directly stated in this verse, these characteristics can be inferred:

1. Mercy and Kindness

The Merciful God praises His Prophet in the Holy Quran as follows: “And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.”[2] The verse in question considers the mercy and kindness that God has given to the Prophet as the reason for such attributes as gentleness and tenderness of heart.[3]

2. Gentleness and Tenderness of Heart

The Holy Quran considers the Prophet's gentleness to be the result of the Prophet's mercy, kindness, and great morals, and says: "And indeed, you have for me a great character." [4] The Prophet's gentleness was a prelude to attracting as many people as possible to religion and Islam; therefore, it can be said that the Prophet's second characteristic is gentleness.

Three. Forgiveness

The merciful God recommends the Prophet to be forgiving and forgiving, because many people unintentionally and unknowingly fall into disobedience and sin. [5] And since the Prophet is obedient to God's command, he undoubtedly developed this characteristic in himself.

Four. Seeking forgiveness from sinners

The Prophet's mercy and kindness was to the extent that, in addition to forgiving the sins of others, he would seek forgiveness from the merciful God for them, because God's command is for him, and the Prophet also acts based on divine revelation. [6]

Five. Consulting and sharing ideas with others

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) did not need to consult with others due to his infallibility and the knowledge that God had given him; however, this consultation sometimes took place out of respect and sometimes to raise the level of awareness of the people.

Six. Firmness in making decisions with trust

Although the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) consulted with the people; however, the merciful God has entrusted the final decision to His Prophet; because at the end of the verse, He said to the Prophet: “When you have made a firm decision, do it with trust in God.” Therefore, trust in making decisions was also one of the characteristics of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family).

These characteristics are a drop of the infinite characteristics of the Prophet of Mercy (peace be upon him and his family), and it is worthy for every Muslim to follow the Prophet in these characteristics.

Footnote:

[1]. Al-Imran: 159.

[2]. Prophets: 107.

[3]. Sadeghi Tehrani, Muhammad, Al-Furqan fi Tafsir Al-Quran, Farhang Islaami, vol. 6, p. 58 and Samarqandi, Nasr ibn Muhammad, Bahr al-Uloom, Dar al-Fikr, vol. 1, p. 260.

[4]. Qalam: 4.

[5]. Al-A'raf: 199.

[6]. Najm: 3 and 4.

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has rejected Israel’s proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, calling on the international community to pressure the occupying regime to proceed to the second phase of the deal as originally planned.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem made the remarks in an interview with Al Araby television on Saturday, on the day the first stage of the deal was set to expire.

"Extending the first phase of the deal in the form proposed by Israel is unacceptable” to the resistance group, he said, adding that the occupying regime bears full responsibility for the failure to begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

Qassem also noted that Israel’s talk of extending the first phase aims to recover the remaining captives while potentially resuming the war on Gaza.

He went on to say that the Israeli regime is evading its commitment to ending the war and fully withdrawing from Gaza, adding that it “is trying to reset matters to square one by shuffling the cards with its proposal to extend the first phase.”

Qassem further said there are no current talks for a second ceasefire phase in Gaza with the Hamas, stressing that talks must begin on the next phase aimed at securing a permanent truce.

He also urged mediators and guarantor states to compel the Israeli regime to adhere to the agreement in all its stages and immediately enter the second phase of it without any hesitation.

Qassem’s remarks came a day after Hamas expressed its "full commitment" to the Gaza ceasefire deal, emphasizing that negotiations are the only way to secure the release of the remaining Israeli captives. 

On Thursday, the Israeli foreign minister said, “We said we are ready to extend the framework [of phase one] in return for the release of more hostages. If it is possible, we’ll do that.”

Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, after Hamas carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime failed to achieve its declared objectives of freeing captives and eliminating Hamas despite killing at least 48,348 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza.

Israel accepted Hamas’ longstanding negotiation terms under the Gaza truce, which began on January 19.

Under the terms of the three-phase ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, the two sides were planned to hold indirect talks to hammer out the details of further exchanges.

It was planned that during negotiations on the second phase a permanent ceasefire would be established and Israeli forces would make a complete withdrawal as the remaining captives are freed.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has said that the existing deal is for a temporary ceasefire and that the regime’s military has reserved “the right to return to fighting” at a future date.

Press TV’s website

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he had used his emergency authority to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel, amid a tense ceasefire between the regime and Hamas in Gaza, where over 48,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Rubio said on Saturday he made this decision in order to reverse the Biden Administration’s partial arms embargo that “wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel.”

The declaration is “a yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump,” he said.

Since taking office on January 20, the Donald Trump Administration has approved nearly $12 billion in major foreign military sales to Israel.

This decision coincided with Trump’s repeal of a Joe Biden-era National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM-20).

The memorandum required the US government to produce reports for Congress on the use of US arms by other countries, including the Israeli regime.

After returning to office, Trump signed an executive order that called for a review of all national security memoranda issued under Biden.

Also on Friday, the Pentagon said that the State Department had approved the potential sale of nearly $3 billion worth of bombs, demolition kits, and other weaponry to Israel.

The administration notified Congress of those prospective weapons sales on an emergency basis, sidestepping a long-standing practice of giving the chairs and ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees the opportunity to review the sale and ask for more information before making a formal notification to Congress.

This marks the second time in recent weeks that the Trump administration has invoked emergency authority to expedite weapons sales to Israel.

The Biden administration has previously used emergency authority for the same purpose, sidestepping traditional review processes.

The decision to expedite weapons sales to Israel raises concerns about the use of these arms against the civilian population of Gaza.

For 15 months prior to the January 15 ceasefire agreement with Hamas, the Israeli military employed US-supplied weaponry in relentless attacks on Gaza, causing significant civilian casualties and widespread destruction.

Press TV’s website 

Iran’s deputy foreign minister has highlighted the “special place” that neighbors have in the country’s foreign policy, calling for friendship and cooperation between regional countries.

“Neighbors have a special place in our foreign policy. Through friendship and cooperation, we can build a better and more prosperous future for our region,” Majid Takht-Ravanchi said in an X post on Sunday.

He made the remarks after wrapping up a visit to Abu Dhabi, where he held talks with Emirati officials as part of the first round of Iran-UAE political consultations.

Takht-Ravanchi said that during his meetings with UAE Assistant Minister for Political Affairs, Lana Nusseibeh, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khalifa Shaheen, and Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the Emirati president, both sides “indicated their eagerness to expand relations, particularly in the economic field.”

The UAE is Iran’s second-largest trade partner. In May 2024, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for expanding economic cooperation in different sectors.

During his meeting with Gargash, Takht-Ravanchi expressed the Islamic Republic’s readiness to enhance ties with the UAE based on mutual interests.

He also underscored the importance of Iran-UAE political consultations and hoped that the regular convening of such discussions would speed up the implementation of bilateral agreements.

He further addressed Israel’s destabilizing actions in the region, calling for unity among Muslim nations in response to the regime’s provocations.

Press TV’s website

The Trump administration has given the go-ahead for a nearly $3 billion arms sale to Israel, sidestepping the standard congressional review process to expedite the delivery of 2,000-pound bombs widely used by the Israeli military in its ongoing onslaught in the Gaza Strip.

In a series of notifications sent to Congress on Friday, the State Department has reported it has approved the sale of more than 35,500 MK 84 and BLU-117 bombs and 4,000 Predator warheads worth $2.04 billion to Israel.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio “has determined and provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and defense services in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements,” the department said.

Deliveries are set to begin next year, it said.

According to the same statement, Rubio has also approved another munitions sale to Israel worth $675.7 million to be delivered starting in 2028.

The Israeli regime has extensively used the MK 84, also known as the 2,000-pound bomb, in its genocidal wars against the people of Lebanon and Palestine, including the assassination of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

Last May, the previous US administration attempted to curb Israel’s military aggression in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, by imposing a temporary ban on the sale of 2,000-pound bombs.

This effort, however, proved futile in halting the invasion, as the US continued to supply other weapons to the Israeli regime.

On February 25, Trump’s National Security Adviser, Michael Waltz, rescinded the ban to allow the State Department to resume the sale of the bombs to the regime.

Ramy Abdu, founder and chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean human rights monitor, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, expressed anger over the use of American weapons and policies in acts of violence and oppression against Palestinians.

“We are being killed with American weapons. Genocide is being committed against us with American weapons. We are being starved by American decisions. Our children are being burned with American weapons. We will never forget. We will never forgive,” he wrote.

State Department has also approved the sale of Caterpillar D9 Bulldozers and related equipment for an estimated cost of $295 million to Israel.

The Israeli regime has used D9 bulldozers to demolish thousands of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

D9 has been involved in several incidents of civilian deaths, including in 2023 when it was used against the refugees sheltering outside the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights has advised Caterpillar Inc. that by supplying the bulldozers to the regime, it is complicit in human rights violations.

Press TV’s website

The Great God is always with us, at every moment and in every secret of hearts and minds. But sins and worldly attachments, like thick and dark curtains, cover this pure and infinite truth from the eyes of our hearts. In fact, it is human selfishness and errors that hide this closeness and challenge the awareness of this truth in the depths of the heart.

To escape from the fences, one must distance oneself. This is a profound invitation that warns man that he can only reach the truth if he passes beyond everything he knows himself to be. Migration does not only mean leaving a place, but also leaving thoughts, attachments, and even false identities. In this spiritual journey, man must pass beyond material and worldly desires, must be freed from his selfishness and illusions, and immerse himself in the endless light of God.

Migration to God;

Islam, by depicting the migration to God as a journey to the House of God, places this meaning very clearly before our eyes. The Kaaba is not just a stone building, but a symbol of the collective journey of humans towards the truth that lies within their entire being. During the Hajj season, a person does not just go to a specific place, but also embarks on an inner journey in which they can achieve peace, truth and liberation.

In this path, the Hajj is like a window that allows a person to approach “step by step until meeting God.” The journey to God, as stated in the Quran, is a flight from other than God to Him. Flight to God means liberation from all that separates us from the truth. God is present everywhere and at every moment, and this journey frees man from his inner bonds and from the material worlds and leads him towards the eternal light.

The days of Hajj are like a period of purification in which man is cleansed of all the rust of sin and internal impurities. Hajj is a rebirth, a birth that transports man from the world of matter to the world of meaning. In this journey, every step taken takes man away from self-centeredness and worldly attachments and brings him as close as possible to the truth.

It is as if man is moving towards the divine light on this path, a light that shines from the heart of the Kaaba and from every corner of the world of existence. This light cleanses man of all the ugliness and internal impurities and takes him to a place where he is as if he had just been born from his mother.

Hajj, an opportunity to get rid of sins: Divine light and return to the origin of existence

That is why it has been said: “People are obliged to go on pilgrimage to the House of God, before the divine light of Hajj disappears from them by being contaminated with sin.” Hajj is an opportunity that should not be missed. At this special time, man can be freed from all filth and sins and reach his most luminous state. But if this precious opportunity is ignored, the divine light that shines on the heart of man from this journey may be extinguished and man may once again remain trapped in the dark layers of the soul.

Hajj is more than an outward journey, it is an inner journey. This journey is a path of spiritual transformation and development, where man must separate himself from everything that distances him from God and seek Him alone. In this journey, every step towards God frees man from all the dark corners of the soul and leads him to a transcendent truth. This journey is not only about liberation from sins, but also about reaching the truth that lies within every human being: closeness to God, the only truth to which every search returns.