O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous - 183 Fast a (fixed) number of days, but if someone is ill or is travelling (he should complete) the number of days (he had missed); and those who find it hard to fast should expiate by feeding a poor person. For the good they do with a little hardship is better for men. And if you fast it is good for you, if you knew. 184 The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful. 185 AND IF My servants ask thee about Me - behold, I am near; I respond to the call of him who calls, whenever he calls unto Me: let them, then, respond unto Me, and believe in Me, so that they might follow the right way. 186 Going to your wives during the nights of the fast is made lawful for you; they are coverings for you and you are coverings for them; Allah knows that you were deceiving yourselves (in this respect), so He accepted your penance and forgave you; so cohabit with them and seek what Allah has destined for you – and eat and drink until the white thread becomes distinct to you from the black thread at dawn – then complete the fast till nightfall; and do not touch women while staying in seclusion for worship in the mosques; these are the limits imposed by Allah, so do not go near them; this is how Allah explains His verses to mankind so that they may attain piety. 187 Do not use your property among yourselves in illegal ways and then deliberately bribe the rulers with your property so that you may wrongly acquire the property of others. 188