In the event of any sickness that makes people feel
unwell, a person is allowed not to fast. The basis for this is the aayah
(interpretation of the meaning): “… and whoever is ill or on a journey,
the same number [of days on which one did not observe sawm must be made up] from
other days…” [al-Baqarah 2:185]. But if the ailment is minor, such as a
cough or headache, then it is not a reason to break one's fast.
If there is medical proof, or a person knows from his usual
experience, or he is certain, that fasting will make his illness worse or delay
his recovery, he is permitted to break his fast; indeed, it is disliked
(makrooh) for him to fast in such cases. If a person is seriously ill, he does
not have to have the intention during the night to fast the following day, even
if there is a possibility that he may be well in the morning, because what
counts is the present moment.
If fasting will cause unconsciousness,
he should break his fast and make the fast up later on. (al-Fataawa,
25/217). If a person falls unconscious during the day and
recovers before Maghrib or after, his fast is still valid, so long as he was
fasting in the morning; if he is unconscious from Fajr until Maghrib, then
according to the majority of scholars his fast is not valid. According to the
majority of scholars, it is obligatory for a person who falls unconscious to
make up his fasts later on, no matter how long he was unconscious. (Al-Mughni
ma’a al-Sharh al-Kabeer, 1/412, 3/32; al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaytiyyah,
5/268). Some scholars issued fatwaas to the effect that a person
who falls unconscious or takes sleeping pills or receives a general anaesthetic
for a genuine reason, and becomes unconscious for three days or less, must make
up the fasts later on, because he is regarded as being like one who sleeps; if
he is unconscious for more than three days, he does not have to make up the
fasts, because he is regarded as being like one who is insane. (From the
fataawa of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, issued verbally).
If a person feels extreme hunger or
thirst, and fears that he may die or that some of his faculties may be
irreparably damaged, and has rational grounds for believing this to be so, he
may break his fast and make up for it later on, because saving one’s life is
obligatory. But it is not permissible to break one's fast because of bearable
hardship or because one feels tired or is afraid of some imagined illness.
People who work in physically demanding jobs are not permitted to break their
fast, and they must have the intention at night of fasting the following day. If
they cannot stop working and they are afraid that some harm may befall them
during the day, or they face some extreme hardship that causes them to break
their fast, then they should eat only what is enough to help them bear the
hardship, then they should refrain from eating until sunset, and they have to
make the fast up later. Workers in physically demanding jobs, such as working
with furnaces and smelting metals, should try to change their hours so that they
work at night, or take their holidays during Ramadaan, or even take unpaid
leave, but if this is not possible, then they should look for another job, where
they can combine their religious and worldly duties. “And whoever fears
Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He willmake a way for him to get out
(from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he could never
imagine.” [al-Talaaq 65:2-3 – interpretation of the meaning]. (Fataawa
al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 10/233, 235)
Students’ exams are no excuse for breaking
one’s fast during Ramadaan, and it is not permissible to obey one’s parents
in breaking the fast because of having exams, because there is no obedience to
any created being if it involves disobedience to the Creator. (Fataawa
al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 10/241).
The sick person who hopes to recover
should wait until he gets better, then make up for the fasts he has missed; he
is not allowed just to feed the poor. The person who is suffering from a chronic
illness and has no hope of recovery and elderly people who are unable to fast
should feed a poor person with half a saa’ of the staple food of his
country for every day that he has missed. (Half a saa’ is roughly equivalent
to one and a half kilograms of rice). It is permissible for him to do this all
at once, on one day at the end of the month, or to feed one poor person every
day. He has to do this by giving actual food, because of the wording of the
aayah – he cannot do it by giving money to the poor (Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah, 10/198). But he can give money to a
trustworthy person or charitable organization to buy food and distribute it to
the poor on his behalf.
If a sick person does not fast in Ramadaan,
waiting to recover so that he can make the days up later, then he finds out that
his sickness is chronic, he has to feed a poor person for every day that he did
not fast. (From the fataawa of Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen).
If a person is waiting to recover from his illness and hopes to get better, but
then dies, there is no “debt” owed by him or his heirs. If a person’s
sickness is considered to be chronic, so he does not fast and feeds the poor
instead, then advances in medical science mean that there is now a cure, which
he uses and gets better, he does not have to make up the fasts he has missed,
because he did what he had to do at the time. (Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,
10/195)
If a person is sick, then recovers, and
is able to make up the missed fasts but does not do so before he dies, then
money should be taken from his estate to feed a poor person for every day that
he missed. If any of his relatives want to fast on his behalf, then this is OK,
because it was reported in al-Saheehayn that the Messenger of Allaah Page not found - Muslim Converts
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(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever dies owing some
fasts, let his heir fast on his behalf.” (From Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,
volume on Da’wah, 806).
I have diabetes typeII which is
NIDM non insulin depend diabetes, I don't use any medicine, I only control
diet and I do little physical exercise to keep in right level of my sugar
(blood). I have this decease one year and two months. Last Ramadan I
fasted some days but I could not continue do to my low level of sugar blood).
This year I feel good (Alhamdu Lillaah ONLY feel pain in my brain during
fasting!? So my question is, is it my DUTY to fast despite my disease? Can
test my blood during fasting times; "causing blood to come from my fingers"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It is prescribed for sick people
not to fast in Ramadaan, if fasting will cause harm or make the sickness
worse, or if they need treatment during the day in the form of medicine or
pills that must be swallowed, because Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one
did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days" [al-Baqarah
2:185]
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(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah loves people to avail
themselves of His concessions (rukhsah) just as He hates them to commit sin.”
According to another version, “As He loves His commands to be
obeyed.”
With regard to taking blood from veins for testing etc., the correct
view is that this does not break the fast, but if it is done often, it is
better to leave it until night-time. If it is done during the day then to be
on the safe side that day should be made up, because this is akin to
cupping.”
(Fatwa of Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), from
Fataawa Islamiyyah, vol. 2, p. 139)
Sickness is of various kinds:
1 – That which does not affect
the fast, such as a light cold or mild headache or toothache, and the like. In
this case it is not permissible to break the fast, even though some of the
scholars permitted that because of the aayah (interpretation of the
meaning):
“and whoever is ill…”[al-Baqarah 2:185]
But we say that this ruling is based on a reason, which is that not
fasting is easier. If that is the case, then we would say that not fasting is
better, but if fasting does not have an effect on him then it is not
permissible to break the fast, and he has to fast.
2 – If fasting is difficult for the sick person, but it does not harm
him, then it is makrooh for him to fast and it is Sunnah for him to break his
fast.
3 – If fasting is difficult for
him and will cause him harm, such as a man who has kidney disease or diabetes
and similar cases where fasting will cause harm. In this case fasting is
haraam. Hence we may see that some mujtahids and sick people make a mistake
when fasting is difficult for them and may harm them, but they refuse to break
their fast. We say that they are mistaken because they refuse to accept the
kindness of Allaah and the concession that He has given to them, and they are
harming themselves, although Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“And do not kill yourselves”[al-Nisa’ 4:29]
al-Sharh al-Mumti’ by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen,
vol. 6, 352-254.
Sheikh Muhammed
Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Question :
I have diabetes and I have to inject myself with insulin
twice a day. Hence I do not fast and I pay the fidyah in cash for the number
of days I do not fast. It is permissible to pay the fidyah in this way,
i.e., in cash, especially since I break my fast in the restaurant and I am
not married? Can this fidyah be distributed to three or more poor people,
because I cannot find anyone who needs to be fed at the time of iftaar?.
Answer :
Praise be to Allaah.
If you are
able to fast, then you must fast, and in this case it is not permissible for
you to break your fast and feed others. Insulin injections do not break the
fast; you can fast and take the insulin injections. And you have to make up
the fasts that you have missed.
But if
fasting will harm you, or it will cause you great difficulty, or you need to
take medicine during the day, then it is permissible for you not to fast in
that case. If you will never be able to make up the fasts in the future,
then you have to feed one poor person for each day.
It is not
permissible for you to pay the fidyah in cash, rather you have to give food,
because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And as
for those who can fast with difficulty, (e.g. an old man), they have (a
choice either to fast or) to feed a Miskeen (poor person) (for every day)”
[al-Baqarah
2:184]
So you have to look for
poor people so that you can do what is required of you, or give money to
someone who can buy food and make sure it reaches the poor on your behalf.
And Allaah knows
best.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
---------
I have a problem with my stomach that makes it extremely
difficult for me to fast... I give out money at the beginning of Ramadan to
feed a Muslim each day till the end of Ramadan... Is there anything else I
can do for not fasting?.
Answer :
Praise be to Allaah.
If this
sickness that is preventing you from fasting is something that is incurable,
then what you have done is correct, because the one who is suffering from an
incurable sickness has to feed one poor person for each day, and he does not
have to do anything else.
But if the
sickness is one from which you hope to recover, then if you get better you
have to make up the days that you did not fast, and in this case it is not
permissible for you to feed the poor when you are able to make up the fasts.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
-
Question :
I am going to have some diagnostic imaging done at the
hospital, and this means that I cannot fast on that day. If I do not do this
imaging now, I will not get another appointment for several months. Is it
permissible for me to break my fast in order to do this imaging?.
Answer :
Praise be to Allaah.
It
is permissible for one who is sick to break his fast, and he has to make up
the days that he does not fast because of sickness, because Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“and
whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not
observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days”
[al-Baqarah
2:185]
The
kind of sickness which means that a person is allowed not to fast is severe
sickness which causes hardship or harm to the person if he fasts, or which
it is feared will make the sickness worse or delay recovery because of
fasting. The scholars also said that this applies if it is feared that a
person may become sick because of fasting.
If
your sickness falls into any of these categories (as appears to be the
case), it is permissible for you not to fast, because diagnostic imaging
helps to determine the sickness and thus prevent it getting worse or
delaying recovery.
But
if your sickness does not fall into any of these categories, then it is not
permissible for you to break your fast, and you should try to do the imaging
at night if you can, or wait until Ramadaan is over.
Shaykh
Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen said:
The
person who is sick with a temporary illness falls into one of three
categories:
1
– Those for whom fasting is not difficult and does not cause hardship.
They have to fast and are not excused.
2
– Those for whom fasting is difficult but does not cause harm. It is
makrooh for them to fast because that means they are rejecting a concession
granted to them by Allaah, as well as being hard on themselves.
3
– Those for whom fasting is harmful. It is haraam for them to fast because
that means they are bringing harm upon themselves. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“And
do not kill yourselves”
[al-Nisa’
4:29]
“and
do not throw yourselves into destruction”
[al-Baqarah
2:195]
According
to the hadeeth, the Prophet Page not found - Muslim Converts
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(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There should be neither
harming nor reciprocating harm.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah and al-Haakim.
Al-Nawawi said: it has isnaads which strengthen one another. Whether or not
fasting is harmful for a sick person is known either from the person feeling
that himself or a trustworthy doctor telling him of that.
If
a sick person breaks his fast, he has to make up the number of days that he
missed when he recovers. If he dies before recovering, then that obligation
no longer applies because the command is to make up the fasts from other
days, but he did not live to see those other days.
Fusool
fi’l-Siyaam wa’l-Taraaweeh
(part 3).
And
Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
--
Question :
How should a person who suffers kidney failure and who
has dialysis three times a week fast?.
Answer :
Praise be to Allaah.
The
Standing Committee was asked:
Does
kidney dialysis affect a person’s fast?
They
replied:
We
wrote to the Director of the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and the
Director of the Armed Forces Hospital in Riyadh to find out more about what
is involved in kidney dialysis and whether chemical substances are used, and
whether it is regarded as a kind of nourishment.
They
replied as follows: kidney dialysis involves taking the patient’s blood
into a machine (an artificial kidney) which cleans it then returns it to the
body. It also adds some chemical and nutrients such as sugars and salts etc.
to the blood.
After
studying the matter and discovering the nature of kidney dialysis with the
help of some experts in the field, the Standing Committee issued a fatwa
stating that kidney dialysis invalidates the fast.
And
Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon
our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.
Shaykh
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about a person who
undergoes kidney dialysis – does having his blood removed during the
procedure invalidate his wudoo’? How should he fast and pray whilst having
dialysis done, if that coincides with the time of prayer?
He
replied:
With
regard to wudoo’, it does not invalidate wudoo’, because the correct
scholarly view is that what comes out of the body does not invalidate
wudoo’ unless it comes out of either the front or back passage. Whatever
comes out of those two passages invalidates wudoo’, whether it is urine,
stools or wind. Everything that comes out of the two passages invalidates
wudoo’.
With
regard to that which comes out of anywhere other than the two passages, such
as a nosebleed that comes out of the nose, or blood that comes out of a
wound, and so on, it does not invalidate wudoo’ whether in small or large
quantities. Based on this, kidney dialysis does not invalidate wudoo’.
With
regard to prayer, the patient can join Zuhr and ‘Asr, and Maghrib and
‘Isha’. He can plan his schedule with his doctor, to make sure that the
dialysis will not take more than half the day, so that he will not miss
praying Zuhr and ‘Asr on time. He can say to him, for example: Schedule
the dialysis in the early afternoon, giving me enough time to pray Zuhr and
‘Asr, or bring it forward so that I will be able to pray Zuhr and ‘Asr
(afterwards), before the time for ‘Asr ends. What matters is that it is
permissible to combine the prayers without delaying them. Based on this it
is essential to plan one’s schedule with one’s doctor.
With
regard to fasting, we are not sure about that. Sometimes I would say that it
is not like cupping, because with cupping blood is taken and not returned to
the body, and this invalidates the fast as it says in the hadeeth. In
dialysis blood is taken from the body, cleaned and returned to the body. But
I am concerned that dialysis involves some nutrients which take the place of
food and drink. If that is the case then it does invalidate the fast. In
that case if this is a lifelong condition with no hope of recovery, then he
should feed one poor person for each day. But if it happens intermittently,
then he should not fast when he is undergoing dialysis and make up that day
later on.
But
if the substances that are mixed with the blood do not include nutrients,
rather they simply cleanse the blood, then this does not break the fast. In
this case he may use dialysis even if he is fasting. He should refer to the
doctors about this matter.
Majmoo’
Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 20/113.
In
conclusion:
A person who is suffering
from kidney failure should not fast on the days when he has dialysis, then
if he can make up the fast he should do so. If he cannot make up the fasts
because he is elderly and cannot fast, then he should not fast and should
feed one poor person for each day.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
-
Question :
I would like to find out if it is compulsory for a
person to fast if he suffers from epilepsy.
Answer :
Praise be to Allaah.
Yes, the one
who suffers from epilepsy has to fast in Ramadaan, and he is not exempted
from fasting because of that.
Shaykh Ibn
Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked:
A man loses
consciousness for a few hours – does he have to fast?
He answered:
If he only lost
consciousness for a few hours, then he has to fast, like the one who sleeps
for a while. The fact that he loses consciousness for a few days during the
day or during the night does not mean that he is not obliged to fast.
Fataawa
al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 15/210.
But if he is
unconscious for the whole day (i.e., from dawn until sunset), then his fast
is not valid and he has to make up that day. But if he wakes up during the
day then his fast is valid.
See also
Question no.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
--
Question :
A man fell into a coma whilst he was fasting. Is his
fast invalidated?.
Answer :
Praise be to Allaah.
The
view of Imam al-Shaafa’i and Imam Ahmad is that if a person falls into a
coma in Ramadaan, one of the following two scenarios must apply:
1
– The coma lasts all day, i.e., he is unconscious from before dawn until
after the sun sets. In this case his fast is not valid, and he must make
up this day after Ramadaan.
The
evidence that his fast is not valid is that fasting means abstaining from
things that invalidate the fast, with the intention of doing so, because
Allaah says in the hadeeth qudsi that the fasting person “gives up his
food, his drink and his desire for My sake.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
1894; Muslim, 1151). So the abstention is connected to the prior intention
on the part of the fasting person, and this cannot apply to one who is in
a coma.
The
evidence that the fast must be made up later on is the verse in which
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and
whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not
observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days”
[al-Baqarah
2:185]
2 – He is awake for
part of the day, if only for a moment. In this case his fast is valid,
whether he woke up at the beginning of the day, at the end or in the
middle.
Al-Nawawi
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said, mentioning the different scholarly
opinions on this matter:
The
most correct view says that this is subject to the condition that he be
awake for a part of the day.
i.e.,
the soundness of the unconscious person’s fasts depends on his being
awake for part of the day.
The evidence for his
fast being sound if he is awake for part of the day is that he has
consciously abstained from things that break the fast in general.
See
Haashiyat Ibn Qaasim ‘ala al-Rawd al-Muraaba’, 3/381
So to sum up, the
answer is that if a man is unconscious for the entire day – i.e., from
dawn until sunset – his fast is not valid, and he has to make up the
fasts he missed. If he was awake for part of the day, then his fast
is valid. This is the view of al-Shaafa’i and Ahmad, and was the view
favoured by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him).
See
al-Majmoo’, 6/346; al-Mughni, 4/344; al-Sharh
al-Mumti’, 6/365
And
Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
--
What does a person have to do if he was in a coma when
Ramadaan began because of a car accident, and he did not wake up until
twenty-two days later?.
Answer :
Praise be to Allaah.
This
question was put to Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy
on him) and he said:
According
to the most sound opinion, if a person is unconscious and is in a coma
because of sickness or otherwise, he is not obliged to pray, so he does not
have to make up the prayers he missed. As for fasting, he does have to make
up the days that he did not fast whilst he was in a coma.
The difference between
prayer and fasting is that prayer is done repeatedly, so if a person does
not make up the prayers he missed, he will pray on the following day. But in
the case of fasting, it is not done repeatedly. Hence a woman who
menstruates has to make up the fasts she misses but not the prayers.
