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WAYS OF ESTABLISHING THE FIRST OF THE MONTH →
← LAWS OF FASTING FOR A TRAVELLER
THOSE ON WHOM FASTING IS NOT OBLIGATORY (WĀJIB)
Ruling 1694.* Fasting is not obligatory for someone who finds fasting excessively difficult due to old age, nor is it necessary for such a person to make up the fasts. However, for each day [that he does not fast], he must give one mudd of food – i.e. wheat, barley, bread, and suchlike – to a poor person. If fasting for him is not possible at all [as opposed to being excessively difficult], it is not necessary that he give fidyah.[1],[2]
Ruling 1695. If someone who has not fasted on account of old age is able to fast after the month of Ramadan, the recommended precaution is that he should make up the fasts that he did not keep.
Ruling 1696. If someone has an illness that makes him very thirsty and he cannot bear being thirsty, or it is excessively difficult for him to bear it, then fasting is not obligatory for him. However, in the second case, he must give one mudd of food to a poor person for each missed fast; and in the event that he is able to fast afterwards, it is not obligatory for him to make them up.
Ruling 1697. Fasting is not obligatory for a pregnant woman approaching the time of delivery if it is harmful for her or the unborn child. Such a woman must give one mudd of food to a poor person for each missed fast, and she must make up the fasts she did not keep.
Ruling 1698. If fasting is harmful for a woman who is breastfeeding her child and who has little milk – whether she is the child’s mother or wet nurse, or someone who is breastfeeding the child without getting paid – or, if fasting is harmful for the child that she is breastfeeding, it is not obligatory for her to fast and she must give one mudd of food to a poor person for each missed fast and she must make up the fasts she did not keep. However, based on obligatory precaution, this rule only applies to the case where giving milk to the child is limited to this way. Therefore, if there is another way of giving milk to the child – for example, a number of women participate in breastfeeding the child, or the child is fed with the aid of a bottle – then affirming this rule is problematic (maḥall al‑ishkāl) [i.e. based on obligatory precaution, it is not permitted for such a woman to not fast].[3]
Ruling 1695. If someone who has not fasted on account of old age is able to fast after the month of Ramadan, the recommended precaution is that he should make up the fasts that he did not keep.
Ruling 1696. If someone has an illness that makes him very thirsty and he cannot bear being thirsty, or it is excessively difficult for him to bear it, then fasting is not obligatory for him. However, in the second case, he must give one mudd of food to a poor person for each missed fast; and in the event that he is able to fast afterwards, it is not obligatory for him to make them up.
Ruling 1697. Fasting is not obligatory for a pregnant woman approaching the time of delivery if it is harmful for her or the unborn child. Such a woman must give one mudd of food to a poor person for each missed fast, and she must make up the fasts she did not keep.
Ruling 1698. If fasting is harmful for a woman who is breastfeeding her child and who has little milk – whether she is the child’s mother or wet nurse, or someone who is breastfeeding the child without getting paid – or, if fasting is harmful for the child that she is breastfeeding, it is not obligatory for her to fast and she must give one mudd of food to a poor person for each missed fast and she must make up the fasts she did not keep. However, based on obligatory precaution, this rule only applies to the case where giving milk to the child is limited to this way. Therefore, if there is another way of giving milk to the child – for example, a number of women participate in breastfeeding the child, or the child is fed with the aid of a bottle – then affirming this rule is problematic (maḥall al‑ishkāl) [i.e. based on obligatory precaution, it is not permitted for such a woman to not fast].[3]
[1] Fidyah is explained in the footnote pertaining to Ruling 1672.
[2] The wording of this ruling in this edition of Islamic Laws is clearer than it was previously. If someone finds fasting excessively difficult due to old age, they do not have to fast nor make up the fasts later. But they have to give fidyah (i.e. 750 grams of wheat, barley, bread, or other staple food) to a poor person for each missed fast.
If a person cannot fast at all due to old age – i.e. their position is such that it goes beyond finding fasting excessively difficult – then they do not even have to give fidyah.
Note: It is permissible to give fidyah payments to an agent or representative (wakīl), such as a trusted charity, who will buy the required food and distribute it on the person’s behalf.
[3] As mentioned in Ruling 6, the term ‘problematic’ (maḥall al‑ishkāl) amounts to saying the ruling is based on obligatory precaution.