Who is excused from fasting in Ramadan?
The question as asked, details removedWho is allowed not to fast in Ramadan, and do they have to make the fasts up?More
This is a sample answer written to show how the site works. It follows the standard Hanafi books, but no mufti has reviewed or signed it yet, so it is not a fatwa. For a real answer, ask a question. Ask a mufti
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِكِ الْوَهَّابِ اَللّٰهُمَّ هِدَايَةَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
1Short answer
The sick, travellers, and pregnant or nursing women who fear harm may leave the fast and make it up later. Women in menstruation or post-natal bleeding must not fast and make it up later. The very old who cannot fast give fidyah instead.
2Detailed answer
Those who may leave the fast and make it up later:
- A sick person, if fasting would make the illness worse or delay recovery, based on a reliable doctor or clear experience.
- A Shar'i traveller (about 92 km or more). If fasting is not hard for them, fasting is better.
- A pregnant or nursing woman who fears harm to herself or the child.
Those who must not fast:
- A woman in menstruation or post-natal bleeding. Her fast is not valid; she makes up the missed days later, but does not make up the missed prayers.
Those who give fidyah instead:
- A very old person, or someone with a permanent illness, who cannot fast and has no hope of being able to.
Anyone excused should still respect the fast and not eat openly in front of people who are fasting.
3Evidence and sources
- Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:184
- Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Book of Fasting
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Menstruation
- Bahar-e-Shariat, chapter on excuses for not fasting
Arabic texts, translations and how the ruling was derived
فمن كان منكم مريضا أو على سفر فعدة من أيام أخر وعلى الذين يطيقونه فدية طعام مسكين
Meaning: Whoever among you is sick or on a journey, then an equal number of other days; and on those who can only fast with great hardship, a fidyah of feeding a poor person.
إن الله وضع عن المسافر الصوم وشطر الصلاة، وعن الحامل أو المرضع الصوم
Meaning: Allah has lifted fasting and half the prayer from the traveller, and fasting from the pregnant and the nursing woman.
Sayyidah Aishah said that in menstruation "we were told to make up the fasts but not told to make up the prayers."
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَرَسُوْلُهُ أَعْلَمُ صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ