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Fear of illness getting worse or loss
of life
Ruling: If one is so ill that
fasting will be injurious to his health or there is fear that
if he will fast the illness will become aggravated or it may
be prolonged, then such a person may not keep fast. He should
offer compensatory fast after recovery. But it is not proper
to give up fasting merely upon one's own guess. A pious Muslim
hakim or doctor must be consulted.
Ruling: If the hakim or doctor
is a non-believer or does not follow the religious code, his
advice should not be trusted and fast should not be given
up.
Ruling: If on personal experience
some symptoms occur which convince one that fasting will be
harmful to him, then such a person may give up fasting. But
if one has no personal experience or is not aware of the causes
of his illness, then fast should not be given up on one's
own guess. If not on the advice of a pious doctor but on one's
own experience a fast is broken, then Kaffara will have to
be given. And if the fast was not kept at all, then only Qadha
and not Kaffara will be due.
Ruling: A person has recovered
from illness but is still weak and it is feared that the illness
will recur if he fasts, then it is permissible for him not
to keep it.
Journey
Ruling: If a person is on a course
of journey, it is permissible for him not to keep the fast
and offer its Qadha later on.
Ruling: If a traveler has no
trouble during the journey as for example he is traveling
on a train and hopes to reach home by the evening or he has
all the means of comfort during the journey, then it is better
for him to keep the fast.
If he does not keep the fast and offers Qadha instead, then
it is also permissible and there is no sin in it. However,
in that case, he will be deprived of the blessings and merits
of Ramadan fasting. If one faces hardships during the journey
due to fasting, then it is better not to keep the fast.
Ruling: If any one did not recover
from illness and died or a traveler died during the journey,
then there will be no interrogation about the fasts missed
during illness or journey because he did not get the time
to offer their Qadha.
Ruling: If a person during his
course of journey stops at a place with the intention of staying
there for fifteen days, then it is not right to miss the fasts
because he is now no longer a traveler. But if the intention
is to stay for less than fifteen days, then it is permissible
not to keep fasts.
Ruling about pregnant women and those
suckling a baby
Ruling: A pregnant woman or one
suckling a baby may not fast if there is fear of her own-life
or that of the baby. She should keep the missed fast later.
But if her husband has the means to engage a wet nurse and
relieve the wife, then it will not be permissible for the
wife to give up fasts. If on the other hand, a baby is of
such a nature that it will not take milk from anyone else
except its mother then it is permissible for her to give up
fasts.
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