by Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah | Translated and Abridged by Suhaib Webb
Question: What is obligatory upon the elderly who are unable to fast?
Answer: “If a person has reached old age and they are unable to fast, then feeding a person (for each day of fasting missed) is sufficient.” (ad-Daraqutni and al-Hakim) Allah says, “Allah does not burden a soul beyond its scope,” (Qur’an, 2:286) and “Allah intends to lighten things for you. And man was created weak” (Qur’an, 4:28). The principles of facilitation and ease are from the foundations of Islam.
Assalamu Alaikum,
I have extreme difficulty fasting, I am not elderly at all.
When I was in young, fasting came very easy. A few years later, I began getting very nauseous if I missed breakfast, and would eat something salty to alleviate this. When Ramadan came around, I spent many hours hurling over a toilet.
Now, I get migraines. I get them from things as simple as being woken when sleeping, or eating a greasy meal, or missing meals. They can become very severe, lasting hours and even days at a time. They can be incredibly painful and I sometimes end up spending the whole day in bed.
The pain is so intense, that I now do everything in my ability to avoid the chance of getting a migraine. I don’t go to a restaurant I went to if I got a migraine after eating there and so forth.
I am not sure if it is allowed or not, but I have stopped fasting and didn’t even make up my days. I feel incredible shame and guilt. I just do not know if it is allowed or not. I feel guilty because I see my elders fasting even though their bodies must be weaker. I see people fasting when they work in restaurants around food all day.
When I do fast, I drink tons of water the night before and at suhoor, I eat a balanced healthy meal and get a good night’s sleep. Even if I do make it throughout the day with no migraine, when I break my fast I get a migraine. No matter what I do, if I eat light and gradually…nothing helps. At times I would break my fast with just some water and I would instantly hurl.
The thing is now, I don’t even try fasting. I just gave up on it. I hate it. I feel shame even in front of non Muslims because they know I am supposed to be fasting.
I am really not sure if this is a sin, or if I should keep trying, or what I should do. Please tell me.
JazakAllahu Khairan
Salaam Alaikum,
With regards to the question, “What Happens When an Elderly Person Cannot Fast” answered by Sh. Abdullah bin Bayyah. People in my family are in a similar situation. I understand that for every missed day of fast, a poor person has to be fed. My question is, should a poor person be fed just one meal or should he be fed more than one meal for that whole day?
Jazaak-Allah-Qair