In the name of Allah,
If a person is suffering from a sickness, they are exempt from having to observe the fast.
Allah said:
(Interpretation of the meaning): “…and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allāh intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship.; [al-Baqarah 2:185].
Imam Ibn Katheer explains this:
(…and whoever is ill or traveling, the same number of days one did not follow Sawm (fasting) must be made up from other days.)
This Ayah suggests that sick people who are unable to fast or fear damage from fasting, as well as travelers, are permitted to break the fast. In this case, one must fast on other days. Allah stated:
(Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you.)
This Ayah implies that Allah allowed ill or traveling people to break the fast out of mercy and to make things easier for them, while healthy individuals who are not traveling must fast. Click here for more on this.
You can classify illnesses into two categories. One with recovery potential and one without.
If a person’s illness was one from which it was hoped he would get better, he did not have to fast during Ramadan, but he had to make up the days he missed. If he couldn’t make them up because he was still sick, he and his heirs don’t have to fast or feed the poor. A person who dies waiting to heal from an illness has no “debt” to his heirs.
The Hanafi Book Al Hidaya agrees with this. It says:
If the traveler or ill person dies while in that state, no qada’ is due.” The reason is that they do not have any other days to do it[i].
People with long-term illnesses that can’t be cured and older people who can’t fast should feed a poor person half a saa’ of the main food of their country for each day of fasting they miss. (Half a saa’ equals 1.5 kg of rice). He can do this all at once on the last day of the month or feed one poor person every day. The aayah states that he must feed the poor, not give them money. However, he can give money to a reliable person or charity to buy and deliver food to the poor.[ii]
A chronically sick person died without offering Fidya to needy
If an individual is chronically ill, he should feed a poor person each day instead of fasting. If he accomplished that while still alive, fine; otherwise, his heirs will be responsible for providing food for the needy[iii].
In the event that a person’s illness was initially believed to be chronic but later recovery hopes emerged
If a person’s sickness is thought to be long-term, so he doesn’t fast and instead feeds the poor, and then medical science makes a finding that helps him get better, he doesn’t have to make up the fasts he missed because he did what he needed to do at the time[iv].
If a sick person skips Ramadan in order to recover and make up the days later, but finds his condition is permanent, he must feed a poor person for each day he skipped.
However, if he had the ability to make up the fasts but chose not to, it is a mustahabb for his successors to observe the fast for the number of days he skipped. If they don’t, they must feed one poor person each day. This is based on the hadith recorded in Saheehayn:
‘Whoever dies and has fasts upon him, his guardian should observe the fasts on his behalf’[v].
Imam Ash Shawkani stated that the majority of jurists hold that it is not obligatory for a guardian to fast on behalf of a deceased relative. The evidence he provides is that Al-Bazzar has a phrase that says, “If he wills.”
The extra report’s chain is hasan, according to Majmauz-Zawaaid. Abu Thawr, As-Sadiq, An-Nasir, Al-Muayyad bin Llah, Al-Awzai, and Ahmad bin Hanbal agreed. In Al-Khilaafiyat, Al-Bayhaqi said: This is an agreed Sunnah; I do not know any scholars who dispute its validity[vi].
May Allah’s peace and blessings be on the last and final prophet
Sources:
[i] Al-Hidayah THE GUIDANCE, Burhan Al Din Al Farghani Al Marghinani, Book of Fasting, page 327
See also Ascent to felicity, Abu’l Ikhlas al-Shurunbulali, Translation: Faraz A. Khan page 135
[ii] Rulings pertaining to Ramadan, A Collection of Works by Sheikh Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid, Islamfuture, page 37
[iv] Rulings pertaining to Ramadan, A Collection of Works by Sheikh Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid, Islamfuture, page 38
[v] Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1952) and Muslim (1147)
[vi] Shawkani, Muhammad bin Aliy, (2019). Comprehensive Islamic jurisprudence, According to the Quraan and authentic Sunnah, trans: Abu Aisha Murtadha Salahuddin. Malaysia: Dakwah Corner Bookstore. Page 254