Fasting in Ramadan is an obligation on the mature, sane Muslim. Through Allah's limitless mercy, we learn that there are three groups of people who are excused from this act of worship. Join Sh. Abdullah as he details the different categories of exception, time frames for making up a fast, and what to do when you are unable to make up days you have missed.

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Episode Transcript

(Note: the transcript has been edited for clarity)

0:00 - 0:14 Introduction

Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wabarakatuh. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you all. I'm Abdullah Oduro and welcome. Who is fasting obligatory upon?

0:15 - 0:39 Who is fasting obligatory on?

We say fasting is obligatory upon every sane, mature Muslim and we talked about that. The one that is sane, mature and Muslim. When Allah SWT starts off the verse that we talked about earlier, when he says "Oh you who believe, that fasting has been prescribed upon you as it was upon the people before you, perhaps you may be of the mindful ones."

0:39 - 1:07 Who is exempt from fasting?

So when looking at this we divide it into three categories. Of the ones that are sane, mature and Muslim there are three general exceptions. The first category is of those that are allowed to break their fast but must make it up. Now those are of types. The first one is the traveler. The second is the sick person, and the third can be the one who is pregnant and breastfeeding at the same time.

1:08 - 1:46 The person who is sick

So when we look at the sick, the one that is sick. It's a sickness that is unbearable. You know the sickness that would make you call in to work, truthfully. The one that is a migraine headache, you know something that you cannot handle. If you have the flu, the common cold that has reached an unbearable level, that is where you are allowed to break your fast. But, you must make it up. The time frame that you have for making up these fasts are the rest of the 11 months after the month of Ramadan. So if you've, you know, broke your fast for three or four days or a week, then you have seven days to make up. You have the 11 months till the next Ramadan to make that up.

1:47 - 2:43 The traveller

The traveler is the second category and the traveler is the one that goes to another city. What constitutes traveling is where a person leaves their civilization or their habitat which is generally characterized by the absence of buildings and of residential homes. So when you're traveling for instance, you know we're in a city in the south. If you were to go from Dallas to Houston, when you see the absence of buildings and you see wilderness, you see mountains, you see gas stations, that no one lives around there. Now you know that you are a traveler. To where in praying, you're able to shorten your prayers. And here, in the month of Ramadan you do not have to fast. You can break your fast. Even when you reach the destination that you're traveling to, you don't have to fast. You can be someone that eats and drinks regularly, and be intimate regularly.

2:44 - 3:10 The pregnant or breastfeeding woman

The third category is the person that is pregnant or breastfeeding. If they fear for themselves, or if they fear for their child, or if they fear for both themselves and their child if they were to fast, primarily, ideally if it is confirmed by a physician not to do so, then they can break their fast. But they have to make it up in the remainder of the 11 months if possible, Insha'Allah ta'ala.

3:11 - 4:06 Who is forbidden to fast?

The second group of people are the ones that are not allowed to fast, and they do have to make it up. Those are primarily the women that are on their menses. During the time of their menses as we know, they are not allowed to pray and they don't have to make their prayers up. But for Ramadan, the days that they missed in Ramadan, they are not allowed to fast, and they have to make those days up. They are not allowed to fast and they have to make those days up. Also any individual that is of an unbearable sickness, they're not allowed to fast because Allah SWT mentions that you should not use your hands for your own destruction. If more than one reliable physician tells you that you cannot fast, do not fast. In this situation you are not allowed to fast, and you should make those days up.

4:06 - 5:56 Who does not have to make up their fast?

The third category are the individuals that it is allowed to break your fast and you don't have to make those days up. Depending on the condition, then it may not be allowed for you to fast. You may fall into the second category. What do we mean by that? The elderly person is the first category. The one who is elderly and has been told by a physician that you cannot fast because of your chronic condition. Your situation is one where you will have to eat, you have to get your sugar intake, whatever the case may be. He confirms that you have to take a certain amount of medicine, maybe insulin or something of this nature. Some type of something that nourishes you. Then you cannot fast or it's allowed for you to not fast. You do not have to make the days up but you have to feed a poor person for every day missed. It's preferable to feed the poor person upon the commencement of Maghrib prayer when people are breaking their fast. That is when you can go and feed a poor person for every day missed, being 30 days. Now, the way that you can do that are numerous. You can either wait till the end of Ramadan and feed 30 poor people, and have a feast at your home and feed 30 poor people. Or you can feed a person for every day at the end of that particular day. Or you can feed one person the amount of 30 people in food. Now this is another good opportunity for you to give dawah or tell people about Islam, telling them that this is what Islam orders me to do. "This is what is prescribed upon me and this is how I come closer to God, and show thanks and gratitude towards Him."

5:56 - 6:42 In summary

So in summary those are the three categorizations of the people that have to fast. Firstly we said that it has to be a mature, sane Muslim. Of those three, there are the exceptions and these categories are, the one that is allowed to break their fast but they have to make it up. The one that is obliged to break their fast and they have to make them up. And the one that is allowed to break their fast and they don't have to make it up. They have to feed a poor person for everyday missed. We ask Allah SWT to make you of those that abide by his sharia, by the law of Islam and understand that the law of Islam is a means of coming closer to him in this beautiful, beautiful month. Assalamu Alaikum. Thank you