The person with memory loss: Is he accountable?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa number ( 21713 )
Q: My mother-in-law is elderly and bedridden, and she has diabetes and urinary incontinence—may Allah reward you—so her clothes and prayer mat are never free from the impurity of urine. We know that she has a kind Muslim maid who cleans her clothes and her room, but the room is never free from the smell of urine. Often, we cannot bear to sit with her while eating and drinking, so we have the maid eat with her during meals. As for her son's wife, she cannot bear to sit with her because of the smell. The children are young and cannot stay with her; they want to play and do not remain in one place. Also, she forgets the time and does not focus. I teach her to pray when the time enters, but sometimes she prays whenever she wishes, and sometimes she does not pray until we remind her, and when we remind her on some occasions
she says: “I have prayed.” We tell her: “The time has not entered yet,” but she does not listen to our words. Sometimes she says: “Why did you not remind me?” even though we have reminded her. She gets angry at us and makes a great and serious supplication against us. Sometimes she prays all the times in one time, such as Maghrib and Isha, and says: “Why did you not sit with me?” If we sit with her for a while and then leave for our work at another time, she calls out to us, makes supplications against us, and says: “Why did you leave?” We tell her why, but she is not convinced and makes supplications against us. As for fasting Ramadan, she fasts, but at the end of the day she asks for iftar before the time. We tell her that the time for iftar has not come and that the Maghrib adhan has not been called, so she gets very angry and makes supplications against us. Sometimes we serve her iftar before the time. In addition to that, she does not hear well, so we cannot understand her or convince her properly. What is the ruling on her prayer, our not sitting with her, her supplications against us, and her fasting? Do we have a sin in this? Please give us a ruling, O honorable Shaykh. May Allah reward you with good. As for her son, he is always busy and sits with her at the beginning and end of the day.
A: If the situation is as described regarding this woman, then she owes no prayer and no fasting due to the loss of memory. As for her condition regarding the urine, the specialized doctor should be consulted, perhaps he will find a treatment for her. If she were to wear a retainer that prevents the leakage of urine and it were changed from time to time, that would be good.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: My mother-in-law is elderly and bedridden, and she has diabetes and urinary incontinence—may Allah reward you—so her clothes and prayer mat are never free from the impurity of urine. We know that she has a kind Muslim maid who cleans her clothes and her room, but the room is never free from the smell of urine. Often, we cannot bear to sit with her while eating and drinking, so we have the maid eat with her during meals. As for her son's wife, she cannot bear to sit with her because of the smell. The children are young and cannot stay with her; they want to play and do not remain in one place. Also, she forgets the time and does not focus. I teach her to pray when the time enters, but sometimes she prays whenever she wishes, and sometimes she does not pray until we remind her, and when we remind her on some occasions
she says: “I have prayed.” We tell her: “The time has not entered yet,” but she does not listen to our words. Sometimes she says: “Why did you not remind me?” even though we have reminded her. She gets angry at us and makes a great and serious supplication against us. Sometimes she prays all the times in one time, such as Maghrib and Isha, and says: “Why did you not sit with me?” If we sit with her for a while and then leave for our work at another time, she calls out to us, makes supplications against us, and says: “Why did you leave?” We tell her why, but she is not convinced and makes supplications against us. As for fasting Ramadan, she fasts, but at the end of the day she asks for iftar before the time. We tell her that the time for iftar has not come and that the Maghrib adhan has not been called, so she gets very angry and makes supplications against us. Sometimes we serve her iftar before the time. In addition to that, she does not hear well, so we cannot understand her or convince her properly. What is the ruling on her prayer, our not sitting with her, her supplications against us, and her fasting? Do we have a sin in this? Please give us a ruling, O honorable Shaykh. May Allah reward you with good. As for her son, he is always busy and sits with her at the beginning and end of the day.
A: If the situation is as described regarding this woman, then she owes no prayer and no fasting due to the loss of memory. As for her condition regarding the urine, the specialized doctor should be consulted, perhaps he will find a treatment for her. If she were to wear a retainer that prevents the leakage of urine and it were changed from time to time, that would be good.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.