The Prayer of One Whose Mind Is Confused
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Fatwa No. ( 16065 )
Q: I have a brother who fell ill and was hospitalized. After examinations, it was found that he had a brain tumor, and as a result, he underwent brain surgery at the beginning of Ramadan. He remained in the hospital for two and a half months from the start of Ramadan. During this period, he did not pray, as he was not always of sound mind. At other times, he was aware of the prayer times, but he could not perform the ablution for prayer due to the presence of feeding tubes in his hands and his medical condition, which sometimes prevented him from moving. Consequently, he stopped performing the prayer for the duration of his hospitalization, which was the last two and a half months. After the two months, he resumed his prayers as he regained his memory, since the surgical operation resulted in memory loss. The question, O honorable Shaykh: Does he have to make up the prayers he did not perform during these two months? It is known that he fasted Ramadan as a make-up but did not make up the prayers. Honorable Shaykh: My wife was afflicted with an illness (possession by jinn or wind)—may Allah protect us and you from that—and for about two months after her affliction, she did not consistently perform the prayer. Even if she remembered, she did not remember the specific time for the prayer, so she would pray at a time later than the original time. Sometimes she would perform the prayer in a state of purity, and sometimes in a state of impurity. Sometimes she would complete the obligatory prayer, and sometimes she would forget to complete it, and sometimes
she would leave the prayer entirely, along with forgetting the Qur'anic verses and al-Fatihah. As for now, she is well and has been cured by the praise of Allah from her affliction, and she performs the prayer on time and reads the Noble Qur'an. The question is: Does she have to make up the prayers that were missed due to her illness, or what? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.
A: The prayers that the patient left off due to his confusion of mind do not require making up, because he is not accountable in this state. As for the prayers he left off after regaining consciousness, and he left them off because of the feeding tubes in his hands, he must make them up. If Allah heals him, he prays, because he has become accountable at that time. As for your wife, the prayers she left off during the time of madness do not need to be made up, because she is not accountable in this state. And what she left off after regaining consciousness, she must make up. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.
Q: I have a brother who fell ill and was hospitalized. After examinations, it was found that he had a brain tumor, and as a result, he underwent brain surgery at the beginning of Ramadan. He remained in the hospital for two and a half months from the start of Ramadan. During this period, he did not pray, as he was not always of sound mind. At other times, he was aware of the prayer times, but he could not perform the ablution for prayer due to the presence of feeding tubes in his hands and his medical condition, which sometimes prevented him from moving. Consequently, he stopped performing the prayer for the duration of his hospitalization, which was the last two and a half months. After the two months, he resumed his prayers as he regained his memory, since the surgical operation resulted in memory loss. The question, O honorable Shaykh: Does he have to make up the prayers he did not perform during these two months? It is known that he fasted Ramadan as a make-up but did not make up the prayers. Honorable Shaykh: My wife was afflicted with an illness (possession by jinn or wind)—may Allah protect us and you from that—and for about two months after her affliction, she did not consistently perform the prayer. Even if she remembered, she did not remember the specific time for the prayer, so she would pray at a time later than the original time. Sometimes she would perform the prayer in a state of purity, and sometimes in a state of impurity. Sometimes she would complete the obligatory prayer, and sometimes she would forget to complete it, and sometimes
she would leave the prayer entirely, along with forgetting the Qur'anic verses and al-Fatihah. As for now, she is well and has been cured by the praise of Allah from her affliction, and she performs the prayer on time and reads the Noble Qur'an. The question is: Does she have to make up the prayers that were missed due to her illness, or what? Please inform us, may Allah reward you with good.
A: The prayers that the patient left off due to his confusion of mind do not require making up, because he is not accountable in this state. As for the prayers he left off after regaining consciousness, and he left them off because of the feeding tubes in his hands, he must make them up. If Allah heals him, he prays, because he has become accountable at that time. As for your wife, the prayers she left off during the time of madness do not need to be made up, because she is not accountable in this state. And what she left off after regaining consciousness, she must make up. 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.