The ruling on prayer and fasting for one who has lost his memory due to illness
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner from the city says: My father is advanced in age, and he was a worshipper, praise be to Allah, until the end of his life. Then illness struck him, and sometimes, Honorable Shaykh, he loses his memory and does not know the people around him, his sons and daughters. Is prayer and fasting obligatory upon him?
Answer:
In the case of memory loss, if this condition persists, then no worship is required of him, neither prayer nor fasting, during the time he has lost his memory, if it is prolonged. However, if the memory loss is not prolonged, and the general state is that his memory is with him, then fasting is obligatory upon him and prayer is obligatory upon him. Yes.
The questioner from the city says: My father is advanced in age, and he was a worshipper, praise be to Allah, until the end of his life. Then illness struck him, and sometimes, Honorable Shaykh, he loses his memory and does not know the people around him, his sons and daughters. Is prayer and fasting obligatory upon him?
Answer:
In the case of memory loss, if this condition persists, then no worship is required of him, neither prayer nor fasting, during the time he has lost his memory, if it is prolonged. However, if the memory loss is not prolonged, and the general state is that his memory is with him, then fasting is obligatory upon him and prayer is obligatory upon him. Yes.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/146 — archive.org (3:47)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.