My father has not fasted for four years. He is bedridden, he is ill, and his age is over eighty-five. Does he owe an expiation?
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The questioner : A woman asks: “May the Shaykh be respected, my father has not fasted for four years. He is bedridden, he is ill, and his age is over eighty-five. Does he owe an expiation? Please advise us. May Allah reward you with good.”
The Shaykh : Yes. An elderly person who is unable to fast must pay an expiation for each day by feeding a poor person; he must pay an expiation for each day by feeding a poor person. How is the feeding done? Either he gathers the poor people for lunch. Lunch is usually difficult in Ramadan, or for dinner. He feeds, for example, ten poor people today, ten other poor people tomorrow, and ten poor people the day after tomorrow, until the end of the month. This is one way. Or he gives each person a kilogram of rice with meat to serve as a side dish; any meat is fine, whether from cattle, sheep, camels, or chickens. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes. An elderly person who is unable to fast must pay an expiation for each day by feeding a poor person; he must pay an expiation for each day by feeding a poor person. How is the feeding done? Either he gathers the poor people for lunch. Lunch is usually difficult in Ramadan, or for dinner. He feeds, for example, ten poor people today, ten other poor people tomorrow, and ten poor people the day after tomorrow, until the end of the month. This is one way. Or he gives each person a kilogram of rice with meat to serve as a side dish; any meat is fine, whether from cattle, sheep, camels, or chickens. Yes.