The ruling on a diabetic patient breaking his fast in Ramadan and the expiation for one who breaks his fast intentionally
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Please, my brother Bandar from Dammam, come on the line with us. Go ahead, Bandar. Peace be upon you. Peace be upon you. And upon you be peace. How are you, Shaykh? Welcome. Oh Bandar, the television signal is a bit weak, Bandar. Okay, the Shaykh is with you, may Allah preserve you, go ahead. How are you, Shaykh? Welcome. How are you, okay? Praise be to Allah. May you be well every year. Before sleeping. Go ahead with your question. I just want to ask you. Yes. It is two questions. The first question is that I am, of course, a diabetic patient, and some days in Ramadan I experience a drop in blood sugar. Yesterday I had a drop; my sugar level went down to eighty. So I broke my fast yesterday because I was afraid it would drop even lower. Okay, the second question. Is it permissible for me to break my fast? I broke it, of course, so is it permissible for me to pay zakat, or do I have to feed a poor person, or is that it, meaning I just make up the fast? Okay, okay. You are excused. The second question, Bandar. The second question is that last year, I broke my fast intentionally in the Ramadan that passed, the second one that passed. Okay, and of course, I don't know how many days it was, three, four, a week, I don't know how many. I can clearly hear your cough, thank you, Bandar. Yes. It is clear you are a diabetic patient with low blood sugar. Honorable Shaykh, what is the legal ruling?
The Shaykh:
A diabetic patient or any other patient, if the patient needs to break his fast in Ramadan because he feels a great weakness, or fears that his illness will worsen, or if the doctors have advised him to break his fast, then he breaks his fast, because he falls under the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:184] So he breaks his fast to the extent of the need that relieves the burden of the illness from him, and then he makes up the number of days he broke his fast at a later time, and making up the fast is sufficient for him instead of feeding, yes.
The presenter:
He broke his fast intentionally last year, what is required of him now?
The Shaykh:
Two things are required of him. The first thing is repentance to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, because he committed a great error by intentionally breaking his fast without an excuse. As for if he broke his fast for an excuse, this has been permitted to him by the Shari'ah to the extent of the excuse. But if he broke his fast without an excuse intentionally, he has committed a great and serious matter, so he must repent to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and he must do the second thing, which is making up the fast, making up the day he broke his fast or the days he broke his fast, yes.
Please, my brother Bandar from Dammam, come on the line with us. Go ahead, Bandar. Peace be upon you. Peace be upon you. And upon you be peace. How are you, Shaykh? Welcome. Oh Bandar, the television signal is a bit weak, Bandar. Okay, the Shaykh is with you, may Allah preserve you, go ahead. How are you, Shaykh? Welcome. How are you, okay? Praise be to Allah. May you be well every year. Before sleeping. Go ahead with your question. I just want to ask you. Yes. It is two questions. The first question is that I am, of course, a diabetic patient, and some days in Ramadan I experience a drop in blood sugar. Yesterday I had a drop; my sugar level went down to eighty. So I broke my fast yesterday because I was afraid it would drop even lower. Okay, the second question. Is it permissible for me to break my fast? I broke it, of course, so is it permissible for me to pay zakat, or do I have to feed a poor person, or is that it, meaning I just make up the fast? Okay, okay. You are excused. The second question, Bandar. The second question is that last year, I broke my fast intentionally in the Ramadan that passed, the second one that passed. Okay, and of course, I don't know how many days it was, three, four, a week, I don't know how many. I can clearly hear your cough, thank you, Bandar. Yes. It is clear you are a diabetic patient with low blood sugar. Honorable Shaykh, what is the legal ruling?
The Shaykh:
A diabetic patient or any other patient, if the patient needs to break his fast in Ramadan because he feels a great weakness, or fears that his illness will worsen, or if the doctors have advised him to break his fast, then he breaks his fast, because he falls under the saying of Allah the Exalted:
So whoever among you is ill or on a journey [during them] - then an equal number of days [are to be made up].
فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَThe presenter:
He broke his fast intentionally last year, what is required of him now?
The Shaykh:
Two things are required of him. The first thing is repentance to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, because he committed a great error by intentionally breaking his fast without an excuse. As for if he broke his fast for an excuse, this has been permitted to him by the Shari'ah to the extent of the excuse. But if he broke his fast without an excuse intentionally, he has committed a great and serious matter, so he must repent to Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and he must do the second thing, which is making up the fast, making up the day he broke his fast or the days he broke his fast, yes.
Source
قناة «مكة و المدينة»، 12 فتاوى على الهواء - 06 / 09 / 1433هـ _ الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (8:58)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.