My mother was afflicted with a liver disease, which is "ascites" or the fibrosis of part of the liver, and the Muslim doctor said that fasting may cause her harm.
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The questioner : And he says: My mother was afflicted with a liver disease, which is ascites or the fibrosis of part of the liver, and the doctor treating her, who is a Muslim doctor, said that fasting may be harmful to her and may also increase the pain of the illness, and he advised against fasting... What is the ruling of the Shari'ah in your view in this case? Do we have to listen to the doctor? Then, if the mother breaks her fast, do we feed on her behalf a poor person for each day? What is the manner of feeding? And if Allah grants her recovery in the future, by the permission of Allah the Exalted, does she have to repeat the fasting? Please give us a ruling, and may you be rewarded.
The Shaykh : What appears to me from this illness is that it is an illness that persists with a person, and Allah Mighty and Majestic may cure him of it. If the Muslim doctor determines that fasting harms this patient, either by prolonging the illness or by the severity of the pain, then he may break his fast on that basis, and he must feed a poor person for each day because the illness is among the persistent illnesses. The manner of feeding is to give some rice or similar food that is considered among the middle-grade foods among people. He gives six sa' of rice, which he distributes among the poor according to the number of days in the month. There is no difference whether the poor are in one house or in scattered houses. In this case, it is good to include meat with it in an amount sufficient to sustain them. If he wishes, he may prepare food at the end of the month and invite poor people equal to the number of days in the month to eat it, as Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) used to do when he grew old.
And regarding the questioner's statement: If Allah cures her after that, does she fast? We say: No, it is not obligatory for her to fast because her obligation has been discharged by the feeding. The parallel to this issue is what the jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned regarding a man who is unable to perform Hajj, if his inability is persistent and he has not performed Hajj before, so he appoints someone to perform Hajj on his behalf. Then, after Hajj has been performed on his behalf, if Allah cures him, the previous Hajj suffices him and he is not required to repeat it. Yes.
The questioner : This listener, Ahmad Abdullah from Riyadh, sent a message in which he says.
The Shaykh : What appears to me from this illness is that it is an illness that persists with a person, and Allah Mighty and Majestic may cure him of it. If the Muslim doctor determines that fasting harms this patient, either by prolonging the illness or by the severity of the pain, then he may break his fast on that basis, and he must feed a poor person for each day because the illness is among the persistent illnesses. The manner of feeding is to give some rice or similar food that is considered among the middle-grade foods among people. He gives six sa' of rice, which he distributes among the poor according to the number of days in the month. There is no difference whether the poor are in one house or in scattered houses. In this case, it is good to include meat with it in an amount sufficient to sustain them. If he wishes, he may prepare food at the end of the month and invite poor people equal to the number of days in the month to eat it, as Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) used to do when he grew old.
And regarding the questioner's statement: If Allah cures her after that, does she fast? We say: No, it is not obligatory for her to fast because her obligation has been discharged by the feeding. The parallel to this issue is what the jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned regarding a man who is unable to perform Hajj, if his inability is persistent and he has not performed Hajj before, so he appoints someone to perform Hajj on his behalf. Then, after Hajj has been performed on his behalf, if Allah cures him, the previous Hajj suffices him and he is not required to repeat it. Yes.
The questioner : This listener, Ahmad Abdullah from Riyadh, sent a message in which he says.