The Shaykh and the Shaykhah: If they are unable to fast, do they feed people or not?
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The questioner : Some people also say, regarding the old manThe Shaykh : and the old woman, and the sick person whose recovery is not expected.
They say: There is no making up of fasts for him and no expiation, because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. So this person is unable, and thus the obligation is lifted from him, just as in the case of one who does not possess the nisab for zakah. So what is your opinion, may Allah bless you? And do we not return to the verse itself?
The Shaykh : Without a doubt, returning to the text first is necessary. Then, if fasting is lifted from him due to his inability, does that necessitate that the expiation is also lifted from him, while he is not unable to pay it?
The questioner : It is not required.
The Shaykh : There is no necessary connection between the two, because the saying of the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:184], means that they are able to fast it despite the hardship.
The Shaykh : The second type of unable person: we cannot say that fasting is impossible for him, but without a doubt, fasting is difficult for him.
Since the expiation is the alternative to fasting, there is nothing in our view that lifts the expiation from him due to his inability to fast. I mention that this opinion which you mentioned is what al-Siddiq Hasan Khan held in *al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah* in the past, and I do not know if the opinion settled on that. What appears to me, and Allah knows best, is that the expiation does not drop from the one who is able to pay it.
Because it is obligatory that whoever is a Muslim in Ramadan lives with the atmosphere of fasting, either in action or in thought. And by action, I mean that he fasts; and by thought, I mean that he expiates for his fasting with a kaffarah, so that he is living with the fasting people even if he is breaking the fast. This is what appears to me, and Allah knows best.
They say: There is no making up of fasts for him and no expiation, because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. So this person is unable, and thus the obligation is lifted from him, just as in the case of one who does not possess the nisab for zakah. So what is your opinion, may Allah bless you? And do we not return to the verse itself?
The Shaykh : Without a doubt, returning to the text first is necessary. Then, if fasting is lifted from him due to his inability, does that necessitate that the expiation is also lifted from him, while he is not unable to pay it?
The questioner : It is not required.
The Shaykh : There is no necessary connection between the two, because the saying of the Exalted:
And upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] - a ransom
وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌThe Shaykh : The second type of unable person: we cannot say that fasting is impossible for him, but without a doubt, fasting is difficult for him.
Since the expiation is the alternative to fasting, there is nothing in our view that lifts the expiation from him due to his inability to fast. I mention that this opinion which you mentioned is what al-Siddiq Hasan Khan held in *al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah* in the past, and I do not know if the opinion settled on that. What appears to me, and Allah knows best, is that the expiation does not drop from the one who is able to pay it.
Because it is obligatory that whoever is a Muslim in Ramadan lives with the atmosphere of fasting, either in action or in thought. And by action, I mean that he fasts; and by thought, I mean that he expiates for his fasting with a kaffarah, so that he is living with the fasting people even if he is breaking the fast. This is what appears to me, and Allah knows best.
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