Ruling on One Who Is Unable to Fast Due to Illness

Question:
A message was received by the program from one of the female listeners. She says: The questioner, Nafisa Pasha from Sudan, our sister has three questions. In her first question, she says: I am unable to fast because of an illness that has persisted with me, and I did not fast some days of last Ramadan. I want to know the amount of expiation for each day, and is it permissible by the Shari'ah to give money or not?

Answer:
If the illness is not expected to be cured, according to the assessment of knowledgeable doctors, then it suffices for you to feed one poor person half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) for each day, from dates, rice, wheat, or other staple food of the country; this is approximately one and a half kilograms. Money does not suffice; rather, it is obligatory to give out food before fasting or after fasting. It is sufficient to give this to one poor person or more, whether that is before fasting or after fasting.
As for if the illness is expected to be cured: then it is obligatory for you to make up the fasts, and there is no blame in delaying the making up of the fasts until recovery is complete, as Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Baqarah: 185]. Allah the Exalted made obligatory the number of days, meaning: fasting a number of other days, and He did not order feeding. Rather, He made obligatory the number of days that the sick person and the traveler missed. So as long as you hope for recovery and the doctors have not determined that this illness is not expected to be cured, then you must make up the fasts after recovery, even if the time is long, even after one year, two years, or three years, until Allah cures you, then you make up the days that are upon you. However, if the specialized doctors who know this illness determine that it will not go away and that it is continuous, then feeding suffices for you, and praise be to Allah, and there is no making up of fasts upon you.