fasting
CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE CONCERNING FASTING
1) THOSE ON WHOM FASTING IS NOT COMPULSARY
(i) Fasting is not compulsory on non- Muslims
(ii) It is also not compulsory on a minor until he/she attains the age of puberty, which can be ascertained in three ways:
(a) The emission of sperm through dream or other ways.
(b) The growth of hair in the armpit or private parts.
(c) The attainment of the age of twelve by girls and fifteen to eighteen by boys.
(iii) One who is suffering from insanity is also exempted from fasting until he regains his sanity.
(iv) Old people who cannot differentiate and identify others by sex or name are also exempted from fasting and in its place they are to feed the needy daily with a special measure of grain.
(v) Those who cannot observe the fast as a result of ill health leading to excessive hunger or thirst in all seasons which seem to have defied all medications should also feed the poor or needy for every fast missed with one of that special measure daily.
2) THOSE ON WHOM FASTING IS COMPULSORY
These people are generally classified into these groups:
(i) Fasting is compulsory on every sane and mentally balanced person
(ii) It is also compulsory on every male and female adult Muslim and is not compulsory on the minor.
(iii) For one to observe the fast especially a woman she must be free from menstrual and every other periodic emission of blood.
(iv) Fasting is also only compulsory on those who are in good condition of health and is never obligatory on the sick at the time of the sickness.
3) THOSE ON WHOM FASTING IS NOT COMPULSARY BUT MUST COMPENSATE THE ONES MISSED:
(i) One on a journey is not under obligation to fast during such journeys but must compensate the ones missed.
(ii) A sick person can also break his fast and atone it at a later time when he gets better.
(iii) Woman during her menstrual period is also exempted from fasting but must atone for the ones she missed after attaining the stage of purity.
However, where a woman who is fasting suddenly discovers menstrual blood, her fast for that day becomes nullified so long as it occurs before the sunset and all the hours for which she fasted that day would not be considered. She must therefore atone for the fast of that particular day and the other subsequent days she missed. It should also be noted that when the blood ceases before dawn, fasting becomes compulsory on her the following day. It should also be understood that the blood which accompanies delivery in woman is treated in the same way in Islam with menstrual blood.
(v) When a nursing mother fears that when she fasts, her baby may not get the required milk from her, she can abstain from observing the fast in order to properly feed the baby and later atone for the missed fasts in the subsequent days. This rule also applies to a pregnant woman who fears that her fast may endanger the life of her unborn child, she can also break her fast and atone for the missed days after delivery.
(vi) One who breaks his fast in his attempt to save the life of someone who is in danger e.g. someone who is about getting drowned in a river or about to die in a fire accident should also compensate the fasts in proportion with the number he breaks.
By ABDULLAHI AHMAD, Halaf Al- Ghamidi,
Da’if, Saudi Arabia
