Q. If someone is ill and not able to fast, and its very difficult for him to locate someone to feed everyday, is there any other teachings he can follow or do?
A. First of all, it is important to know that feeding a poor person everyday for the missed fast is only allowed when the fast is missed due to weakness of old age or sickness, with no hope of recovering until death.
If one becomes temporarily ill and is hopeful of recovering, then he/she will not be able to practice on this allowance. Instead, this person must make up for the missed fasts at another time by the actual observance of the fasts. Feeding a poor person in this case will not be acceptable in the shariah. If one is deemed to be in a state to feed a poor person (for the missed fasts) and cannot find a poor person, then he can give the value to a poor person or he can give the amount in cash to a masjid or Islamic Organization to be distributed to the poor and needy.
The amount to be given is the same as that of sadaqatul fitr for each day of fast which has been missed by the person. The present value of sadaqatul fitr is TT $15.00 (calculated in July 2011).
And Allah knows best.
MuftI Waseem Khan