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What Can I Do During Ramadan If I Am Sick?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Seekersguidance.org

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

I have been diagnosed with a medical condition called IC. It results in excruciating pain in bladder and frequent urination.The condition requires me to sip water all day. Can I abstain from food but still sip water to avoid the pain (provided I feed the hungry for all my fasts)?

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

I pray that this message finds you well, insha’Allah. May Allah Most High bless you with a complete cure.

If (a) the pain is recurring and unbearable without daytime medication, and (b) drinking water will act as an effective form of such medication, and (c) the physician has approved of this, and affirmed that avoiding medication will pose undue hardship and distress, then you can leave the fast now and make it up at a later date.

As such, you can eat and drink to maintain your health, as normal. Remember that the worship of Ramadan is to fast for those who can, and to abstain, for those who have a genuine excuse to do otherwise because nobody has a right to harm themselves.

Allah Most High says, “So any one of you who is present that month should fast, and anyone who is ill or on a journey should make up for the lost days by fasting on other days later. God wants ease for you, not hardship.” [2:185]

Note that there are no expiatory payments (fidya) to make until the condition is both chronic and will last until death.

For advice on how to have a productive Ramadan without fasting, please see: Worship in Ramadan For a Menstruating Woman and: 10 Ways of Benefit for Menstruating Women in Ramadan

[‘Ala’ al-Din ‘Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-‘Ala’iyya]

And please also see: Brief Overview of Expiatory Payments (fidya)

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.

This answer was collected from Seekersguidance.org. It’s an online learning platform overseen by Sheikh Faraz Rabbani. All courses are free. They also have in-person classes in Canada.

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