Dear respected Shaykh, assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. What are the states of a sick person with regards to fasting? ما هي أحوال المريض مع الصيام؟

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family and his companions. Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As to what follows: In response to your question, we say: With regards to the sick person Allah says, “ And whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts) must be made up] from other days” [al-Baqarah 2: 185], and he says, “And upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] - a ransom [as substitute] of feeding a poor person [each day]” [al-Baqarah 2: 184]. Thus Allah granted the concession of breaking fast to a sick person, and He legislated that he should fast to make up for missed days. If a person’s illness increases with fastness or causes hardship or an increase in the period of the illness then the person is permitted to leave fasting. If a person is suffering from an illness which has been classified as chronic by the doctors then he should feed a poor person for each day that he misses.