Age limit for Fasting
Mu' meneen Brothers
and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Assalamu alaykum.
I have one question to ask:
What is the age limit which exempts an adult from fasting during
the holy month of Ramadhan?
My father is 70 years old and I was told that he is exempted.Please
confirm,and reply as soon as possible as fasting is coming up soon.
Ma salaam,
(There may be some
grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not
change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Age limit for Fasting
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
There is no particular age limit
prescribed in Islam after which the obligatory fasts of Ramadan become
exempt. Allah Subhanah has made it
obligatory for the believers who are healthy and stationed in their place of
domicile to fast the whole month of Ramadan,
but if one is ill or on a journey he may break his fast and make up
these missed fasts on any other days of the year.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 185: Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent
down the Qur'an as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and
wrong). So everyone of you who is present (at his home) during that month
should spend it in fasting, but if anyone is ill or on a
journey the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you He does not want to put you to
difficulties. (He wants you) to
complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him in that He has guided you;
and perchance ye shall be grateful.
Thus if one is elderly and terminally ill and is unable to keep the
fasts of Ramadan, nor has hope of recovering and making up the fasts
later, or if by keeping the fasts his
health would deteriorate further; there
is absolutely no harm if such a person does not fast. His ‘kaffarah’ or expiation would be that he should feed one
poor person for every day of his missed fasts;
it is expected that the Merciful Lord would accept the expiation of such
a person and not hold him accountable for his missed fasts.
Allah intends every facility for
you; He does not want to put you to difficulties.(Holy
Quran 2:185)
The companion of the Messenger of Allah
(saws), Hadrat Ibn 'Abbas (r.a.) said: "An elderly man is permitted to
break his fast, but he must feed a poor
person daily. If he does this, he does
not have to make up the days that he did not fast.”
Related by ad-Daraqutni and by al-Hakim.
Ata heard Hadrat Ibn 'Abbas (r.a.) recite the
'ayah: "And for those who can fast [but do not], there
is a "ransom': the feeding of a person in need" [Al-Baqarah 2:184]. Its ruling applies to
elderly men and women who are not able to fast. Instead, they must feed one poor person on a daily basis."
Related by Al-Bukhari.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit
is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of
me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in
Islam,
Burhan