How to Expiate for Not Fasting When I Am Unable to Fast?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi
Question
I broke my fast for a stupid reason (exams) because my father told me to. I was unaware of the consequences. Now the problem is to make up the 60 days. I have an issue due to a medical illness requiring me to take a high dosage of Lithium.
My Muslim doctor has told me that at the dosage I’m on, there is a risk of Lithium poisoning if I fast, as water is needed to dilute over the day. In this case, what should I do? The illness won’t go away, but there is a chance my dosage can go down after a couple of years of stability.
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
Your situation is a clear case of someone being unable to fast for two consecutive months without harm. In this case, you must feed sixty poor people 2.2 kg of wheat or give its equivalent monetary value to each person. You can also provide each of these people with two meals that leave them satiated instead. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah; Maraqi al-Sa’adat]
This is also valid if you give this to one poor person for sixty days. If you give all this amount to one poor person in a single day, this will only be valid for that day. [Maydani, Lubab]
This ruling is because the type of sickness you are affected by is a genuine excuse not to perform your expiation through fasting. What you should do instead is feed sixty poor people. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]
Allah, Most High, says: “Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford.” [Quran, 2:286]
Someone is deemed poor in Islamic law if he is eligible to receive a Zakat payment. [Quduri, Mukhtasar]
And Allah knows best.
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found.
Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani.
He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha’ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others.
He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.
