Al-Sharḥ al-Mumtiʿ - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (6/344)

breaking the fast is better. If fasting causes him some hardship, then fasting is disliked in his case, because undertaking hardship despite the availability of a concession suggests turning away from Allah’s concession.

Third: fasting causes him severe, unbearable hardship. In this case, fasting is prohibited for him.

The evidence for this is that when the people complained to the Prophet that fasting had become difficult for them and that they were waiting to see what the Messenger of Allah would do, he called for a vessel of water after the afternoon prayer while seated upon his camel. He took it and drank, as the people watched. Then he was told afterwards, “Some people have continued fasting.” He said, “Those are the disobedient ones; those are the disobedient ones.” (1) Thus, he described them as disobedient.

This is what appears to us from the evidence regarding the fasting of a traveller.

A related question arises: if someone who is unable to fast due to old age or an illness from which recovery is not expected travels, what should he do?

The answer is that some scholars have said: he is neither required to fast nor to offer expiation, because he is a traveller; the expiation is a substitute for fasting, and fasting is waived during travel, while he is not required to fast because he is incapable. (2)

However, this reasoning is unsound, because fasting was not obligatory upon a person in this condition in the first place. Rather, what is obligatory upon him is the expiation,

(1) Previously cited, p. 330. (2) This is also the position of the authoritative scholars of the school. Based on it, they formulated the following legal riddle: “A legally accountable Muslim breaks his fast in Ramadan yet is not required to make it up or offer expiation.” Its answer is: an elderly person unable to fast who was traveling.

الفطر أفضل، وإذا شق عليه بعض الشيء صار الصوم في حقه مكروهاً؛ لأن ارتكاب المشقة مع وجود الرخصة يشعر بالعدول عن رخصة الله ﷿. الحال الثالثة: أن يشق عليه مشقة شديدة غير محتملة فهنا يكون الصوم في حقه حراماً. والدليل على ذلك أن النبي ﷺ: «لما شكى إليه الناس أنه قد شق عليهم الصيام، وأنهم ينتظرون ما سيفعل الرسول ﷺ دعا بإناء فيه ماء بعد العصر، وهو على بعيره فأخذه وشربه، والناس ينظرون إليه، ثم قيل له بعد ذلك: إن بعض الناس قد صام فقال: «أولئك العصاة، أولئك العصاة» (١) فوصفهم بالعصيان. فهذا ما يظهر لنا من الأدلة في صوم المسافر. ويتفرع على هذا مسألة، وهي لو سافر من لا يستطيع الصوم لكبر أو مرض لا يرجى زواله فماذا يصنع؟ الجواب: قال بعض العلماء: إنه لا صوم ولا فدية عليه؛ لأنه مسافر، والفدية بدل عن الصوم، والصوم يسقط في السفر، ولا صوم عليه؛ لأنه عاجز (٢). لكن هذا التعليل عليل؛ لأن هذا الذي على هذه الحال، لم يكن الصوم واجباً في حقه أصلاً، وإنما الواجب عليه الفدية،

(١) سبق تخريجه، ص (٣٣٠). (٢) وبه قال الأصحاب، ورتبوا على ذلك فقالوا: يعايا بها، فيقال: مسلم مكلف أفطر في رمضان لم يلزمه قضاء ولا كفارة. وجوابه: كبير عاجز عن الصوم كان مسافراً.