Second category: those who may break the fast, must later make it up, and must also feed one poor person for every day missed. They are the pregnant woman who fears for her fetus and the nursing mother who fears for her infant. According to the authoritative view within the madhhab, the feeding is borne by the person who maintains the fetus or the infant, though some scholars held that it is required of both women themselves.

Third category: those for whom neither the fast nor making it up is obligatory; instead, an expiation takes the place of fasting. They are the very old man and woman for whom fasting is burdensome.

Al-Bukhārī (4237) and Muslim (1145) narrate from Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ that when the verse, “And upon those who are able to do it is a ransom: feeding a needy person” [2:184], was revealed, one who wished could break the fast and pay the ransom, until the verse that came after it abrogated this ruling. Ibn ʿAbbās, however, did not regard it as abrogated. Abū Dāwūd (2318) and others report from him that he said: “It was a concession for the very old man and woman to break the fast and, in place of each day, feed one poor person; and for the nursing mother and the pregnant woman—if they fear for their children—to do likewise.”

Some careful scholars therefore held that the verse remains operative and is not abrogated. Rather, it addresses these specific individuals under the principle of a general wording intended for a particular case. This interpretation is preferable to claiming abrogation, for abrogation is exceptional and should be avoided—or at least minimized—whenever possible.

A chronically ill person whose recovery is not expected shares the ruling of the elderly: he or she breaks the fast, and feeding is offered on his or her behalf.

Fourth category: those upon whom fasting is neither obligatory in performance nor in makeup, or from whom it is invalid. They are:

1. The unbeliever: fasting is not valid from him, nor does he make it up if he later embraces Islam; yet, should he die in disbelief, he will be questioned and punished for neglecting it.
2. The boy and girl below the age of puberty who have reached the stage of discernment: their fasting is valid but not obligatory, and they should be instructed to fast so that they become accustomed to it.
3. The insane person: fasting is not valid from him, he is not required to make it up after regaining sanity, and no feeding is due on his behalf.
4. The person whose mind is disturbed or confused: fasting is not obligatory for him, and no feeding is due on his behalf.