[Those for Whom Ramadan Is Obligatory]

When the month of Ramadan arrives, fasting becomes mandatory for every adult Muslim, man or woman, who is healthy and resident. Anyone who is ill or traveling during the month is allowed to break the fast and must later make up the same number of days. Allah the Exalted says, “So whoever of you witnesses the month must fast it; but whoever is ill or on a journey—then an equal number of other days” ⦗al-Baqarah 2:185⦘ (1).

If the month finds a person—male or female—old and feeble, unable to fast, or afflicted with a chronic illness from which recovery is not expected at any time, he or she may break the fast and instead feed one needy person for every day, giving half a sāʿ of the local staple food. Allah the Exalted says, “And for those who can do it only with difficulty, there is a ransom: feeding a needy person” ⦗al-Baqarah 2:184⦘ (2). ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbas – may Allah be pleased with them – said, “This verse applies to the elderly person for whom no recovery is hoped,” a report recorded by al-Bukhari. A patient whose recovery is not expected takes the same ruling as the elderly: no makeup fast is required of either, for it is impossible. The phrase yuṭīqūnahu means “they can manage it only with great hardship.”

[Excuses Specific to Women Allowing Them to Break the Fast in Ramadan]

Women have particular excuses that permit them to break the fast in Ramadan, provided that—