Answer: He must feed one needy person for every day of Ramadan he failed to fast—whether those days belong to a previous year or to the current one. Every fast he has missed and is unable to make up because the illness is permanently with him requires feeding a poor person for that day.

Question: My mother passed away after she was stricken with a disease in her joints, during which she did not pray. She also broke the fast on some days of Ramadan over a number of years for a lawful excuse, yet, out of ignorance, never made up those days. Concerning the prayer, we—her children—performed prayers on her behalf for five years until we learned that such praying does not benefit her and that no one’s prayer can be made up by another. We therefore turned to reciting the Qur’an and donating its reward to her, and to giving charity on her behalf. As for the fasts she missed, may we fast on her behalf, or should we offer an expiation instead? What are we to do?

Answer: As for a sick person leaving the prayer, it is impermissible for him to forgo the prayer no matter how severe the illness, so long as his mind remains sound. Rather, he must pray according to his condition and to the extent of his ability, in keeping with the Prophet’s statement, “When I command you to do something, do of it whatever you are able,” and with Allah’s words, “So fear Allah as much as you are able” (64:16) and “Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity” (2:286).

Accordingly, the patient prays in whatever posture he can—standing, sitting, or lying on his side—and gestures with his head for bowing and prostration. If he can perform minor ablution (wudu), he does so; if he cannot, he performs dry ablution (tayammum). But to abandon the prayer on the pretext of illness—this is a matter