When Is Fasting Too Hard? Islam's Mercy
Exemptions from Fasting: Old Age and the Principle of Difficulty in Islamic Jurisprudence
Summary
This lecture discusses exemptions from fasting during Ramadan, specifically focusing on elderly individuals who find fasting difficult. The speaker explains that while old age is not an illness per se, it falls under the same category of exemptions as illness, pregnancy, and breastfeeding because it creates hardship outside the norm of typical discomfort. The distinction is made between discomfort (which is part of fasting) and difficulty (which warrants exemption). For elderly persons who cannot fast without significant difficulty, they are permitted to break their fast and must feed a poor person for each day missed, based on Quranic verse 2:184. The lecture also provides historical context on how fasting legislation evolved, from being optional with a feeding alternative in the second year of Hijra to becoming obligatory with exemptions for specific cases.
Note: This transcript was generated using YouTube's automatic captioning, with AI-assisted cleanup for readability. It may contain inaccuracies due to background noise, audio quality, or limitations of the transcription software — particularly during Arabic recitation. Listener discretion is advised; please refer to the original video for precise wording.
No Are you.
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Happy?
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Alhamdulillah. Continuing in the book of fasting therein the chapter regarding the exemptions and the types of exempted people individuals from the obligation of fasting. Yesterday morning we discussed the breastfeeding and the pregnant pregnant woman breastfeeding woman and we discussed the recourse for them breaking their fast. A pregnant woman and a breastfeeding woman have an allowance to break their fast. Whether it is because they fear for their child or because it is difficult for them or because they fear for the quality of their milk whatever it is. Now we want to discuss another type of person who is not ill. It's not necessarily an illness remember but it runs in the same vein of illness. Meaning it has the same parameters. It has similar circumstances and that is a person who is very old age right this is not an illness by any means as a matter of fact it in many in many ways is a blessing however a person who has reached an age where fasting is possible but difficult they have an allowance to break their fast indefinitely. Now, what do we mean by it's possible but it's difficult? Remember all of the guidelines of fasting is all anchored Allah anchored all of those rulings of fasting in one part of a verse. Do you remember what we mentioned yesterday? So he mentions fasting. He mentions who it's obligated upon. He mentions the month. He mentions the reason behind fasting. It is to earn and gain tawa. Then he anchors all of this at the end. He says, "Allah desires and intends and wills ease for you and does not will hardship." Now also in the Arabic language is difficulty that is outside the norm. Right? It's not something that a person would encounter on a normal day in a normal set of circumstances. When we say fasting is supposed to be easy on a person and not difficult, does that mean that fasting is just a breeze? No. There may be instances where a person is positively uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, the hallmark of fasting is thirst. Isn't that the case? to the point that the Arabs named the month of Ramadan. It comes from Ramb which is the very hot sand of the desert, right? Because it conjures images of difficulty and thirst. What is the name of the gate of paradise for fasting which comes from which root word do we remember which is to quench one's thirst. So it's named after the most prominent aspect of fasting. When fasting comes to mind usually it's thirst that is what people encounter the most have such a difficult time with. Now there's a difference between which is hardship and discomfort. Discomfort is part of fasting. Hardship is not a part of fasting because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us ease and he does not will intend desire difficulty for you. Difficulty and discomfort are two very different things. Discomfort comes with fasting. Difficulty does not. And so difficulty, how can we quantify it? It's quantified as that which is outside of the norm. If we had a hundred people fasting, if we had a thousand people fasting, they're all going to have a pretty normalized experience. Correct? But then we've got one guy who is so so uncomfortable that we can't even call it discomfort anymore. Now we're calling it pain or the person is in such difficulty due to his fasting that he cannot function properly. The person is in such difficulty that they are unable to function adequately in their day-to-day life not because of some discomfort but because of difficulty that is outside of the spectrum of normaly. This here is where a person is given an allowance to fast. Anything that takes you out of that norm, they have the allowance to break their fast. Correct. So, who falls into that? A traveler. They're outside of their normal circumstances, aren't they? Okay. A person who is ill. a a woman who is breastfeeding, a woman who is pregnant, a very old man or an old woman, maybe not even very old, just to the point that they are outside of the scope of normal discomfort. Now it is difficult. Now it is now it is and that is the antithesis of what Allah desires for us. Correct? Therefore, a person who is able to fast, they are old and due to old age, they are able to fast, but it is not uncomfortable. It is difficult. This person has the allowance to what? To break their fast. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, This is in verse number 184. The same verses regarding the rulings of fasting in surah Bakar. Now notice Allah says in this verse that which translates to and upon those who are able to fast meaning but do not is a fya an expeation of feeding a poor person. Okay, let's unpack this because fasting went through stages in its legislation. It wasn't just fast for Ramadan and that's where it started. No, no. Fasting had different parameters at the beginning because an entire ummah now is is beginning to adopt this new yearly thing. And so it went through stages. The first stage was that it was highly encouraged to fast the day of the day of Ashw. After that it became obligatory to fast ash. After that Ramadan became obligatory and ashw became preferred. Okay. But at the beginning when Ramadan was first obligated, which year was Ramadan obligated? Anyone know? Which year after Hijra which year was the battle of Buddh? Huh? The second year, right? The second year. And we know that the prophet started to fast the first year after hij the month of Ramadan there was fasting and they broke their fast for the occasion of war and travel. So Ramadan was obligated in the second year after hij. However, when it was obligated, it was optional. What do you mean optional? Optional in the following way. You could do one of two things. You could either fast or you could feed a poor person for every day that you do not fast. This was for everybody. Young, old, free, slave, rich, poor, male, female, traveling, resident, ill, , etc. This was the first phase. So you had young men, young women, they would choose not to fast and they would feed a poor person for every day that they missed. This went on until Allah sent down the second verse of surah Bakar verse number 185. He said.
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And so with this it became obligatory to fast and not fasting was an exception. Now you couldn't choose to either feed a poor person or or fast. Now everyone who is able had to fast. So what about and and this verse that we read verse 184 this was revealed in the first of those two phases. And those who are able to fast but do not upon them is an expeation of feeding a poor person. The next year rolls around. Now fasting Ramadan is obligatory upon everyone who is able. So what happened to that verse that came before? Was it mens? Was it abregated? Not entirely. Listen to what Ib says about that previous verse. He says, Yes. for.
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Mossina. Oh. Here I have actually a spelling error. You have there. Yes. Is incorrect. The lambi is he touches him. So it should be it there's no such thing as he says he says this previous verse verse 184 and upon those who are able to fast but fail to do so the expeation of feeding a poor person for each day that they miss. Iban Abbass says this verse is not completely abregated. It is still relevant to an old man or an old woman. They find it difficult to fast and so they feed a poor person for every day that they miss.
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And so here he says they are unable to fast due to their old age. When we say fast, we're not speaking about physically fasting. We're speaking about normal fasting without hardship. Okay? So, they instead feed a poor person for each day that they miss. This is the ruling for the old man and the old woman. Now, is this absolute? No. Let's say a person is getting up there in age and some days he's able and some days he's not, right? He decides, look, I'm going to try to fast and I'll start my day out fasting, but if things get real tough, I'll break my fast. Otherwise, I'll keep my fast. They're free to do so. It's not you're either fasting the whole month or you're not fasting at all. No, there can be a level of a level of you know trial and error because a lot of people they they don't want to break their fast if they're unable to. But generally speaking, a person who is old in age and for the most part will have difficulty fasting, this person is allowed to break his fast. This person is allowed to break her fast and to feed a poor person for each day that they miss.
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So we say that old age is not illness, right? It's not an illness but it runs in the same vein as illness menration, postpartum, breastfeeding, traveling. Right? So it runs in the same vein. Therefore it has the same rulings. Correct? Now we said that there are two types of illnesses, two types of people that are ill with respect to the the time frame. We said what are those two types? Temporary and and permanent or chronic or right musmin. Right? So old age is more similar to which of those two types of illness? Musmin. You're not going to get younger. Right? Therefore, it will take the same ruling as a person who is chronically ill. This is why they feed a poor person for each day that they miss. Are we starting to to visualize how each of the pieces fit together perfectly? We have a general ruling and then we build on it. We have a general ruling, then we build on it. It's not just random rulings. They're all based on something, right? They're based on a principle. We've set up about three or four principles and now we are building on those principles. Every year we have questions. The same questions come up. person is old, a person is breastfeeding, a person is We are now starting to be able to visualize these things a lot better because we're learning the principles upon which these rulings are based. We know now why an old person is able to break their fast, why a breastfeeding woman is able to break their fast. And we now know their recourse. Why? because we were able to base these rulings on a common ground, a common foundation. This is what FIK is. That's what it is. Just random rulings. You can't keep them all straight and you will end up shooting yourself in the foot. In order to properly understand, it has to come from the foundations up. Now.
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