Making up for missed days of fasting and fasting the vowed days
Q: I suffer from a cardiac disease and it is difficult for me to walk. A few years ago,
I traveled to the USA
for medical care. I began to recuperate after an operation. My sister was in good health. Having deep feelings for me, my sister said: "If my brother keeps getting well throughout the coming year, I vow to fast twenty-eight days." Prior to the new year, my sister was infected with a disease rendering her bedridden, thus she could not observe Sawm (Fast) for four or five years. Although the family has tried to treat her illness
in
Al-Madinah,
Riyadh,
Jeddah,
and USA,
she still suffers from its impact. (Part No. 23; Page No. 329) That is why the days of Sawm she missed have accumulated over the years: Firstly, the twenty-eight days she vowed to fast. Secondly, sixteen days she did not fast during Ramadan because of menstruation. Thirdly, three months of Ramadan, as her health condition did not allow her to fast for three years. Moreover, the family, as a temporary atonement, fed a needy person for each day of Ramadan on which my sister could not fast, hoping that she would regain her health soon and perform Sawm on her own. But she is still ill. In sha’a-Allah (if Allah wills) Ramadan is soon to come,so we want to know what the ruling is if my sister hires a woman whose faith she trusts, as a proxy, to fast on her behalf on the following days:1- The twenty-eight days my sister vowed to fast, but could not.2- The sixteen days she needs to make up for missed Sawm because of menstruation.3- The four months she needs to make up for the three months of Ramadan over the last three years, as well as the coming one.Please answer our question in writing, may Allah reward you with the best!
A:
Your sister does not have to make up for the missed Sawm as long as she is unable to fast because of her illness. But if she gets well,
then, it is obligatory on her to make up for the days she missed in Ramadan and those she vowed to fast on, based on the Saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He):
...and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts) must be made up] from other days. Allâh intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you.
(Part No. 23; Page No. 330) May Allah bestow good health upon us and you! It is not permissible for your sister to hire a woman as a proxy to make up for her Sawm. It will not be valid if she does so, and the days she has to fast will remain a debt on her until Allah heals her.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.