Thinker Yasser Al-Sulami, a researcher in Islamic law, confirmed that the concept of worship in Islam boils down to complying with God’s command and not following personal desire, pointing out that the jurisprudence of concessions is not merely a mitigation, but rather a legal duty in cases of harm.
Ruling on fasting for sick people and those with excuses
Concerning the controversy of fasting for the sick and those with excuses, and in response to the question: How does a Muslim balance his desire to gain reward with the inability of his body? Al-Salami explained, during television statements, that this is a fundamental point. The first principle is that we worship God, not our desires. The sick person or the one who has an excuse may be sad about his inability to fast, but true worship is responding to God’s saying, “Do” or “Don’t do it.” Just as fasting is forbidden at sunset because God said, “Eat now,” fasting is also forbidden for the patient whose doctor decides that fasting will harm him. True training is to obey the divine command; If you are sick with diabetes, kidneys, or the heart, and the doctor orders you not to stop drinking water, then at this moment God says to you: “Do not fast.”
Regarding the patient’s insistence on fasting despite the danger, and whether it is considered a deviation from the spirit of worship, he stressed that this matter clearly constitutes a departure from the spirit of worship, explaining that if fasting will lead to complications such as heart attacks as a result of a lack of fluids, then the patient here is resisting God’s command, and the person who fasts while he is sick is commanded to break the fast, and he is completely similar to the healthy person who breaks the fast while he is commanded to fast. Both of them are in the circle of sin because they violated God’s will, and Islam affirms the rule of no harm, no harm, and we must be gentle with ourselves.
In response to the question: Is the reward of Ramadan lost for someone who breaks the fast due to a legitimate excuse, whether it is illness or menstruation? He pointed out that the excuse does not prevent the reward, and the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, clearly confirmed this meaning when he said about those who were prevented by an excuse from going out for jihad: “Indeed, in Medina, there are men who have not traveled a journey or crossed a valley without sharing with you in the reward. The excuse prevented them.”
He noted that the truly deprived is the one who is cut off from God, not the one who breaks his fast at His command, and breaking the fast here is the worship of abandonment, and the sick or menstruating woman can obtain reward through other means, such as remembrance, reciting the Qur’an, praising God, spending, and feeding food. The devil should not make the believer sad and make him feel inferior, for God gives the reward for intention and honesty with an excuse.
Regarding the menstruating woman and the legality of breaking her fast, he said that the matter falls within the same circle, which is the circle of compliance, and God Almighty is the one who established this nature and these rulings, and adhering to them is the pinnacle of slavery, and the woman who breaks the fast during her menstruation performs the obligatory fast of breaking the fast in obedience to God, and is rewarded for that just as a fasting woman is rewarded for her fasting, stressing that worship is not stubbornness with the body, but rather harmony with the Creator’s will for this body in all its conditions.
