Who Must Fast? - Ramadan

• Fasting is obligatory upon every adult Muslim who is sane, is able to perform it, and is not travelling. If he cannot meet any one of these conditions, he is excused from the fast without any penalty.
• Those who convert to Islam are not required to make up the fasts that they missed while they were still non-Muslims.
• Children are not required to fast until they reach a certain age. However, they should be encouraged as much as possible while they are still young to practice fasting by gradually expanding the time that they can observe it.
• Those who are insane, retarded, or somehow mentally impaired so that they do not (or cannot) function like normal people do not have to fast. They are not penalized in any way. The same is true for those who are very elderly and feel that they are unable to fast.
• Invalids such as very elderly persons or persons suffering from incurable illnesses are not required to fast. However they must compensate for this by feeding one needy person for every day of fasting that they miss.
• Those who fall ill unexpectedly and feel that their condition would worsen if they observed the fast are excused. After they recover, they must make up the fast by fasting the number of days that they missed.
• Pregnant and nursing mothers do not have to fast if they believe that it would cause them undue and unnecessary hardship or that it might harm the unborn child or the nursing infant. After this period of danger has passed, they must fast the number of days that they missed.
• Women who are having their menstrual period or experiencing bleeding due to recent child birth are not required to fast. They must make up the days that they have missed when their period or bleeding has finished.
• People who need to break the fast in order to save the life of someone else (i.e. being caught in a fire or drowning) are allowed to break their fast and to make it up at a later date.
• Those who are travelling are given the option of fasting or not. Those who choose not to fast during their journey must make it up after reaching their destination. This applies to all types of travel; for business, for personal reasons, or due to one's job (i.e. long distance haulers).

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