8] For whom is fasting Ramadaan obligatory?

8]
For whom is fasting Ramadaan obligatory?
Praise be to Allaah.
Fasting is obligatory for a person if he fulfils five conditions:
1- He is a Muslim
2- He is accountable (mukallaf)
3- He is able to fast
4- He is settled (not travelling)
5- There are no impediments to fasting
If these five conditions aremet, then it is obligatory for a person to fast.
Kaafirs are excluded from the first condition. The kaafir is not
obliged to fast and his fast is not valid. If he becomes Muslim he is
not obliged to make up fasts from before.
The evidence for that is the verse in which Allaah says
(interpretation of themeaning):
"And nothing prevents their contributions from being accepted from
themexcept that they disbelieved in Allaah and in His Messenger
(Muhammad) and that they came not to As-Salaah (the prayer) except in
a lazy state, and that they offer not contributions but unwillingly"
[al-Tawbah 9:54]
If the contribution is not acceptable even though itbenefits others,
because of their kufr, then other acts of worship may be even more
unacceptable.
He does not have to makeup fasts if he becomes Muslim because Allaah
says (interpretation of themeaning):
"Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease (from disbelief),
their past will be forgiven"
[al-Anfaal 8:38]
And it was proven in mutawaatir reports that the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not tell those who became Muslim
to make up the obligatory duties that they had missed.
Will the kaafir be punished in the Hereafter for not fasting if he did
not become Muslim?
The answer is:
Yes, he will be punished for not fasting, and for not doing any other
obligatory duties, becauseif the Muslim who obeyedAllaah and adhered
to His laws will be punished for that, then it is more apt that he
(the kaafir) shouldbe punished. If the kaafir is to be punished for
the blessings of Allaah that heenjoyed, such as food, drink and
clothing, then itis more appropriate that he will be punished for
doing haraam actions andnot doing obligatory duties. This is by way of
analogy.
With regard to the texts, Allaah says that those on the Right (i.e.,
the believers) will say to the disbelievers:
" 'What has caused you toenter Hell?'
They will say: 'We were not of those who used to offer the Salaah (prayers),
Nor used we to feed Al-Miskeen (the poor);
And we used to talk falsehood (all that which Allaah hated) with vain talkers.
And we used to belie the Day of Recompense'"
[al-Muddaththir 74:42]
These four things are what will cause them to enter Hell.
"We were not of those who used to offer the Salaah (prayers)" means
they did not pray; "Nor used we to feed Al-Miskeen (the poor)" means
they did not pay zakaah; "And we used to talk falsehood (all that
which Allaah hated) with vain talkers" means things like mocking the
verses of Allaah; "And we used to belie the Day of Recompense."
The second condition:
He should be accountable (mukallaf). The one who ismukallaf is one who
is hasreached the age of puberty and is of sound mind, because a minor
or one who is insane is not accountable. Puberty is reached when one
of the three signs is noticed – see question no. 20475 .
The one who is of sound mind is the opposite of one is insane, which
is one who has lost his mind, whether he is insane or feeble-minded.
Everyone who has lost hismind, in whatever sense, is not accountable
and he is not obliged to do any ofthe obligatory duties of Islam, be
it prayer, fastingor feeding the poor; he does not have to do anything
at all.
The third condition:
Being able to fast. The one who is unable to fast does not have to
fast, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"and whoever is ill or on ajourney, the same number[of days which one
did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days"
[al-Baqarah 2:185]
But being unable to fast falls into two categories: temporary
inability and permanent inability.
Temporary inability is that which is mentioned in the verse quoted
above, such as one who issick but hopes to recover, and the traveller.
These people are allowed not tofast, then they have to make up what
they missed.
Those who are permanently unable to fast, such as one who is sick and
has no hope of recovery, or those who are elderly and are unableto
fast, are mentioned in the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
"And as for those who canfast with difficulty, (e.g. anold man), they
have (a choice either to fast or) to feed a Miskeen (poor person) (for
every day)"
[al-Baqarah 2:184]
As Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) interpreted it, it
refers to the old man and old woman who are not able to fast,:->