What is the ruling on fasting for those with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, or ulcers?
● A sick person who is completely unable to fast is exempted from fasting and must offer fidyah (feeding a needy person), as Allah Almighty says {what means}: "and [in such cases] it is incumbent upon those who can afford it to make sacrifice by feeding a needy person." [Al-Baqarah/184]. They are not required to make up for the missed fasts.
● A sick person who can fast on some days but not others should fast when able and make up the missed days after Ramadan when possible. No fidyah is required in this case.
● If fasting during the long, hot summer days is too difficult for a sick person, but they can make up the fasts during the shorter, cooler winter days, they should break their fast and make up for it when they are able, without fidyah.
What is the ruling on forgetting an integral of the prayer?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
Whoever forgets an integral (Rukn) of the prayer and remembers it before reaching the equivalent point in the subsequent unit (Rak'ah), must return to it (i.e., perform it) and complete his prayer, then perform the prostration of forgetfulness (Sujud al-Sahw) at the end of his prayer. However, if he remembers it after reaching the equivalent point in the subsequent unit, the Rak'ah in which the integral was forgotten is invalidated, and the current unit takes its place; he then completes a full Rak'ah to compensate and performs the prostration of forgetfulness.
It is stated in Nihayat al-Muhtaj ila Sharh al-Minhaj (Vol.1/P.543): 'If he becomes certain at the end of his prayer, or after the Salam—provided the interval is not long according to custom and he has not stepped on an impurity—that he omitted a prostration from the final Rak'ah, he must perform it and repeat the Tashahhud, as his previous Tashahhud occurred before its proper place. If the omission was from a Rak'ah other than the final one, he must perform a full Rak'ah, because the deficient unit was completed by a prostration from the subsequent one, rendering the rest of that subsequent unit void.' And Allah the Exalted knows best.
What is the ruling on omitting the prostration of recitation?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
The prostration of recitation (Sajdat al-Tilawah) is a Sunnah for both the reader and the listener. There is no sin in omitting it, though doing so results in missing a great reward. Muslim narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: 'When the son of Adam recites a verse of prostration and prostrates, Shaytan withdraws weeping, saying: "Woe to him! (and in the narration of Abu Kuraib: "Woe to me!") The son of Adam was commanded to prostrate and he prostrated, so Paradise is his; and I was commanded to prostrate and I refused, so the Fire is mine."'
Sheikh al-Islam Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) stated: 'It is recommended to prostrate immediately after reciting or hearing a verse of prostration. If one delays it but the interval is short, he may still prostrate. However, if the interval is long, the opportunity is missed.' [Rawdat al-Talibin Vol.1/P.323].
Furthermore, the prostration of recitation becomes obligatory (Wajib) in congregational prayer if the Imam prostrates, out of the necessity of following him. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
Can a woman leading other women in Tarawih prayer recite aloud?
Yes, a woman leading other women in Tarawih prayer is allowed to recite aloud, as long as no non-mahram (other than unmarriageable kin) men can hear her.
