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Is a daughter who suffers from cerebral palsy, who does not speak or move, and whose mental comprehension is very limited, considered among the insane who are not addressed by Sharia obligations, and thus the obligation of fasting is waived for her, or is she considered ill with an incurable disease, and her guardian must feed a poor person for every day she misses fasting?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

There is no religious obligation before puberty, and reason is the basis of obligation, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The pen has been lifted from three: from the sleeper until he awakens, from the child until he reaches puberty, and from the insane person until he regains his sanity."

If your daughter has reached the age of maturity, the default is that she is obligated. Her inability to speak or move does not indicate a lack of reason. If she understands discourse and responds to it with appropriate gestures, then she is rational and subject to religious obligations such as fasting. If she is able to fast, she should fast. If she is unable to fast due to an inability that is not expected to cease, she should feed one poor person for each day from her own money, if she has any.

If she does not understand discourse or responds to it incorrectly, then she is not rational, and neither fasting nor expiation is obligatory for her. The determination of her condition should be referred to specialized doctors.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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