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What is the ruling of Islamic law regarding the fasting of a diabetic patient who takes multiple medications for various illnesses, suffers from recurrent low blood sugar, and has become accustomed to offering expiation instead of fasting?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible for a sick person to break their fast if fasting increases their illness or delays their recovery, based on the Almighty’s saying: "And whoever is ill or on a journey, then [he is to fast] a number of other days." If the illness is expected to be cured, then they must make up the days they missed. However, if the illness is chronic and not expected to be cured, and they are unable to make up the fasts, then they must feed a poor person for each day. The amount of food to be given is one mudd (approximately 750 grams), and this is the fatwa issued.

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

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