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What are the jurisprudential rulings concerning the insane and those of unsound mind?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The pen is lifted from the insane person, as he is not held religiously accountable, because one of the conditions for accountability is intellect, based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "The pen is lifted from three: from the insane person until he recovers, from the child until he reaches puberty, and from the sleeper until he wakes up." Therefore, he is not obligated to pray, fast, or perform Hajj. Zakat is obligatory on his wealth, and his guardian must pay it on his behalf. He is not required to make up for missed obligations if he recovers, except for fasting according to the Maliki school. His guardian may arrange his marriage, and he inherits and is inherited from, is washed, shrouded, and prayed over like other Muslims.

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

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