Is prayer obligatory for a cancer patient who is taking medication that causes him to lose focus and awareness, and what are the responsibilities of his children towards him?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
If your father's lack of concentration and excessive drowsiness are due to medication, and this condition lasts for the entire prayer time, preventing him from performing the prayer with concentration, then the prayer is neither obligatory for him nor does he have to make it up. However, if there are periods of lucidity during which he can perform the prayer with its prescribed pillars and proper form, then the prayer is obligatory for him. Similarly, if he regains consciousness before the prayer time expires, with enough time to perform one rak'ah after purification, then it is also obligatory for him.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/31268
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 31268
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy