Dar al-Iftaa said that it is permissible for a Muslim to refrain from fasting during the month of Ramadan to undergo expeditious surgery based on the words of God Who says, “Fast for a specific number of days, but if one of you is ill, or on a journey, on other days later.” Basing its verdict on the dominant opinion of the majority of scholars, Dar al-Iftaa maintained the impermissibility of not fasting if an upright physician determines that the surgery is not urgent and if fasting will not harm the patient or cause him hardship.

Dar Al-Iftaa explained in its fatwa, that God the Almighty has enjoined fasting the month of Ramadan on all Muslims. To alleviate hardship, He gave travelers and the ill a dispensation to refrain from fasting, allowing them to make up their missed fast days later after the excuse ceases.

Scholars are in agreement that although illness is generally considered an excuse that allows a person to refrain from fasting, there are exceptions. The majority of scholars have maintained that the illness that permits not fasting is that which fasting worsens, delays recovery from, or causes considerable harm with. This is because not all illnesses are the same. For instance toothache, finger cuts, and sores are not exacerbated by fasting. Fasting sometimes even aids in the recovery from certain illnesses.

The fatwa added that scholars have debated the kind of illnesses that permit a person not to fast. While Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin maintained that all illnesses permit not fasting, whether or not they cause difficulty, Al-Asam argued that this is not permissible except for an ill person whom fasting exhausts i.e. he will not be able to continue the fast. Most scholars however maintained that the illness that permits not fasting is that which leads to harm or worsens a person’s condition.