QUESTION:
A deceased person’s family wishes to pay Fidya for the person’s missed fasts and Salaah during his lifetime.
Q1. He suffered for almost all of of his life from Schizophrenia. Alhamdulillah, he managed to function normally in terms of his life and business, but the Schizophrenia deeply affected his mental state causing severe delirium (hallucinations, seeing a distorted reality, believing those around him are lying, cheating, stealing etc.). Were Deeni obligations compulsory on him considering this?
A1.Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. When schizophrenia is active, symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, trouble with thinking and lack of motivation. Now coming to the query, the Fuqaha have written that if a person becomes insane or becomes unconscious for the duration of one day and night, then such a person will be absolved from the compulsion of Salaah unless he regains consciousness or recovers from insanity. However, in the queried scenario, it seems that the ill person was able to function normally (as stated in the query), hence the command of Salaah remained obligatory upon him until his very end.
Re: – Fataawa Uthmaaniyah Vol. 2 Pg. 6
عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ” رُفِعَ الْقَلَمُ عَنْ ثَلاَثَةٍ عَنِ النَّائِمِ حَتَّى يَسْتَيْقِظَ وَعَنِ الصَّبِيِّ حَتَّى يَحْتَلِمَ وَعَنِ الْمَجْنُونِ حَتَّى يَعْقِلَ ” )سنن أبي داؤد #4403)
Hadrat Ali Radiallahu Anhu reports that Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said: The pen has been raised from three people; a sleeping person until he awakens, a child until he reaches puberty, and an insane person until he comes to his senses.
2. For the last 10 years before his passing, he suffered from Parkinson’s disease which eventually completely affected his movement. In the latter 5 years, the Parkinson’s progressed into dementia and he was completely incoherent of time, place, people etc.
A2. Dementia is not a specific disease, but is rather a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities. Hence, a person suffering from dementia is generally not considered as insane and Salaah will remain obligatory upon him. However, if his mental illness is to such a degree that he is unable to distinguish between good and bad and unaware of the consequence of his actions, then he will fall in the category of an insane person.
(والجنون) هو اختلاف القوة التي بها إدراك الكليات تلويح، وبه علم تعريف العقل أنه القوة المذكورة، ومعدنه القلب وشعاعه في الدماغ درر (وهو لا يختلف بهما) لاتحاد سببه (قوله تلويح) قال في البحر: وفي التلويح: الجنون اختلال القوة المميزة بين الأشياء الحسنة والقبيحة المدركة للعواقب انتهى. والأخصر اختلال القوة التي بها إدراك الكليات. اهـ وأشار بقوله والأخصر إلى أن المؤدى واحد، فما عزاه الشارح إلى التلويح نقل بالمعنى فافهم. (قوله ومعدنه القلب إلخ) سئل علي – رضي الله عنه – عن معدن العقل، فقال: القلب، وإشراقه إلى الدماغ، وهو خلاف ما ذكره الحكماء، وقوله علي أعلى عند العلماء من بشرح بدء الأمالي للقاري (الدر المختار و حاشية ابن عابدين 5/9
3. We have no way of calculating exactly how many fasts, Salaah etc. he missed. There were times when he was punctual on his Deeni obligations and times where he wasn’t. How would Fidya be calculated if it is necessary, and would an estimate be sufficient since we are unable to work it out exactly?
A3. The family should exercise their mind to the best of their ability (in regards to the number of outstanding Salaah and fasts) and discharge the Fidya. We assume that the family will be discharging the Fidya from their side and not from the estate, as it seems that the Marhoom hadn’t left behind any records of missed Salaah, fasts, etc. You should bear in mind that the estate funds may only be used for discharging the Fidya if all heirs consent to discharging the Fidya from the estate, since the deceased has not left behind any details or instructions in regards to the Fidya.
والـظـن الـطرف الراجح ،وهو ترجيح جهة الصواب ،والوهم رجحان جهة الخطاء، وأما أكبر الرأي، وغـالـب الـظـن ،فهو الطرف الراجح إذا اخذبه القلب، وهو المعتبر عند الفقهاء …… وغالب الظن عندهم ملحق باليقين، وهو الذي يبتني عليه الأحكام. (الاأشباه والنظائر 1/222(
ALLAH TA’ALA ALONE IN HIS INFINITE KNOWLEDGE KNOWS BEST!
ANSWERED BY:
Maulana Abdul Kader Fazlani
Date: 04 Dhul Qa’dah 1445 / 14 May 2024
CHECKED AND APPROVED BY:
Mufti Mohammed Desai Saheb
