medication during ramadan

[duraldo]

I know Ramadan is a few months away, but it is something I need to start considering early for my first fast. I am not going into details, but it is like insulin, for a chronic illness where I have to have it daily or I will suffer very bad pain, diarreha, and vomiting (which will make fasting impossible, as dehydration will set in). I have to take a medication daily, certain days it is no problem and I can take the medication at whatever time. This isn't the problem. Sometimes during the week, I have to go and take the medication at a supervised facility in front of a nurse practitioner. The earliest they open is at 5:15 AM....this is the problem, as I am looking at the chart, sunrise is going to be around 4:50 - 5:05.

So in the event that the nurses at the clinic won't make a religious exception for me to open when they get there, surely they don't arrive at 5:15 on the dot, I am thinking they arrive at 5. (and I honestly don't know, they could, they could not, they may require documentation from an Iman and a notary as well as 4 witnesses and my pet monkey, I exaggerate, but you get the picture, bureaucracy.)

If not, on the days I have to go up there, if I go up there at the absolute earliest, and even then, it will be around 5:30 before the line moves fast enough, if I take the medicine with no water, which I probably can do, will this be acceptable? I havn't found any absolute answers online, going to ask an Iman this weekend.

Or perhaps I am missing something, like I read you must eat before the prayer. If I do fajr prayer after I take my medication, that's ok right?

[Muhammad]

Assalamu Alaykum duraldo,

Or perhaps I am missing something, like I read you must eat before the prayer. If I do fajr prayer after I take my medication, that's ok right?

To clarify the last part of your post regarding when the time for fasting begins, it begins at the beginning time for Fajr prayer (not sunrise), based on the verse:

...And eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night), then complete your Saum (fast) till the nightfall... [Al-Baqarah 2:187]

So the beginning of the fast is based on the time Fajr prayer begins, not on the actual time a person prays the Fajr prayer (which might have been delayed). Even if a person didn't eat before the time for Fajr began, they cannot eat after that point. I hope that doesn't sound confusing :ia:.

It's a good idea to discuss your situation with the Imam. You could also ask the relevant person from the clinic (doctor/nurse) about not having to take the medicine during fasting hours. There must be other Muslims in the same position and the clinic should be understanding. If necessary, the Imam might be able to provide you with the documentation you need.

And Allaah :swt: knows best.

May Allaah :swt: bless you with good health and keep you steadfast, Aameen.

[duraldo]

Assalamu allaykum brother,

I feel that many would find the medication I am on "haram" (forbidden), (without a prescription, it is people get high on it), therefore I don't feel comfortable talking about it in public, but if you are very familiar with US medicine, you can probably figure it out from the hints in my post. So I don't think Muslims will understand what I go through and I am almost certain that are no Muslims at my clinic. Not to mention my doctor has no clue about my recent my conversion/reversion and may think I am lying to deceive the system (i.e. to gain more take-home medication). I will have to give up the medication one day, either through death or if I want to travel again (i.e. Hajj, won't be able to import my meds to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia among other things). However, it is medically unsafe for me to fast and try to quit my medication at the same time. I NEED water without my medication, my body will dehydrate itself to dangerous levels in a short time.

When I traveled 3 years ago to Russia, the "month of hell" (as I call it, the time roughtly it takes for my body to re acclimate) was nightmarish. I lost 60 pounds......in 33 days. I lost consciousness from dehydration more than once, and one time hitting my head on the hard tile floor to where my neighbor heard it next door and nearly called 911. If you have ever had sleeping issues, you know how bad not sleeping for a day or 2 days can be. Imagine this....for 2 weeks. You hallucinate, you start acting irrational, then you finally collapse and sleep....for 2 hours, only to wake up again to repeat it again for another week. This was with plenty of water and eating as much as I could stomach (maybe a banana or 2 a day). I'm sure your question will be if I can get off of it and live without it, the answer is "yes, but during a fast may kill me". Something that needs preparation.

Going to see the Iman today actually in a few hours, he wants to learn more about my "story". I told him to prepare himself, he may physically feel sick after hearing how sinfully I lived. (I jest, but at the same time 100% serious). I really should be dead, and this medication (edit: and the will of Allah (SWT)!) is what probably saved my life. The staff at the clinic are understanding, but are chained to bureaucratic rules. This is why I am looking into this now, rather than you know, the morning of Ramadan (also noticed, I stopped procrastinating as much since my revertsion).

At the very worse, there will be two or three days a week where I will feel ill, perhaps they may make an exception with me that month, they are far understanding than the public clinic I previously went to. At the very least, they can give my my medication in a take home bottle (while still making me come up there the mandatory times a week) and I can take my medication at night. That would be ok with me, as the medicine lasts 24-36 hours. Thank you for your explanation. It was confusing at first, I misinterpated what I read as you can eat before the Fajr prayer, not the time. And now I know!

...wait's for it.....

ومعرفة هو نصف المعركة!

(This is a little joke, I'm in a jolly mood this morning. I hope the Arabic is right, I use google translate, I really hope it doesn't come out to something offensive!)

I'm sure Allah (SWT) will work things out.

PS: Let me know if I use any terms incorrectly, on any of my posts, I won't take offense: like haraam or Allah (SWT)[ the "SWT" part, I had to learn this recently).

[Muhammad]

:wasalamex

I cannot really comment on the aspect of taking your medication whilst fasting - this is best discussed with the Imam. For people who cannot fast for medical reasons, different rulings may apply in terms of making up those fasts afterwards on other days or compensating by feeding the poor. In terms of convincing the clinic, In sha Allah that will be OK. It is good you are preparing in advance, and by mentioning it to the clinic now, they should realise it is genuine. I hope the meeting with the Imam was helpful.

So far I haven't seen any incorrect use of terms, well done. :) Unfortunately I didn't get the joke, but nevermind!

May Allaah :swt: grant you good health and independence from medications, Aameen.

P.S. :swt: is the Arabic full text of SWT

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[~Zaria~]

السلام عليكم ورØ-مةالله وبركات Can you tell us the medical term for your condition? جَزَاكَ اللهُ خَيْرًا

[duraldo]

السلام عليكم ورØ-مةالله وبركات Can you tell us the medical term for your condition? جَزَاكَ اللهُ خَيْرًا

I can, but I won't talk about this on a public forum, less anyone finds out about my terrible secret. I tried to PM you, but it's not working for me. But I plan to talk to the Iman who've I have been talking to, soon, when I get the courage to. For the most part, most people know part of the story, and I really don't want to let more people know. They assume because you are on one medication, it is because of this and that, and it automatically means you are this. One of my neighbors found out awhile ago, and told everyone in my apartment complex, and almost got me kicked out, people automatically jump to conclusions, you know? It was really, embarrassing, and to this day, people look at me with shifty eyes.

I'm not worried about people on this forum judging me (I don't think you guys would). I am more worried, someone googling my username, which I use for other things, and finding this post, then it coming back to haunt me later in life. *sigh* I sound like a crazy person don't I?

I think at the absolute worse, I will have to just deal with not getting my medication 3 times a week, which is a hell I don't want to experience. Not to mention my sex drive goes out of control without the medication (side effect of the medication is it suppresses sexual desire, so when off it, it goes through the roof, and well, it's just not a good situation to be in while fasting, death is possible without proper nutrients I read, so there is that to consider) I was reading that if missing the medication will prove too unbearable, then it is ok to miss it, and make it up later. At the very, very worse. I will just break my fast 3-4 times a week, and make up on days I can take my medications before Fajr, after Ramadan.

Another option, I have, which is very questionable, is acquiring the medication, on the streets, and injecting it instead. Which is horribly stupid and dangerous to do with this medication, but apparently, from the reading I read, is ok to take injections as long as it isn't like an IV of food/water. I'm praying to God he offers me guidance in this, but it is a relief to know that I can make up the days later.

[duraldo]

In case anyone was wondering, (and may it help anyone else in the future, inshAllah, who has a similiar issue), after talking to Imams, having absolutely no help from the clinic who thinks I am trying to scam them (as people have used Islam to try to get more meds) and seeing that there seems to be a 20 minute difference in adthan times, only 15 miles away where I sometimes do prayer, as well as the human error in calculating this.

I resort to :

“and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night), then complete your Sawm (fast) till the nightfall”
al-Baqarah 2:187

Since the clinic is still dark as 1 AM when it opens, I can take my medication then and start the fasting then. It is usually about 10 minutes. Also, the clinic is about 10 minutes in the other direction of the masjid, so not sure if this affects the time (I suspect it does). So I will either end up taking my medication 5-10 minutes earlier or later than the adhan time for Fajr, but I honestly won't know. I think (gotta ask him again) the iman basically said that following my doctors orders will not invalidate the fast, if I do it in that way.