Ramadan fasting during Covid-19 pandemic

Excerpt

The ritual of fasting, which includes complete refraining from food or drink, dates back to antiquity, and is observed in different religions such as Islam and Judaism. Islamic fasting is observed during the lunar month of Ramadan every year, and approximately 2 billion Muslims practice it all across the globe. [1] During Ramadan, all healthy Muslim adults (without any particular adverse health condition) need to fast from dawn to dusk and abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, intercourse, and several other activities. This can potentially last for more than 18 h a day depending on the latitude. [2] Nonetheless, there are several exemptions to this divine obligation, and travelers, menstruating women and those with certain diseases (or at increased risk for contracting a disease) can be exempted from the obligation. [3] For many Muslims, depending on the school of Islam they follow, these certain diseases or increased risks should be officially announced as Fatwas or religious edicts. Nonetheless, ultimately, these decisions need to be made on an individual basis according to the physicians’ recommendations. In some schools of Islam, such Fatwas are issued through an intricate collaborations amongst high-ranking Islamic jurisprudence scholars, academics, and medical practitioners on a virtually annual basis prior to the commencement of the holy month. [1, 4, 5] …