What is the criterion for the disease that makes it permissible not to fast in Ramadan? Does a person who has high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol have to fast in Ramadan?

My mother has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Therefore, she has to take medicine. All three doctors said, "She must not fast." We paid fidyah for our mother and did not allow her to fast in Ramadan last year. However, my mother became very sad since she had always fasted in Ramadan before. If she fasts this year, we fear that something bad may happen. Will you inform us about the issue?

Dear Brother / Sister,

If a religious doctor decides that your mother does not have to fast, it becomes permissible for her not to fast and pay fidyah for it. 

Fiqh scholars express the criteria for the disease that makes it permissible not to fast in Ramadan as follows: 

1. If the ill person suffers a lot when he fasts.
2. If risk of death exists when he fasts.
3. If his illness increases or his recovery delays when he fasts.

According to the statement of the reliable doctors of today, some of the diseases that make it permissible for a person not to fast are as follows:

1. Heart disease of the last phase,
2. Tuberculosis and pneumonia,
3. Cancer,
4. Severe nephritis,
5. Urethritis together with urinary calculus,
6. Severe arteriosclerosis,
7. Stomach ulcer and intestinal ulcer,
8. Severe diabetes (al-Fiqhul-Islam wa Adillatuh, II/645)

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