Her daughter suffers from seizures; can she give her medicine during the day in Ramadan?
Question

                My wife’s sister is twenty-three years old and has special needs. She has a developmental delay in her cognitive ability, and she sometimes has seizures, but – subhaan Allah – my Lord has blessed her with a good heart, as she loves to do acts of obedience, especially prayer. By Allah, I wish that I was as keen to pray as she is, and as regular in offering the prayers on time.

My question is: she suffers from seizures – may Allah heal her – and they have gotten worse recently, and she has to take medicine. She is used to fasting, but her mother is worried because the fasting period is so long, and because the incidence of seizures is greater than it was previously; so her mother is confused, and because of her keenness, she asked me to ask about a fatwa.

Is it permissible for her not to fast during the day in Ramadan, and to give her medicine, then after that to tell her to complete her fast, because she will be very upset if she does not fast?
Praise be to Allah.
      Firstly: 

    In the answer to question no.
    50555, we explained that sickness is one of the 
    excuses that makes it permissible not to fast. Also, if a sick person 
    requires treatment during the day in Ramadan, it is permissible for him to 
    break his fast and make up the days when he did not fast later on. Based on 
    that, if fasting will be harmful to this girl, or it will exacerbate her 
    sickness, there is nothing wrong with her mother giving her daughter 
    medicine during the day in Ramadan, but in this case she has to convince her 
    daughter that it is permissible for her not to fast, because she is sick, 
    and Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, by His mercy has excused the 
    sick person from fasting, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): 
    “and 
    whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number (of days which one did not 
    observe Saum (fasts) must be made up) from other days” 
    [al-Baqarah 2:185]. 
    There is nothing wrong with making her complete the fast, so long as she 
    makes up that day after Ramadan. 

    Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah 
    have mercy on him) was asked: 

    I have a mental illness, and when I went 
    to the doctor, he gave me pills which I have to take for five years, one 
    pill every twelve hours. What should I do, especially during the day in 
    Ramadan, because now the fast lasts for fifteen hours, and if I delay taking 
    the pill even for one hour, this sickness will come back to me and I will 
    have seizures? 

    He replied: 

    Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, 
    says (interpretation of the meaning): 
    “So keep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can” 
    [al-Taghaabun 64:16]. If 
    sickness will result from delaying the dose until after its usual time, then 
    there is nothing wrong with breaking the fast, if the day is long, and the 
    fast is fifteen hours. On such days, there is nothing wrong with taking the 
    pill that has been prescribed by the doctor, and breaking the fast by doing 
    so, then refraining from eating and drinking for the rest of the day, and 
    making it up later on, because breaking the fast is done for that purpose. 
    So he may break the fast, then refrain from eating and drinking, then make 
    up the day later on. But if it is possible to delay the dose without any 
    hardship, then he must delay it so that he can take the dose at night. 

    End quote from Fataawa Noor ‘ala ad-Darb 
    (16/130) 

    For more information, please see the 
    answer to question no. 97798 

    Secondly: 

    What you mentioned about that girl being 
    keen to do acts of worship and loving to do good, despite the illness that 
    she suffers – should motivate you to be keen and hasten to do good, because 
    shortcomings in one who is capable are not like shortcomings in one who is 
    not capable. Shortcomings in one who is capable are regarded as faults, as 
    someone once said: I have never seen any faults in people like the 
    shortcomings of those who are able to do things properly. 

    May Allah help us and you to obey Him and 
    hasten to do so, and may He decree a speedy recovery for that woman, for He 
    is able to do that. 

    And Allah knows best.