We are a medical team that does a large number of surgeries all-year. As a result, we can`t delay the already scheduled surgeries, which are more than a thousand, till after Ramadan under the excuse that patients are observing fast. In most scheduled cases, patients are forced to break their fast for a day or two until they return to normal. However, there is a new surgical procedure that we perform on patients suffering from "excessive obesity" where they are forced to break their fast and follow a diet for a minimum of three weeks. Is it permissible to perform this procedure in Ramadan?

Is it permissible to advance the payment of the Fidyah (compensation for not fasting)due on an old person who is unable to fast, or should it be paid day by day?

Is it permissible for the pregnant and the breastfeeding women to break their fast because of hardship, and what is incumbent on them in this case ?

I can`t fast because of being inflicted with an incurable disease, I haven`t observed fasting since 1993, what is the expiation due on me?

Is the guardian obliged to pay the fasting ransom on behalf of the mentally handicapped who has passed puberty?

What is the ruling on the person who passed away before making up fasts of Ramadan, which he missed for a valid excuse?

With no valid excuse, I have repeatedly broken fast during past Ramadan and don`t know the exact number of days. What is the ruling of Sharia on this? And what is the due expiation? This is knowing that I`m an employee and unable to fast for two consecutive months because of the nature of my work and poor financial status.

My wife had missed fifty days of obligatory fast due to menses and, sometimes, forgetfulness. What should she do to free herself from the liability?

I made a vow to fast each Monday, Tuesday and the white days so long as I am alive. What is the ruling on this vow? What is the ruling on making up  fasts missed due to menses? And am I permitted to offer expiation for not fulfilling my vow?

I`m a twenty-year-old woman inflicted with type (1) diabetes, so I take insulin injections. It is very difficult for me to observe fast with such a condition because of the continued need for taking medications. However, I have recently used a new type of medication that enabled me to observe fast last Ramadan. Still, sometimes, it becomes too difficult for me to remain fasting. My question is: Should I make up for the missed obligatory fast in previous years, knowing that I have missed more than two hundred days, or does paying the ransom avail me?