Should a diabetic person fast? Is it not sufficient for him to offer fidyah (compensation)?.

Should a diabetic person fast? Is it not sufficient for him to offer fidyah (compensation)?

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem.

In response to this question, I can say that One cannot make a blanket ruling to the effect that all diabetic people may skip fasting and only need to provide fidyah(feeding the poor). 

This is because each diabetic person's condition is different from the other, as each one reacts differently to fasting. My late sheikh Sibawaihi may Allah be pleased with him was a diabetic but never missed a day fasting that I'm aware of.

 Not even optional Mondays and Thursday's fasting. If we see one diabetic person as being adversely affected by fasting, we also find another, in spite of being a diabetic, not at all troubled by fasting. This being the case, one should never assume that all diabetic individuals are generally exempt from fasting.

If a diabetic person has been advised by his or her doctor not to keep the fast, or if, after having monitored his or her sugar level, it has been determined that fasting is dangerous, then they are exempt from fasting, and they are to give fidyah instead. If, on the other hand, it was found that he or she is not adversely affected by fasting, then he or she must fast, and hence offering fidyah is not a valid option in this case.
In other words, exemption from fasting is granted only to those who are adversely affected by fasting.

Also note that feeding the poor if one is not able to fast for whatever reason does not cover the missed days of not fasting unless such person never recovered till death, in such cases the feeding is enough not to fast for the dead missed days but in any case, if you become well and capable of fasting then you must fast the number of missed days even if you fed the poor.

May Allah forgive us all and accept our acts of ibaadaat. Aameen.