Dear brother Joseph,
Thank you for the reply.
There is a prevalent point of view according to which some directives of fasting prescribed in 2:184 were abrogated by the very next verse 2:185. Allow me to copy and paste this whole argument below along with the source of the article from where I got it:
"...the very next verse beginning with the words شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ shows that the permission to feed a needy for a missed fast was later revoked. Consequently, the whole directive has been repeated after this verse while omitting the words beginning with وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ and ending with إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ. Since it is difficult to fast in days other than Ramadan, the Almighty did not make it incumbent until people got used to it. Hence, it has been said in the Qur’an that feeding the needy for missed fasts has been revoked so that people could keep their missed fasts and are thus not deprived of the blessings hidden in them."
Source:
http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=90I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter. Is it really the case that the directives of 2:184 were abrogated by the later verse? If so, how does that fit in with the wat Muslims have been traditionally fasting all these centuries?
Regards,
Osman.