Islamic law recognizes concessions for illness, travel, and certain other circumstances, with detailed rules about making up missed fasts. This narration addresses missing Ramadan fasting without an excuse, not everyone whose fast is missed due to a valid concession.
Example 1: A sick person asks about the relevant concession and later makeup obligation; that case is not automatically equivalent to deliberate neglect without an excuse.
Example 2: A healthy person carelessly misses a fast should repent and attend to the applicable legal remedy, rather than conclude that making it up is pointless.
صَوْمُ الدَّهْرِ كُلِّهِ — “the fasting of a lifetime” — underscores the unique value of a single day of Ramadan.