Making up Missed Fasts

Q 804: Due to a journey made for an important religious mission, I became liable for the qadaa’ of eighteen days of Ramadan. What is my duty? Is it obligatory for me to perform qadaa’ of the missed fasting?
A: You must perform qadaa’ of the Ramadan fasts missed due to traveling.

Q 805: A person was hired to perform qadaa’ fasts of the month of Ramadan for somebody else, and he breaks the fast in the afternoon. Does he have to pay the kaffarah?
A: No kaffarah is required.

Q 806: Some people could not fast due to their journey for religious missions during the month of Ramadan and now want to make up for it after years of delay; do they have to pay any kaffarah?
A: If delaying the qadaa’ of Ramadan fasts until the next Ramadan was due to a continuing legitimate excuse, then they should perform only the qadaa’ of the missed fasts and no fidyah, i.e. one mudd of food for each day, is required, although caution lies in giving fidyah as well. But, if the delay was out of negligence and without any excuse, then they are liable to their qadaa’ as well as fidyah.

Q 807: A person did not perform prayers or fast for about 10 years due to ignorance. Now he has repented, turning to Allah, the Exalted, and has decided to compensate for his past. But he cannot perform the qadaa’ of all the days he did not fast, nor has he the means to pay for the kaffarah. Is it enough for him to ask for forgiveness alone?
A: He is not relieved from the duty of performing the qadaa’ of the missed fasts by any means. As to the kaffarah for each day that he did not fast, if he is not able to fast for 60 days or to feed 60 needy persons, he must give food to the poor as much as he can and also, according to caution, ask Allah for forgiveness. If he cannot do that at all, it suffices to ask Allah for forgiveness.

Q 808: Due to a lack of financial and physical power, I failed to perform obligatory kaffarah, i.e. to fast or to feed the poor. As a result, I asked Allah for forgiveness. Due to Allah’s grace, now I am able to fast and feed the poor. What should I do?
A: In the given case, it is not necessary to perform kaffarah, although it is a mustahabb caution.

Q 809: What is the duty of a person who did not know that performing qadaa’ of missed fasts is required before the next Ramadan, and so did not do it?
A: Ignorance of the obligation to perform qadaa’ before next Ramadan does not relieve one of the fidyah for delay.

Q 810: A person did not fast for 120 days. What must he do? Does he have to fast for 60 days for every missed fast, and does he have to pay kaffarah?
A: He has to perform qadaa’ for the Ramadan fasts he missed. If he broke the fast intentionally and not for some shar‘i reason, then he has, in addition to performing their qadaa’, to pay the kaffarah, which is fasting for sixty days or feeding 60 needy persons, or giving one mudd (750 grams) of food to each of the sixty.

Q 811: I fasted for almost one month with the intention of carrying out the qadaa’ of any fast that I might have missed, or to be counted as a means of nearness to God. Does this month of fasting count as qadaa’ for the missed fasts?
A: If you fasted with the intention of carrying out whatever counts as your present duty, an obligatory or recommended fast, it would be counted as the qadaa’ of the fasts missed if you were liable to any.

Q 812: If a person, not knowing the number of fasts missed, performs fasts with the intention of performing a recommended fast believing that he is not liable to any qadaa’ , does this fasting count as qadaa’ for missed fasts while he is liable to qadaa’ of some fasts?
A: The fasts kept with the intention of recommended fasting do not count as qadaa’ for fasts one is liable to perform.

Q 813: Due to ignorance of the rules, a person does something that invalidates his fast, should he only perform qadaa’ of the fasting or should he pay the kaffarah as well?
A: If someone does something that invalidates his fast due to lack of knowledge about the shar‘i rule, e.g., he does not know that taking medicine like taking food invalidates fasting and takes medicine in Ramadan month during the day, his fasting is void. He should perform its qadaa’ but paying kaffarah is not required.

Q 814: A person, at the outset of the age of shar‘i puberty, is not able to fast due to physical weakness and inability. Is it enough for him to perform the qadaa’ of the fast, or is he required to offer the kaffarah as well?
A: If fasting does not cause unbearable hardship for him yet he breaks the fast intentionally, then he has to perform qadaa’ and pay kaffarah as well.

Q 815: A person does not know the exact number of days he has failed to fast or how many days of prayers he missed. What should he do? And what rule applies if he does not know whether he missed the fast intentionally or due to a shar‘i excuse?
A: It is permissible for him to perform only the qadaa’ of the prayers and fasts he is sure he missed. When there is doubt as to whether the fast was broken intentionally or not, kaffarah is not required.

Q 816: Fasting in Ramadan, a person did not wake up one day to eat the meal taken before the dawn. Therefore, he could not continue fasting until sunset. During the day, something happened which forced him to break his fast. Does he have to give the single or the twofold kaffarah?
A: If he keeps the fast and breaks it only when it becomes — due to hunger and thirst — unbearably hard for him to continue, he has only to perform qadaa’ of the fast and no kaffarah is required.

Q 817: If one is not sure whether they have done the qadaa’ of all missed fasts, what is their duty?
A: If they are sure they were obliged to perform qadaa’ of some fasts in the past, then it is obligatory to ascertain that they have fulfilled their duty.

Q 818: A person did not fast on reaching shar‘i puberty. He fasted for eleven days then broke the fast one day at noon and did not fast for the remaining eighteen days. Also, he did not know that kaffarah was obligatory for the days not fasted. What is the ruling concerning him?
A: If he intentionally and without a shar‘i excuse broke his fast in the month of Ramadan, he has to perform qadaa’ and pay kaffarah as well, regardless of whether he knew he had to give a kaffarah or not.

Q 819: A physician told a patient that fasting is harmful for his health. However, after a few years, he realized that fasting was not harmful for him and the physician was wrong in excusing him from fasting. Does he have to pay kaffarah in addition to performing qadaa’?
A: If he had refrained from fasting due to fear for his health based on an experienced and reliable physician’s diagnosis or some other reasonable basis, he has only to perform the qadaa’ of the missed fasting.