What Is the Kaffara for Missing Fasts Without a Valid Excuse?

What Is the Kaffara for Missing Fasts Without a Valid Excuse?

Question

Salam Sheikhna,

What is the kaffara for missed fasts I had for no reason in the past? I’m also not sure the amount of days I had missed, should we just give our best guess?

I have seen online that it is $900 per day for a missed fast without excuse, wanted to confirm.

Jak

Answer

Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillah, wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajmain.

1. The Shari Context

Missing fasting in Ramadan without a valid excuse is a serious sin and requires repentance and making up the days. Allah says:

“Whoever witnesses the month, let him fast it.”
Surat al Baqarah 2:185

And the Sharia ties accountability to fulfilling obligations as able.

2. Scholarly Discussion

The scholars agree on three matters:

1. Intentionally not fasting Ramadan without excuse is sinful and requires sincere tawbah.
2. Qada is required for each missed day.
3. If a person delayed making up a missed Ramadan fast until the next Ramadan without a valid reason, then many scholars require feeding a poor person for each day in addition to qada.

Where the disagreement appears is: whether feeding a poor person (fidyah) is required for a day that was missed intentionally even if it was made up later, and whether that feeding is tied to intentional missing itself or to delaying the qada.

A strong and widely taught position in the Shafii and Hanbali schools, and also held by many Maliki jurists, is that if a person missed a day and then delayed its makeup until the next Ramadan, then along with qada they must feed one poor person per day as a compensatory fidyah. This applies whether the original reason was excuse or not, because the fidyah is attached to the delay past the next Ramadan.

Some scholars also encourage or obligate feeding even when the missed fast was intentional, as a form of atonement, though they still distinguish it from the major kaffara of sixty days, which is specific to intercourse.

So the most accurate and careful fatwa for practice is to state:

• Qada is mandatory for each missed day.
• Tawbah is mandatory.
• Feeding one poor person per day is required when qada was delayed until after the next Ramadan according to many jurists, and it is a safe position to act upon.

3. Application to the Question

For the person who missed fasts in the past “for no reason”:

1. He must repent sincerely.
2. He must make up each missed day as qada.
3. If those missed days were not made up before the next Ramadan came, then he should also feed one poor person for each missed day, according to many scholars, in addition to making them up.

Regarding the amount: the fidyah is commonly discharged by providing a poor person a meal or its equivalent value. In many communities, this is estimated at around $10 to $20 per day depending on local food costs, so $15 per day can be a reasonable approximation if it reflects the cost of a basic meal in that area.

If he is unsure about the number of missed days, he should estimate to the best of his ability and take a cautious estimate that he is confident will cover what he owes.

4. Relevant Usul Principle

الخروج من الخلاف مستحب
Exiting scholarly disagreement is recommended
When a matter has valid scholarly disagreement, choosing the position that clears one’s liability and avoids dispute is recommended. Feeding a poor person per missed day (when qada was delayed past the next Ramadan) is a way to discharge the obligation according to the majority of jurists who require it.

ما لا يتم الواجب إلا به فهو واجب
Whatever is necessary to fulfill an obligation becomes obligatory
If qada is required and one has delayed it beyond the next Ramadan, then what the jurists require to rectify that delay (feeding the poor) becomes part of properly fulfilling the obligation.

Final Ruling

If someone missed days of Ramadan without a valid excuse, he must make qada for each missed day and repent sincerely. If those missed days were not made up before the next Ramadan arrived, then he should also feed one poor person for each missed day in addition to qada, and a common estimate is about $15 per day depending on local costs. If the number of days is unknown, he should make his best estimate and err on the side of caution.

And Allah knows best.