Section Three
Fasting
As-sawm/ Αs-siyam
(A) The start of the month of Ramadan
It is known that the lunar month – which is related to a group of rulings – is linked as far as its start and end are concerned with the movement of the moon, which completes its orbit around the earth in a period named ‘month’.
Astronomically, the month starts when the moon leaves mihaq (lit. complete omission, i.e. disappearance), which is the location in which the light of the moon is completely invisible to the onlookers on earth; when it starts leaving that location, its first appearance is known as ‘hilal’ (crescent). The month ends when the moon enters mihaq once again.
However, the Shari’ah does not depend on this to ascertain the start of the month, but it made it a condition that the crescent must developed enough to make it visible by onlookers to the horizon, after sunset, and when this takes place it is the beginning of the month.
To ascertain the start of the month according to the Shari’ah, there are several rulings:
581. The existence of the crescent may be ascertained by one of the following:
First: The person himself sees it.
Second: A large and diverse number of people giving witness in a way that leads to knowledge or satisfaction that the crescent exists, which is called ‘shiya’ ’ (lit. something or a piece of news becoming common), so if neither knowledge nor satisfaction takes place, it is not allowed to depend on the witness, whatever the number of people.
Third: Witness given by two just men that they have seen the crescent; one witness is not sufficient, nor witness given by women, even if accompanying the men, unless satisfaction takes place from their witness.
Fourth: The elapse of thirty days from the beginning of the month.
Fifth: The ruling of the Islamic ruler/scholar (al-hakim ash-Shar’i), unless one has evidence of the incorrectness of the ruling or of the basis of the ruling.
Sixth: Every scientific method that leads to certainty or satisfaction that the moon has left the mihaq and that it exists on the horizon in a way that makes seeing it possible.
582. It is sufficient for ascertaining the crescent’s existence in a country to have it proven in another country which has a common part of the night with it, as long as sunset in the country where the crescent was declared present takes place before dawn in the country of the person.
583. When the crescent of the month of Ramadan is proven, fasting becomes obligatory, and when the crescent of the month of Shawwal is proven, breaking the fast becomes obligatory.
584. If the crescent of the month of Ramadan is not proven, it is not obligatory to fast during the day of doubt (i.e. the day which might be the last day of Sha’ban, the eight lunar month, or the first day of Ramadan, the ninth lunar month), and it is not allowed to fast that day with the intention of asserting that it is a day of Ramadan. That said, it is recommended to fast on that day as a day of Sha‘ban; also, the person may fast on it with the intention of qada’ (for a day he failed to fast in the past), then if it is proven to him that it was Ramadan, his fasting would count as Ramadan without any consequences. And if the crescent of Shawwal is not proven, the person must complete Ramadan 's thirty days, then if during the day it is proven to him that it was Shawwal (i.e. the start of it), he must break the fast.
(B) The conditions and validity of the fast
There are many conditions for the fast to be obligatory and for it to be carried out correctly:
1- Islam:
585. It is a condition that the person fasting is a Muslim, so fasting by a non-Muslim is not valid.
2- Bolugh:
586. It is not obligatory for someone who has not reached the Islamic legal age (bolūgh) to fast, but if he/she does fast, it is valid and they will be rewarded for it.
3- Sanity:
587. Fasting is not obligatory for the insane, nor is it valid if an insane person does.
4- Purity from the hayd and nifas:
588. It is a condition for a woman’s fast to be pure from the menses and nifas from dawn to sunset, so fasting by a woman during her period or nifas is not obligatory, nor is it valid if she does; this is even if the menses or nifas took place at one moment of time within the period between dawn and sunset, making the fasting of that day void.
5- Harmlessness:
589. It is conditional for a valid fast not to harm the fasting person; such harm may take place if the fast causes illness, intensifies an existing illness, delays its cure or intensifies the pain, whether one is certain of this or thinks that it is probable in a way that one fears harm – in all that, fasting is not obligatory, and only the opinion of a competent doctor is sufficient, unless the person is satisfied that the opposite is the case.
590. If a person fasts while he fears harm or believes he might be harmed, then if the harm does take place, his fast becomes void; if no harm takes place and the expected harm was one that anyone must protect oneself from, the fasting is also void, otherwise the fast is valid.
591. If he fasts believing that no harm will take place, then he finds out that the fast is harmful, in this case his fast remains valid.
6- No travelling:
592. It is conditional for a valid fast not to be undertaking the type of journey that makes qasr in prayers (shortened prayer) obligatory, so the fasting of a traveller is not valid except if he has vowed to fast while travelling, in which case the fast is valid as a vow not as part of Ramadan, even if he did make the vow of fasting during it. Also, fasting is valid by a pilgrim, performing hajj at-Temetto‘ (performing pilgrimage with ‘omreh; for details of pilgrimage, see another reference), who is unable to slaughter the animal (hedi), and by a pilgrim who is unable to offer atonement when leaving (kaffarat-al-Ifadah) ‘Arafat.
593. The ruling that a fast by a traveller is void only applies if he knew the ruling – that a traveller’s fast is not acceptable – so if a traveller fasts out of ignorance of the ruling, or some of its details, his fast remains valid; but if he comes to know this during the day, his fast becomes void specifically on the day the knowledge was acquired, but not for the days before that. That said, fasting is not acceptable for a traveller who has forgotten the ruling or that he was regarded by the Shari’ah as a traveller.
594. If the fasting traveller wants to fast, there are two situations:
First: That he travels after noon (dhohr); in this case he is absolutely not allowed to break fast.
Second: That he travels before noon; in this case fasting on that day is not valid. In such cases, it is not allowed for the traveller to take anything which breaks the fast (moftirat) until he passes the hadd at- Tarakhkhos, which is the place where he will only appear as a ghost without defined features for the onlookers from the town’s last house (see Chapter 4: Prayer of the traveller.)
But in the second case, if the traveller enters one of his homelands, or a place in which he intends to reside for ten days or more, in this case there are several situations:
a- That he enters it after zewal (the moment the sun starts to move towards sunset, which is the start of the time of the noon prayer); here he must break the fast, and fasting is not acceptable. It is recommended that he abstains from things which break fasting however.
b- That he enters it after zewal, in which case there are two situations:
1- He has taken, during his journey, things which break the fast; in this case he must break the fast, although it is recommended that he abstains from such things.
595. It is allowed to travel in the month of Ramadan, even if without necessity, and even if to escape from fasting; it is makruh (recommended to abstain from it) however.
7- Unconsciousness:
596. Fasting is not valid from someone who is unconscious if he lost his consciousness before dawn and before the intention, but it is valid - rather it is obligatory - to continue fasting if this took place after the intention, whether it took place before dawn or after it. Included in unconsciousness is what takes place due to general anaesthetics given in surgical operations; however it is different to the former as far as the obligation to perform qada’ is concerned.
8- He must not have an excuse not to fast:
597. The Shari’ah allows certain people to break their fast:
1- A person who suffers from weakness and lethargy, so if he fasts, fasting will cause difficulties for him and intensify his weakness to the extent that he becomes unable to stand up, walk or carry out his usual daily activities.
2- Men and women who have reached seventy years, which is the age of elderly people that is accompanied by a weakness which makes fasting completely impossible, or very difficult for them.
3- People who practise very hard jobs, so fasting would weaken them or cause intense thirst that is extremely hard to withstand, and provided that they are unable to find another more comfortable job or savings (money) or a loan that can help them abstain from such job temporarily.
4- The excessively thirsty person, who cannot withstand thirst, making fasting very difficult or impossible for him.
5- Pregnant women the fasting of whom would harm them or their baby, even if they are not about to give birth.
6- Breastfeeding women who have little milk and for whom, if they fast while breastfeeding, the fasting will cause harm or reduce their milk, thus harming their babies; in this case they must break the fast. However, if they find substitutes in artificial or animal milk or the breastfeeding of other women, whether offered voluntarily or paid for when they can afford their fees, in these cases it is not allowed to break the fast.
598. As breaking the fast is allowed for these people who are excused, fasting is allowed if they so wish and insist on withstanding the difficulty as long as they do not become harmed; but if fasting harms them in a way that cannot be ignored and which must be protected from, in this case fasting is not allowed and the ruling for the ill applies; this ruling does exclude the pregnant or breastfeeding woman the fasting of whom would harm her baby because she must protect her baby from harm to the same degree that she protects herself from it.
(C) The fasting obligations
Fasting is achieved and is based on two things: the intention to fast and the abstention from moftirat (things which break the fast).
First: The intention
599. The intention of fasting is obligatory on the person; this involves setting the intention to abstain from moftirat (listed below) throughout the time allocated for fasting, which stretches from the rise of true dawn until sunset. True dawn starts the moment when light spreads horizontally in the eastern horizon, then starts to spread gradually; sunset takes place when the disc of the sun disappears from the horizon, although it is better to wait (not to break the fast) until the eastern redness disappears.
600. It is sufficient to set in the intention to decide fasting from the beginning of the month, for it is sufficient to have the firm decision within oneself to fast without bringing this decision to mind every night for fasting every day.
601. The meaning of the intention at dawn does not mean that the person stays awake at that time in order to set the intention, but it means that he spends that night (sleeping or awake) with the firm decision to fast the following day; thus the rise of dawn while he is asleep does not affect this intention as long as it is firm within him.
602. The intention of fasting must continue to exist throughout the day; we can imagine several situations where the intention does not continue:
1- If the person decides to break the fast, such as if he decides to take a moftir (sl. of moftirat); in this case his fast is invalidated even if he does not take any moftir.
2- If he becomes hesitant about continuing or breaking the fast then he decides to keep on fasting before he takes any moftir; here there are two situations:
a- If this happens out of doubt regarding the validity or fasting, in this case the fast is valid without any consequences.
b- If this does not happen because of this doubt, in this case his fasting is valid, although it is better to perform qada’ of that day.
Second: The moftirat
The fasting person must abstain from doing a number moftirat (things or acts which break the fast):
First: Eating and drinking
603. The fasting person must abstain from all food and drink, whether in a small or large quantity – even if it is very small, like the food residues left in the mouth and between the teeth. This includes not only all the things which people have commonly become accustomed to eat and drink, but also what they are not commonly used to as an obligatory precaution.
604. The invalidation of the fast by eating or drinking occurs if swallowing takes place; thus whatever enters (and does not pass beyond) the mouth cavity will not affect the fast, even if taken intentionally such as when tasting the gravy etc, unless some of it reaches the inside.
605. Fasting is not invalidated by swallowing saliva, even if a large amount, as long as it comes from the mouth; also, there is no problem in swallowing the mucus coming down from the head or from the chest, even if it has reached the mouth cavity.
606. It is not a condition for food and drink to be regarded as moftirat that they are taken through the mouth; so if food or drink was enters via a pipe through the nose or other passage, or via a drip that takes nutrition to the body through a needle in the hand or otherwise; all this is regarded as moftir. That said, if what is taken in is for treatment but not for feeding then there is no problem in this.
Second: Sexual intercourse
607. Sexual intercourse that breaks the fast takes place when the length of the penis head – at least – enters into the vagina, also the anus as an obligatory precaution. It breaks the fast for both the man and the woman, adult or otherwise, and for someone who inserts his penis and the other party whether an animal or otherwise as an obligatory precaution, dead or alive, whether the semen comes out or not.
Third: Masturbation
608. Masturbation takes place when semen comes out of the man through acts, imaginations or scenes that lead to ejaculation. There are two conditions for this: (1) It is probable that its coming out is because of that act, imagination or scene; (2) He is not certain of his ability to control himself to prevent the semen coming out.
Based on this, there are three situations that can be imagined for the fast not becoming void by as a result of ejaculation:
1- If it was not probable for him that the semen would come out but it did come out unintentionally.
2- If he was certain that it would not come out but it did against his expectation.
3- If the semen came out without reason, or due to an illness.
Fourth: Staying intentionally in a state of al-hadath al-Akbar
609. The fast is rendered broken if the person intentionally stays in a state of al-adeth al-Akbar, the details of which are:
First: If the hadath is hayd or nifas and purity took place during the night and she did not wash on purpose until dawn, in this case her fasting is not valid. That said, the validity of her fast may be assumed in the following two cases: first, that she did not know that she had become pure before dawn, or she did know but forgot to wash; second, she knew that she had become pure but at a time that was too short to achieve purity, even by tayammom. In both of these cases, she must fast the following day and the fast is acceptable.
Second: If the hadeth was excessive or medium istihadah, in this case it is not obligatory for the validity of the fast that she had performs the wash for the two evening prayers (i.e. maghrib and ‘isha’), nor the daytime washes; however the recommended precaution to perform the daytime washes is emphasised.
Third: If the hadath was touching the dead, then it does not affect the fast if this took place during the day; also, it is allowed to intentionally stay unwashed after it during the night until dawn.
Fourth: If the hadath was jenabah during the night, when awake, whether because of intercourse or otherwise, it is an obligatory precaution for the person to wash before dawn, and if he/she delays it intentionally, he must continue with his fast and fast again as qada’ with kaffarah (atonement) as an obligatory precaution. The same applies to the person who has janabeh because of a wet dream (ihtilam) and wakes up before dawn and finds the janabeh.
610. The ruling regarding someone who has had janabah during the night concerning sleeping before dawn rests on two situations:
1- If they intended to wake up to wash before dawn, here there are two possibilities:
a- That it was their habit to wake up, or that they set an alarm to wake them up; in this case they are allowed to continue to sleep on for two periods of sleep, and if their sleeping during the first or the second period stretches until dawn, their fasting is valid without consequences; and if they go to sleep a third time and do not wake up, their fasting will also be valid but, as an obligatory precaution, with qada’ without kaffarah if the janabah occurred while they were awake, such as with intercourse etc; but if the janabah occurred through a wet dream and he wakes up then goes to sleep for two periods, in this case qada’ will not be a precaution for the third sleep.
b- That it was not their habit to wake up and they did not set an alarm to wake them up; in this case they are not allowed to sleep before washing, and if they go to sleep intentionally, they will have sinned and have to continue their fast then perform qada’ and kaffarah as an obligatory precaution, whether the janabah occurred when they were awake or during a dream after which they woke up.
2- If they did not intend to wake up, in this case the ruling is exactly the same as in (b) above.
611. If they have janabah during the night but forget to wash until dawn, here they should continue their fast without consequences, whether during Ramadan or otherwise.
612. The ruling of intentionally staying in a state of al-hadath al-Akbar of a janabah, hayd or nifas is exclusive to the fast that is obligatory originally, whether specified or not, such as the fasting of Ramadan, its qada’, the kaffarah fast, fasting instead of the hadi (slaughtering an animal in the pilgrimage) etc, hence this (staying in a state of hadath until dawn) does not affect a recommended fast even if it becomes obligatory by a vow or the like.
613. If the time was too short for the person with janabah during the night to wash before dawn, he must perform tayammom instead of washing to make his fasting valid, then he has to wash for the prayer afterwards. However, if he intentionally puts himself in a state of janabah at a time when he knows that there will not be sufficient time either for washing or tayammom, in this case his ruling is that of the one who intentionally stayed with janabah.
614. It is more probable that the ruling that waking up with janabah does not invalidate the fast is for the fasting of Ramadan in particular, although the precaution to regard it as invalidating the fast should not be disregarded.
Fifth: Fluid enema
615. The fasting person will have, as an obligatory precaution, broken his fast if he has an enema using fluids, even if for treatment.
An enema with solids, such as suppositories or ointments, however, will not affect the validity of the fast.
616. The above ruling is specific to the enema being given in the anus; as for other places, it does not break the fast.
Sixth: Intentional vomiting
617. The fast is broken by intentional vomiting, as an obligatory precaution, even if it is necessary; however, if the vomit comes out without control or intention, it is not a moftir.
Sometimes some food may come up to the mouth cavity; here if the person fasting swallows it, their fast becomes void.
618. The fast is not broken by the following:
First: Concocting lies about (lying or falsifying narrations or the words of) Allah the Most High, His Messenger (sawa) or the Imams (as), although it is better to perform qada’ afterwards.
Second: Immersing the head in water, but it is an obligatory precaution to abstain from this, even if doing so does not invalidate the fast.
Third: Intentionally letting thick or thin dust inside the body, although it is better to avoid thick dust.
Fourth: Smoke coming up from chimneys, cars etc; also vapour, even if thick.
619. The mentioned moftirat invalidate the fast on two conditions:
First: The fasting person knows that what he is taking is moftir; the ruling of the ignorant who does not know this is as follows:
a- If his ignorance is due failure to know that what he is doing or taking is one of the moftirat, and he takes it believing that it does not invalidate the fast, in this case his fast remains valid, unless this concerns prohibited things such as masturbation when he knows that this is prohibited, in which case his fast is broken by his act even though he believes that it is not a moftir. Also, his fast remains valid if he knows that an enema with a fluid, for example, is a moftir but he believes that what is inside the enema is solid, so he takes the enema but discovers afterwards that it has fluid.
b- His ignorance is due to failure to learn that the thing or act is a moftir, regardless of whether it is allowed or prohibited originally.
Second: The fasting person intentionally does or takes a moftir, meaning that he realises and is aware of it when doing or taking it; this does not apply to the person who is not intending to do it or does or takes it out of lack of awareness or forgetfulness – this applies in all types of fasting. Therefore, the person who intentionally acts or takes a moftir includes:
a- Whoever breaks the fast on the basis of an excuse such as an illness or taqiyyeh (to avoid persecution or harm from others).
b- Whoever breaks the fast in disobedience to Allah the Most High.
c- Whoever is forced to break the fast if he himself takes the moftir with his own hands; however if the food is inserted into his mouth by someone forcing him to do this and the fasting person swallows it, this would not invalidate the fast.
620. It is recommended to abstain from touching, kissing or courting one’s wife if one is certain that semen will not come out due to this act.
Other acts are also makruh (recommended to abstain from):
- Blood-letting or donating if this causes weakness, but not if this does not weaken the person in question.
- Sniffing any nice-scented herb/plant, but it is not makruh to wear perfumes.
- Wetting clothes that are on the body with water.
- For women, sitting in water.
- An enema with solid medicine.
- Tooth extraction or causing blood to flow inside the mouth for any reason except when necessary.
- Using a wet siwak stick (a kind of stick taken from the arak tree in Mecca which, it is narrated, is strongly recommended by the Prophet (sawa) to use to clean the teeth) to clean the teeth.
- Rinsing the mouth unnecessarily, not for ablution.
- Reading poetry that does not conform to the spirituality of the month of Ramadan.
(D) Al-Kaffarah (atonement)
We have explained the rulings in some previous cases in which atonement (kaffarah) is obligatory with qada’ in some cases in which the fasting person breaks the fast. Here, we shall explain the general rule for that, explaining the rulings specific for the kaffarah.
621. It has become evident from the previous entries that whenever the fast is ruled void the person must fast as qada’ (in compensation), except for a very small exception that will be mentioned when discussing qada’.
However, in addition to the qada’ obligation, and to intensify the punishment of whoever intentionally abstains from fasting, Allah the Most High has made kaffarah (atonement) obligatory on anyone fasting who intentionally takes a moftir during his fast, when he is aware of the fast obligation on him and that what he is taking or doing is among the moftirat, or with his knowledge that these are forbidden for Muslims even if he does not know that they are among the moftirat, and he was free in his act not forced to do it. Thus, the kaffarah is not obligatory on:
First: Someone who is ignorant of the fasting obligations on him, something which occurs in most cases with the young boys or girls who have reached the Islamic legal age.
Second: Someone who does not know that what he is doing or taking is moftir, despite his knowledge of the fasting obligations on him, such as if he believes that intentional vomiting or staying on al-hadath al-Akbar until dawn, or intercourse without ejaculation, does not break the fast.
The exception to this is if the moftir is forbidden on the fasting and non-fasting person, such as masturbation, and the person knows of its prohibition, but he does not know that it invalidates the fast; in this case if he commits it, his fasting becomes void and the kaffarah is necessary although he believed that it was not moftir.
Moreover, there is no distinction as far as the ignorance that does not makes kaffarah necessary is concerned between ignorance due to failure to learn or otherwise.
Third: Anyone who is forced to break the fast out of fear from an oppressor, so he takes the moftir to avoid harm and to protect himself from injustice.
Other than these cases that are covered by the above-mentioned rule, the kaffarah is obligatory, in addition to the qada’ as will be detailed later.
622. If the act that invalidates the fast is repeated more than once during the day, such as if the person eats and has intercourse more than once during the same day, only one kaffarah is obligatory, although it is better to repeat the kaffarah for repeated intercourse or masturbation.
623. If intercourse between a fasting husband and wife takes place on the day of Ramadan out of their free choice and desire, kaffarah will be obligatory on each of them; and if the husband forces his fasting wife to have intercourse in the month of Ramadan, the kaffarah becomes obligatory on him and also another one on his wife, as an obligatory precaution, even if she went along with him after forcing her to submit to his desire. However, if the husband is not fasting for a valid reason and he forces his wife into intercourse, he will have sinned, but there is no kaffarah on his wife, nor does he have to carry it out for her.
624. Whoever breaks the fast in the daytime of Ramadan with something forbidden, such as adultery or drinking alcohol etc, kaffarah must be done by feeding sixty poor individuals or by fasting for two successive months, as it is when breaking the fast on something not forbidden, as will be explained; however, the combined kaffarah of fasting two successive months and feeding sixty poor individuals – as the only possible kaffarah in our times – is better.
625. If he breaks the fast intentionally then travels before zawal, the kaffarah will still be obligatory.
626. It is not obligatory to perform kaffarah immediately; it is allowed to delay it for a period of time but not so long that he is commonly regarded as complacent and negligent.
627. It is allowed to donate a kaffarah on behalf of the dead, both fasting or feeding; also on behalf of the living, but only the feeding not the fasting.
628. If someone knows that he has invalidated his fasting but doubts whether that needs qada’ only or kaffarah as well, in this case only qada’ is obligatory. And if he knows that a kaffarah is obligatory, but he doubts whether he did do it or not, in this case he must do it.
629. If he does not know the number of days which he did not fast intentionally, he must estimate a number of days in which he is certain not to have fasted and carry out kaffarah for them; kaffarah for the additional number that is doubted is not obligatory.
630. If he remembers, for example, that he did break the fast one day after noon, but doubts whether that was part of Ramadan itself or its qada’, in this case he only needs to feed ten poor individuals. However, if breaking the fast occurred before noon and he doubts it as in the previous situation, kaffarah is not obligatory.
631. The amount of kaffarah that must be paid differs according to the type of fasting, as follows:
a- For someone who breaks the fast intentionally during Ramadan, the kaffarah during these days is fasting for two successive months, or feeding sixty poor individuals, with the choice resting with him; this is the same kaffarah for breaking the fast the day that must be fasted on account of a covenant (‘ahd).
b- For someone who breaks the fast intentionally one day in the qada’ of Ramadan after zawal, the kaffarah is feeding ten poor individuals, but if he is unable to do so, he must fast three days; it is an obligatory precaution to fast for this period on successive days.
c- The kaffarah of not fasting one or more days in a specified time is the same as the kaffarah of failing to carry out a vow (nathr), which is in these days feeding ten poor individuals or clothing them, but if one is not capable of doing so, one must fast three days. This is the same as the kaffarah for failing to keep to an oath (yemin).
632. The kaffarah must be paid to a faqir or a miskin; the faqir is the poor individual who does not have food for that year, so that he neither has a full quantity of food sufficient for one year nor sustained instalments that he acquires gradually; the miskin is someone who is in even worse circumstances than the faqir.
The details of the rulings regarding how all sorts of kaffarah are paid will be explained in the transactions section.
633. If a person is incapable of the payment for the feeding-type of kaffarah of Ramadan, he has the choice of fasting for eighteen days and giving alms (sadaqah) to the extent that he can, but if he is incapable of doing this as well, he must ask forgiveness from Allah (istighfar) instead of the kaffarah, in which case it is not obligatory to pay it if he becomes capable of doing so later, although (doing so) as a precaution is good.
(E) Al-Fidyah
Fidyah is the compensation given by someone who has not fasted for a valid reason; it may become obligatory for another reason; the details are as follows:
634. The Fidyah is obligatory in the following cases:
a- The male or female elderly and the excessively thirsty person who did not fast because it is very difficult, not because it is impossible or harmful to them.
b- The breastfeeding or pregnant woman who is at the end of her pregnancy and near to giving birth and the breastfeeding woman who has little milk if fasting may be harmful to the embryo or the baby being breastfed.
c- Whoever has delayed the qada’ of the previous month of Ramadan until the next Ramadan arrives, whether out of complacency or the inability to do so, or if this is due to the continuation of the illness (which prevented him from fasting the previous Ramadan); even if he was able to fast then he fell ill or travelled and this continued until the next Ramadan arrived, as an obligatory precaution.
635. If the illness that prevented fasting and its qada’ lasted for years, the Fidyah is obligatory at the end of every year in which the person could not fast for Ramadan or carry out the qada’ for that, even if this continues all his life. However, if he delayed the qada’ of one Ramadan for several years, only one Fidyah is obligatory and that is at the end of the first year when he delayed the qada’ until the second.
636. The amount of Fidyah for one day is three quarters of a kilogram for feeding one poor individual; however one and a half kilos is better.
637. If the pregnant woman who is at the end of her pregnancy and near to giving or the breastfeeding woman did not fast out of fear of harm to the newborn and delayed the qada’ until the next Ramadan arrived, she must pay two Fidyahs: one because she did not fast, fearing for her child, and the second for delaying the qada’.
(F) The qada’ of fasting
638. It is obligatory that one fasts qada’ for the days of the obligatory fast when one failed to fast. This includes the following cases when failing in the fast was:
a- intentional, in disobedience to Allah.
b- during the period when the person in question abandoned Islam (mortadd).
c- out of ignorance of the fact that fasting is obligatory.
d- for a valid reason, such as when travelling, illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding, the menses or nifas, drunkenness, or sleeping.
e- a result of becoming unconscious by an anaesthetic before dawn and before he sets his (fasting) intention.
639. Qada’ is not obligatory on the following:
a- The non-Muslim who is originally likewise when he reached bulugh as a non-Muslim, even if he might not have been born to non-Muslim parents.
b- Anyone who is totally insane, even if he becomes sane later; also anyone whose insanity strikes him intermittently, if his bout of insanity takes place before he sets out his intention to fasting before dawn.
c- The unconscious person if this took place before he set out his intention of fasting at dawn, or if this took place due to brain damage (causing coma) that occurs during these days.
d- The male and female elderly and the excessively thirsty who cannot not fast because it is very difficult, even if they could carry out qada’ later.
e- Anyone whose illness continues until the next Ramadan has arrived, even if he could carry out qada’ later; however, if the excuse was for a reason other than illness, such as continuous travel, he must fast as qada’ as an obligatory precaution.
640. Immediate qada’ is not obligatory, but it is better not to delay it until the arrival of the next Ramadan. Also, the order in qada’ is not obligatory, as is specifying the day that he failed to fast. That said, he can specify if he had days from the previous Ramadan and days from the one before, in which case this is useful in deciding about paying the Fidyah or not.
641. If someone could not fast in Ramadan out of illness and remained ill until he died, in this case there is no qada’ to be carried out (on his behalf); the same applies to the woman in the menses or nifas if she dies before the elapse of sufficient time for qada’.
642. It is obligatory – as a precaution – on the eldest male child to carry out qada’ for the days which his dead father failed to fast for a valid reason, if such qada’ was obligatory on the father, and if he (the son) is able to do so. For the details of this, please refer to the qada’ of prayers as the same rulings apply.
643. It is allowed to pay someone to fast as qada’ on behalf of a dead person; volunteering (for free) is allowed as well.
644. It is not allowed for someone on whom qada’ of days of fasting - which he himself failed to fast - is obligatory to volunteer to fast for someone else (dead), nor to fast a recommended fast. However, it is allowed if he is paid to fast the qada’; it is also allowed to fast a recommended fast during travelling. That said, it is allowed for such a person to fast a paid qada’ for someone else or to fast a recommended fast if the obligatory fast he has to carry out is other than the qada’ of Ramadan, such as a vow, kaffarah or other fasts.