In the following cases, one must make up for the missed fast later during the next year(s): a) A person does not fast during Ramadan as he/she is sick. After Ramadan, they recover but they cannot fast by next Ramadan due to another excuse. b) one cannot fast during Ramadan because of an excuse other than illness, becomes ill after Ramadan and their illness continues till the next Ramadan.
Atonement (Kaffārah) for Delay in Performing Missed Fasts
One must give one mudd of food to the poor in addition to fasting if they do not fast during Ramadan due to an excuse, but despite the fact that the excuse disappears after Ramadan, they do not make up for their fast before the next month of Ramadan. The atonement for delay is one mudd. That means 750 grams of wheat, flour, bread, rice or other food which is given to the poor.
The Treatise on Prayer and Fasting, Issues 928 and 930
How to Use Atonement (Kaffārah)
The atonement for delay (one mudd of food) must be given to the poor, and giving money is not enough unless one is sure that the poor person will buy food on behalf of the giver and then accept it as atonement, which is not a problem in this case. Therefore, it is not enough if one is not sure whether it will be used as mentioned or not. One, who has to give one mudd for each day of missed fast, can give kaffārah of several days to a single poor person.
Fasting with the Knowledge/Fear of Harm
Fasting is not obligatory — rather, it is forbidden in some cases — for a person who knows that fasting is harmful to him or he fears, based on a rational ground, that it is harmful to him, whether this certainty or fear is originated from personal experience, from advice of a trustworthy doctor, or from another rational source. If he fasts, it is not correct unless he intends to fasts for the sake of Allah and it turns out later that he has not been harmed.
The Treatise on Prayer and Fasting, Issue 792
Fasting of an Old Man/Woman
It is not obligatory for an old man and woman to fast if they find it difficult. However, they must pay fidyah, i.e. to give 750 gr. food (such as wheat, barley, rice) to the poor for each day. If they are not able to fast at all, they must, by obligatory caution, pay fidyah. In both cases, if they can fast after the month of Ramadan, they should make up the missed fasts as a mustaḥabb caution.
Sublingual tablets
When using a sublingual pill, if saliva is mixed with it but you spill the saliva out, fasting is valid.
Treatise on Prayer and Fasting; Issue: 826
Fasting While Traveling during Ramadan
A person who is a traveler during the holy month of Ramadan cannot fast, and it is not obligatory for him to intend to stay somewhere for ten days in order to fast. Therefore, if a traveler, who should not fast, fasts knowingly and intentionally contrary to his duty, his fast is void and its qaḍā’ becomes obligatory after Ramadan. However, his fast is valid if he fasts while he does not know that fast during a travel is void.
Performing a Fast Invalidating Act during Morning Adhān
In Ramadan, if one does something that invalidates the fast in the early morning without investigating whether it is before adhān or not, and then it turns out that it was morning, he should make up for that day. However, if he investigates, becomes sure that it is before adhān and then does a fast invalidator but then it turns out to be early morning, he is not obliged to make up for that day.
Fasting of a Pregnant Woman
If the pregnant woman, whose delivery is imminent, fears that fasting will harm her fetus or herself, fasting is not obligatory for her. In the first case (harmful to the fetus), she should pay one mudd of food (wheat, barely, etc.) as fidyah to the needy for each day and make up for it in qaḍā’ after the month of Ramadan as well. In the second case (harmful to herself), she should make up for the missed fasts in qaḍā’ and, according to caution, pay the fidyah as well. In case of a female whose delivery is not imminent, the ruling of paying fidyah is based on obligatory caution.
The Kaffārah of Breaking Fast Intentionally
- There are two kinds of kaffārah for intentionally breaking a Ramadan fast: a) to keep sixty fasts; or b) to feed sixty poor people.
- Whoever wants to keep sixty fasts as a kaffārah of Ramadan fast must keep, at least, (one complete month and one day of the next month) or the 1st 31 days consecutively. As for the rest (29 fasts), if they do not keep them consecutively, it is no problem.
- Feeding sixty poor people can be performed in two ways: a- to satisfy them with cooked food; or b- to provide each one with 750 gm. (one mudd) food like wheat, flour, bread, rice, etc.
The Treatise on Prayer and Fast; Issue 891
Cases in Which It Is Mustaḥabb to Avoid Fasting Invalidators
In order to observe the etiquette and respect of the holy month of Ramadan, it is recommended for the following people to abstain from breaking their fast although they are not fasting:
١. A traveler who has invalidated their fast during the travel and have reached their homeland or place where they want to stay for ten days before noon; ٢. A traveler who arrives their homeland or where they want to stay for ten days in the afternoon; ٣. A patient who breaks his fast but recovers before noon; ٤. A patient who has recovered in the afternoon; ٥. A woman who finishes her menses or postpartum bleeding during the day; ٦. An infidel who becomes a Muslim on the day of Ramadan; ٧. A child who becomes mature — as per Islamic Law — on the day of Ramadan.
To Pay Non-Sayyid's Atonement to Sayyid
Question: What is the ruling on paying the fasting kaffārah (atonement) of a non-sayyid person to a sayyid one?
Answer: There is no problem in it. Of course, it is a recommended caution to avoid it.
