Question # 554: My husband has been missing Ramadan fasting intentionally for last 7-8 years (approximately 230 days). He has realized his mistake and wants to make up for it. What is the expiation in this case?
bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,
Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).
Dear questioner,
First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.
Shorter Answer: Anyone who deliberately does not fast during Ramadan has committed a major sin and must repent, regret his actions, resolve never to do it again, and perform a lot of righteous deeds, such as observing voluntary (nafl) fasts. The majority of scholars believe that it is also obligatory to make up the days that one does not fast. The time period to make up the missed fasts lasts until the next Ramadan begins, and these can be made up either on consecutive days or separately. It is not permissible to delay making up the missed fasts after the following Ramadan unless the person has a valid excuse. The scholars differed on the issue of giving fidyah (feeding one poor person each day) and making up the fasts. However, if a person wants to be on the safe side, he must feed one poor person (half a saa‘ of wheat, dates, rice, or whatever is the staple food of your country, equivalent to one and a half kilograms) for each day missed, then that is good.
Long Answer: As for one who does not fast the month of Ramadan deliberately, out of heedlessness, even if that is just one day of the month, in the sense that he does not intend to fast it at all, or he breaks the fast after having started to fast, with no excuse, he has committed a major sin and must repent. The majority of scholars are of the view that it is obligatory to make up the days that one does not fast. In fact, some of them narrated that there was scholarly consensus on this point.
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr [(Maliki Madhhab d. 463H)] said: “The ummah is unanimously agreed, and all the scholars narrated, concerning one who does not fast Ramadan deliberately, although he believes that it is obligatory, and he only failed to fast it out of negligence and arrogance, then he repented from that, that he must make up (the days he missed)” (Al-Istidhkar)
Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi [(Hanbali Madhhab d. 620H)] said: “We do not know of any difference of opinion concerning that, because fasting is a proven responsibility, and it cannot be discharged except by doing it, but if he does not do it, it remains due from him.” (Al-Mughni)
In Fatawa al-Lajnah ad-Daimah [(Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta)], it says: “Whoever does not fast because he denies that it is obligatory is a disbeliever, according to scholarly consensus. Whoever does not do it because he is lazy and heedless is not a disbeliever, but he is in grave danger because he has omitted one of the pillars of Islam, on which there is scholarly consensus that it is obligatory, and he deserves to be punished and disciplined by the authorities in a manner that will deter him and others like him. In fact some of the scholars are of the view that he is to be deemed a disbeliever. He has to make up the days that he did not fast and also repent to Allah, may He be glorified.”
Some scholars hold that whoever deliberately does not fast during Ramadan does not have to make it up; rather, he has to do a lot of supererogatory fasts. This is the Zahiri view, which was favored by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and Shaykh Ibn Uthaymin.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali [(d. 795H)] said: “The view of the Zahiris or of most of them is that the one who deliberately breaks the fast does not have to make it up. This was narrated from ‘Abd ar-Rahman, the companion of ash-Shafi’i in Iraq, and from the son of the daughter of ash-Shafi’i. It is also the view of Abu Bakr al-Humaydi concerning fasting and prayer. If a person deliberately does not do them, it is not valid for him to make them up. Something similar was stated by a number of our earlier companions, including al-Jawzjani, Abu Muhammad al-Barbahari, and Ibn Battah.” (Fath al-Bari fi Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah [(Hanbali Madhhab d. 728H)] said: “The one who deliberately did not fast or pray with no excuse cannot make it up, and it is not valid on his part.” (Al-Ikhtiyarat al-Fiqhiyyah)
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin [(Hanbali Madhhab d. 1421H)] said: “But if he does not fast at all, deliberately and with no excuse, then the more correct view is that he does not have to make it up because it will never benefit him in the slightest and will not be accepted by him. The basic principle concerning every act of worship that it is connected to a specific time is that if it is delayed beyond that specific time with no excuse, it will never be accepted.” (Majmu‘ al-Fatawa)
The one who does not fast without excuse has to repent to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), regret what he has done, resolve never to do it again, and do a lot of righteous deeds such as observing nafl (voluntary) fasts and so on. Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) says in the Qur’an: “And verily, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them (till his death).” (Soorah Ta-Ha, 20:82)
The time for making up the fasts lasts until the next Ramadan begins; one can make them up at any time during this period, on consecutive days or separately. The imams are in agreement that whoever does not fast some days of Ramadan has to make up those days before the next Ramadan comes. They quoted as evidence the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim from ‘Aishah (رضي الله عنها), who said: “I used to have fasts that I still owed from Ramadan, and I could not make them up until Sha’ban, and that was because of the position of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) [as a husband].” [Therefore,] it is not permissible to delay making them up after the following Ramadan unless he has an excuse, such as being sick and the sickness lasting until the following Ramadan begins. “If one delays it, he must offer the fidyah, feeding one poor person for each day, because of the reports narrated from Ibn `Abbas, Ibn `Umar, and Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنهم) who said concerning one who owes fasts but did not fast them until the next Ramadan came: He must make them up and feed a poor person for each day. This is the fidyah for delaying it. … And it is permissible to give the food before making up the fast, at the same time, or afterward.” (Al-Mawsu`ah Al-Fiqhiyyah – Encyclopedia of Islamic Jurisprudence)
[Although] the imams agree that he must make up the fasts, …they differed as to whether, along with making up the fasts, he must also feed one poor person each day or not. Malik, al-Shafi’i, and Ahmad said that he must feed a poor person, and they quoted as evidence for that the reports narrated from some of the Sahabah such as Abu Hurayrah and Ibn ‘Abbas (رضي الله عنهم).
Imam Abu Hanifah [(d. 150H)] was of the view that he does not have to feed a poor person as well as make up the fasts. He quoted as evidence the fact that Allah commands the one who does not fast in Ramadan only to make up for the missed fasts, and He did not mention feeding a poor person. Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) says in the Qur’an: “And whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Sawm (fasts) must be made up] from other days.” (Soorah al-Baqarah, 2:185) (See al-Majmu’ and al-Mughni)
This second view was also favored by Imam al-Bukhari [(Shafi’i Madhhab d. 256H)]. He said in his Sahih, Ibrahim (i.e., al-Nakha’i) said that “if a person neglects (to make up missed fasts) until the next Ramadan comes, he should fast the missed days of both months. But he did not think that he had to feed a poor person. There was also a mursal report from Abu Hurayrah and Ibn ‘Abbas, which says he should also feed a poor person. Then al-Bukhari said: But Allah does not mention feeding a poor person [in the Qur’an].”
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin said when noting that it is not obligatory to feed a poor person: “With regard to the words of the Sahabah, their use as evidence is subject to further discussion if it goes against the apparent meaning of the Qur’an. In this case, saying that it is obligatory to feed a poor person goes against the apparent meaning of the Qur’an because Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) only enjoined making up the same number from other days, and He did not mention more than that. Based on this, we should not oblige the slaves of Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to do any more than they need to fulfill their duty. But what was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas and Abu Hurayrah may be interpreted as referring to what is mustahabb, not what is obligatory. The correct view regarding this issue is that a person does not have to do anything more than make up the missed fasts but is sinning if he delays doing so.” (Al-Sharh al-Mumti’)
Shaykh Ibn Baz [(Hanbali Madhhab d. 1420H)] was asked a similar question about a sister who did not fast for several years.] He replied: “She has to ask Allah for forgiveness and repent to Him, and she has to fast the days that she missed and feed one poor person for each day, as was stated by a number of the companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). This means giving half a saa‘ [of wheat, dates, rice or whatever is the staple food of the country], equivalent to one and a half kilograms…”
Based on this, then what is obligatory is to make up the fasts only, but if a person wants to be on the safe side and feed one poor person for each day missed, then that is good.
(The above reply is based on various answers on similar topics provided by Islamqa.info)
Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.
Wassalaam
