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Practical Laws of Islam

    • Rules of Taqlīd
    • Rules on Purity
    • Prayer
    • Fasting
      • Pregnant and Nursing Women
      • Illness and Restriction by a Physician
      • Fast Invalidators
      • Remaining Junub
      • Masturbation
      • Rules of Breaking Fasting
      • Kaffārah of the Fast and Its Amount
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        Kaffārah of the Fast and Its Amount
         
        Q 797: Is it sufficient to give a needy person the money to buy one mudd (750 grams) of food instead of giving them the food itself?
        A: If you are sure that the needy person who receives the money will buy the food on your behalf and then take it as kaffārah, there is no problem in it.
         
        Q 798: A person was appointed attorney to feed a group of needy persons. Can he take his wages for the work and cooking he does from the kaffārah money with which he was entrusted?
        A: He can demand the wages for his work and for the cooking. But he cannot consider it as kaffārah payment nor take it from the food to be given to the poor as kaffārah.
         
        Q 799: A woman could not fast due to pregnancy and the approaching delivery. She knew that after delivery she must, before the next Ramadan, perform qaḍā’ for the days she did not fast. However, she did not fast after delivery, intentionally or otherwise, for several years. Does she have to pay only the kaffārah for that year or for all the years she delayed the fasting?
        A: Although performing the qaḍā’ fasts has been delayed for several years, it is obligatory to pay only one fidyah i.e. one mudd (750 grams) of food for each day. Fidyah is required only if the qaḍā’ is delayed until the next Ramadan due to negligence and without any shar‘ī excuse. If one has an excuse for the delay preventing them from performing valid fasts, no fidyah is required.
         
        Q 800: A woman cannot fast due to illness. She cannot perform the qaḍā’ before the next Ramadan either. Does she or her husband have to pay kaffārah?
        A: If she does not fast nor performs its qaḍā’ before next Ramadan, both due to illness, she must pay fidyah, i.e. one mudd (750 grams) of food for each day. Her husband has no duty in this regard.

         

        Q 801: A person was liable to perform the qaḍā’ of ten Ramadan fasts and he started them on the 21th of Sha‘bān. Can he break the fast intentionally before or after the noon? And, if he does, what is the kaffārah for breaking it before or after the noon?
        A: In this case, by obligatory caution it is not permissible for him to break his fast intentionally. However, if he does break his fast intentionally before noon, he does not have to pay any kaffārah. But if he breaks it intentionally in the afternoon, his kaffārah is to feed ten needy persons. If he cannot afford to do so, he shall keep three fasts.

         

        Q 802: A woman was pregnant during two consecutive Ramadans and could not fast during those two years. Now that she is able to fast, what is her duty? Does she only have to perform the qaḍā’ for the two months, or does she have to carry out the twofold kaffārah as well? What is the rule concerning her delaying the fasting?
        A: If a 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 for the fetus) she must 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 for herself), she should make up for the missed fasts in qaḍā’ and, according to caution, pay the fidyah as well. In case of a woman whose delivery is not imminent, the ruling of paying fidyah is based on obligatory caution.
        If a breastfeeding woman (whether she is the baby's mother or another woman hired or not for this job) fears of harm to the baby due to a decrease in the quantity of milk or its drying up caused by fasting, she is not obligated to fast but she should pay fidyah for each day and make up for the missed fasts in qaḍā’ later on. However, if fasting is harmful for the woman herself, her paying fidyah is, by obligatory caution, mandatory.
        In both cases mentioned above, if she does not make up for the missed fasts till the next Ramadan, then if it was due to carelessness, she should, in addition to making up in qaḍā’, observe kaffārah of delay (i.e. to pay one mudd (about 750 gm.) food for each day to the needy), but if her delay was due to an excuse, there is no need for kaffārah of delay. However, if the excuse is due to fear that fast will harm her baby, she must make up for the missed fasts in qaḍā’ whenever she can, but if it is due to fear of harm for herself, she is not required to make up in qaḍā’ but should pay fidyah for each missed fast.

         

        Q 803: Someone has to perform qaḍā’ and give kaffārah, must he observe their sequence?
        A: It is not obligatory.
      • Making up Missed Fasts
      • Miscellaneous Issues on Fasting
      • Sighting the New Moon
    • Khums
    • Jihad
    • Enjoining the Good and Forbidding Evil
    • Ḥarām Gains
    • Chess and Gambling Instruments
    • Music and Ghinā’
    • Dancing
    • Clapping
    • Non-maḥrams’ Pictures and Films
    • Satellite Television Equipment
    • Theatre and Cinema
    • Painting and Sculpture
    • Magic, Conjuring, and Evocation of Spirits and Jinn
    • Hypnosis
    • Lottery
    • Bribery
    • Medical Issues
    • Teaching, Learning and Their Proprieties
    • Copyrights
    • Dealing with non-Muslims
    • Working for Oppressive States
    • Rules on Clothing and Conspicuous ones
    • Treating the West
    • Smoking and Narcotics
    • Shaving the Beard
    • Attending Gatherings of Debauchery
    • Writing Supplications and Istikhārah
    • Religious Events
    • Hoarding and Extravagance
    • Buying and Selling
    • Miscellaneous Issues in Business
    • Rules Concerning Ribā
    • Right of Pre-emption
    • Hiring, Renting, and Lease
    • Surety
    • Pawning and Mortgaging
    • Partnership
    • Presents and Gifts
    • Debt and Loan
    • Ṣulḥ
    • Power of Attorney
    • Mustaḥabb Alms
    • Deposits and Loaned Properties
    • Leaving a Will
    • Usurpation
    • Placement under Guardianship and Signs of Maturity
    • Silent Partnership
    • Banking
    • State Property
    • Endowments
    • Rules Concerning Graveyards
    • Glossary
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