Obligatory Qada and Kaffarah of Fasting

Fasting means that a person must, in order to do homage to Allah, from the time of Adhan for Fajr prayer up to Maghrib, avoid nine things which will be mentioned later. In some situations Qada or Kaffara or Both of them become obligatory.

Obligatory Qada Fast and Kaffarah

1. In the following situations, both Qada and Kaffarah become obligatory, provided these acts are committed intentionally, voluntarily and without any force or pressure, during the fasts of Ramadan:

(i) Eating

(ii) Drinking

(iii) Sexual Intercourse

(iv) Masturbation

(v) Staying in the state of Janabah till the time of Fajr prayer

2. If a person commits any of the foregoing acts with an absolute certitude that it does not invalidate fast, Kaffarah will not be obligatory on him. The same rule applies when a person did not know that fasting was obligatory upon him, like persons in the beginning of Bulugh.

Kaffarah for Fast

3. The Kaffarah of leaving out a fast of Ramadan is to:

(a) free a slave, or (b) fast for two months or (c) feed sixty poor to their fill or give one Mudd (about ¾ kg) of food-stuff, like wheat or barley or bread etc. to each of them. And if it is not possible for him to fulfil any of these, he should give Sadaqah (charity) according to his means and if this too is not possible, he should seek Divine forgiveness, and the obligatory precaution is that he should give Kaffarah as and when he is capable to do so.

4. A person who intends fasting for two months as a Kaffarah for a fast of Ramadan, should fast continuously for one month and one day, and it would not matter if he did not maintain continuity for completion of the remaining fasts.
5. A person who intends fasting for two months as a Kaffarah for a fast of Ramadan, should not commence fasting at such time when he knows that within a month and one day, days will fall when it would be forbidden or obligatory to fast, like ‘Id-ul-dha***.
6. If a person who must fast continuosly, fails to fast on any day in the period without any just excuse, he should commence fasting all over again.
7. If a person who must fast continuously, is unable to maintain the continuity due to an excuse beyond control, like Haydh or Nifas or a journey, which one is obliged to undertake, it will not be obligatory on him/her after the excuse is removed, to commence fasting again from the beginning. He/she should proceed to observe the remaining fasts.
8. If a person breaks his fast with something Halal (allowed), one Kaffarah will be sufficient.
9. If a person in a day of Ramadan repeats an act which invalidates fast like eating, drinking, sexual intercourse or masturbation, one Kaffarah will be suuficient for all.
10. If a fasting person belches and then swallowes intentionally that which comes in his mouth, as an obligatory precaution his fast becomes void and he should give its Qada and Kaffarah also.
11. If a person takes a vow that he would fast on a particular day, and if he invalidates his fast intentionally on that day, he should give Kaffarah, the one for which one becomes liable upon breaking a vow. The details will come in the relevant Chapter.
12. When a person is required to feed sixty poor by way of Kaffarah for one fast, and if he has access to all of them, he cannot lessen their number and give them the total Kaffarah, for example give two Mudds of food to each of thirty persons, and content himself to it. However, he can give to a poor person one Mudd of food for each member of his family, even if they may be minors, and the poor person accepts it as an agent of his family or as a guardian of the minors. And if one cannot find sixty poor persons, but can find fewer, say thirty persons, he can give two Mudds to each of them, but as an obligatory presaution, he should give food to another thirty persons, one Mudd to each, whenever possible.
13. If a person offering Qada of a fast of Ramadan intentionally breaks his fast after Tuhr, he should give food to ten poor persons, one Mudd to each, and if he cannot do this, he should observe fast for three days.

Occasions on which it is obligatory to Observe the Qada Only

15. In cases like the following cases it is obligatory on a person to observe a Qada fast only and it is not olbigatory on him to give a Kaffarah:

(i) If he forgets to do Ghusl of Janabah during the month of Ramadan and fasts for one or more days in the state of Janabah.

(ii) If in the month of Ramadan, a man without investigating as to whether Fajr has set in or not, commits an act, which invalidates a fast, and it becomes known later that it was Fajr.

(iii) If a person breaks his fast relying on the statement of another person whose statement is proof, or the person thinks that his statement is proof, and it is known later that Maghrib had not set in.

(iv) When one rinses his mouth with water because it has dried due to thirst and the water uncontrollably goes down one’s throat. But if he forgets that he has kept a fast, or if he does the mouthwash not because of thirst, and water is uncontrollably swallowed, there will be no Qada’.

16. If a fasting person puts something other than water in his mouth and it goes down the throat involuntarily, or puta water in his nose and it goes down involuntarily, it will not be obligatory on him to observe Qada’ of the fast.
17. If in the month of Ramadan, a person does not become aware, after investigation, of being Fajr and commits an act which invalidates a fast, and it is later known that it was Fajr already, it will not be necessary for him to offer Qada’ of that fast.
18. If a person doubts whether or not Maghrib has set in, he cannot break his fast. But if he doubts whether or not it is Fajr he can commit, even before investigation, an act which invalidates a fast.

Rules Regarding the Qada’ Fasts

19. If a person did not fast on certain days because of some excuse and later doubts about the exact date on which the excuse was over, it will not be obligatory on him to offer Qada’ basing his calculation on the higher number and it is sufficient to offer Qada’ only for such a number of days that he is sure he has not fasted.
20. If a person has to give Qada for Ramadan fasts of several years, he can begin with the Qada of Ramadan of any year as he like.
21. If a person has Qada fasts of the month of Ramadan for several years, and while making intention he does not spicify to whcih year the fasts belong, they will not be reckoned to the Qada of the last year, for which giving Kaffarah of delaying is not necessary.
22. A person who observe sa Qada for the fast of Ramadan can break his fast before Tuhr.
23. If a person does not fast in the month of Ramadan due to illness and his illness continues till next Ramadan, it is not obligatory on him to observe Qada of the fasts which he had not observed, but for each fast he should give one Mudd (near 3/4 kilos) of food, like wheat, barley, bread etc. to the poor. And if he did not observe fast owing to some other excuse, like, if he did not fast because of travelling and his excuse continued till next Ramadan, he should observe its Qada fasts, and the obligatory precaution is that for each day he should give one Mudd of food to the poor.
24. If a person did not fast in Ramadan due to illness, and his illness ended after Ramadan, due there emerged another excuse due to which he could not observe the Qada fasts till next Ramadan, he should offer Qada for the fasts which he did not observe basis of obligatory precaution, he will give one Mudd of food to the poor for each day. Alao, if he had an excuse other than illness during Ramadan, but that excuse anded after Ramadan, due he then fell ill and could not give Qada’ till next Ramadan becausr of that illness, he will of fer the Qada’for the fasts he did not obsreve.
25. If a person does not observe fasts in the month of Ramadan owing to some excuse and his excuse is removed after Ramadan, yet he does not observe the Qada fasts intentionally till next Ramadan, he has to give Qada of the fasts and should also give one Mudd of food to the poor for each fast.
26. A person who has to give one Mudd of food to the poor for each day, can give the foods of Kaffarah of a few days to one poor person.
27. If a person does not observe fasts of the month of Ramadan intentionally, he should give their Qada and for each day left out, he should observe fast for two months or feed sixty poor persons or set a slave free, and if he does not observe the  Qada till next Ramadan , he should, as an obligatory precaution, also give one Mudd of food for each day as a Kaffarah.

28. After the death of a person his eldest son, as an obligatory precaution, should observe his Qada fasts of Ramadan as explained in connection with the prayers earlier, or he can give one Mudd of food to a poor for each day, even if from the properties of the dead person with the permission of the heirs.