Should I Pay Fidya (Fasting-Penalty) Again?

Question

My wife has about 100 days of fasting that accumulated from 2010 – 2020. She has since paid the fidya for it in 2021. In Ramadan of 2021, she added another five days to the missed fasting days. By Ramadan 2022, she could not make up for the 105 missed fasting days. Does she need to pay fidya again for the same 100 days or just the five days from Ramadan 2021?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

You mentioned that she could not make up the days by Ramadan 2022. If this was for a valid reason (such as pregnancy, breastfeeding, illness, etc.), she does not have to pay fidya again. A fidya is not owed for missing a day of fasting but for not paying back the day before the next Ramadan. [Nawawi, Majmu‘]

The Hanafi School requires one to make up the fasts without the accumulating penalties but still urges to repay the fasting days as soon as possible, and Allah knows best. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah; Shurunbulali, Imdad al-Fattah]

When Can One Make Up Missed Fasts?

Regarding permissibility, one can delay the fasts they must make up, but they must be performed at any time before the next Ramadan.

Practically, one should strive to make them up as soon as possible, so they can manage enough time to complete them.

Delaying Missed Fasts till after Ramadan

If one does not do so before the next Ramadan, barring a reason that would have prevented the fast in the first place, one must pay an expiation (fidya) for each day of missed fast. This fidya will recur every Ramadan if the fast is delayed beyond it. [Nawawi, Majmu‘]

If one can do so, one is blameworthy for not making up the fasts before Ramadan. However, whether or not Allah (Most High) considers a specific person’s actions blameworthy is something left up to His grace, as He is in a better position to assess a given person’s life circumstances.

I pray that this benefits.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.