Making up a large number of missed farḍ fasts

Question

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu,

Here is a question for my wife. Here is what she wrote:

I have two concerns regarding missed fard fasts.

Among my three children, I have accumulated 261 days of missed Ramadan fasts.

Over the years, I have attempted various plans, such as fasting on Mondays and Thursdays or continuous fasting until completion. However, each year, I enter the new month of Ramadan with only one or two days completed during the preceding year. Unfortunately, my reliance on coffee has become an addiction, and the headaches I experience on the first day of fasting make it challenging to continue. I recognize this struggle as a test from Shaytan or my own nafs, as I can overcome it during the blessed month of Ramadan.

I am also uncertain about the year I began fasting in my youth. Despite consulting my parents, they cannot recall. Given that I reached puberty at an early age, it is estimated that I missed two or three Ramadans. I started praying at the age of 12, having already missed two years. Alhamdulillah, I am diligently working on completing the qada prayers, even though it's at a slow pace.

While I make progress with my qada prayers, I find it challenging to address my qada fasts, leading to spiritual distress. This has even started affecting the new days missed during Ramadan due to my menses, adding to the existing count. I feel embarrassed and as if I am unable to complete them. Is there an opinion that allows me to offer fidya or a similar compensation?

If not, how can I determine the number of years I missed during my youth? Could you provide advice on adhering to a schedule for completing my fasts?

— Jawad, Montreal, Canada

Answer

Wa `Alaykum al-Salām wa Raḥmah Allāh wa Barakātuh.

Allāh Ta`ālā states in the Holy Qur'ān,

لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا

"Allāh does not burden a soul more than its capability."

[Sūrah al-Baqarah, 286]

It is Allāh Ta`ālā who has established the obligation of fasting upon the Muslims, as mentioned in the Holy Qur'ān:

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَام

"O those who believed, fasting has been made obligatory upon you all."

[Sūrah al-Baqarah, 183]

Therefore, it is an obligation for Muslims to fast and it is well within the general Muslim's capability to do so. Only in certain circumstances, one is allowed to leave their fast and pay fidyah. Fidyah is not open to everyone, one must be considered a shaykh fānī by fulfilling certain conditions to be able to resort to this option or have a condition of exemption in which one has lost all hope of recovery and of being able to fast in the future. Ṣadr al-Sharī`ah Qāḍī 'Amjad `Alī 'A`zamī states,

شیخ فانی یعنی وہ بوڑھا جس کی عمر ایسی ہوگئی کہ اب روز بروز کمزور ہی ہوتا جائے گا جب وہ روزہ رکھنے سے عاجز ہو یعنی نہ اب رکھ سکتا ہے نہ آئندہ اُس میں  اتنی طاقت آنے کی اُمید ہے کہ روزہ رکھ سکے گا، اُسے روزہ نہ رکھنے کی اجازت ہے اورہر روزہ کے بدلے میں  فدیہ یعنی دونوں  وقت ایک مسکین کو بھر پیٹ کھانا کھلانا اس پرواجب ہے یا ہر روزہ کے بدلے میں  صدقۂ فطر کی مقدار مسکین کو دیدے۔

"Shaykh fānī, meaning, such an elderly person whose age is such that as the days pass by, he becomes weaker. When he cannot fast any longer, meaning, he does not have the strength to fast now, nor does he have hope to ever gain enough strength to fast in the future, he is allowed to not fast and give fidyah as compensation. Meaning, it is necessary (wājib) for him to feed a destitute (miskīn) two filling meals for every [missed] fast or give the amount of ṣadaqah al-fiṭr to a destitute for every [missed] fast."

[Bahār-e Sharī`at: Vol 5, Pg. 1012]

Therefore, unless one meets the aforementioned conditions, one must make up any missed fasts by offering them just how they would in Ramaḍān. One must strive to make up for missed fasts promptly.

In cases where it is difficult to ascertain the exact number of missed fasts, it is necessary to reflect deeply on one's predominant recollection of missed days and continue to make up for them accordingly. If one is completely unable to determine the count of missed fasts, they should continue fasting until they are absolutely certain that no obligations remain outstanding. It has come in Ḥāshiyah al-Ṭaḥṭāwī,

من لا يدري كمية الفوائت يعمل بأكبر رأيه فإن لم يكن له رأي يقض حتى يتيقن أنه لم يبق عليه شيء

"Whoever does not know the amount of missed obligations shall act upon his predominant thought. If he does not have an idea, he shall continue making them (obligations) up until he is certain that nothing remains outstanding upon him."

[Ḥāshiyah al-Ṭaḥṭāwī: Vol. 1, Pg. 447]

In Tabyīn al-Ḥaqā'iq, it is stated,

وفي الحاوي لا يدري كمية الفوائت يعمل بأكبر رأيه فإن لم يكن له رأي يقضي حتى يستيقن

"And it is mentioned in al-Ḥāwī that, he who does not know the amount of missed obligations must act according to his predominant thought. If he does not have an idea, he will continue doing qaḍā until he is certain [that nothing else remains]."

[Tabyīn al-Ḥaqā'iq: Vol. 1, Pg. 190]

After calculating how many fasts have been missed, write the amount down somewhere private and mark off each fast as it is made up.

Reciting Durūd Sharīf and Qur'ān regularly while fasting can aid in easing the fast and resisting the temptations of Shayṭān. To facilitate making up missed fasts, consider fasting during winter months when days are shorter and on days when you have minimal activity or have rest planned.

In Bahār-e-Sharī`at, even for a potential shaykh fānī, Sayyidunā Ṣadr al-Sharī`ah mentions,

اگرایسا بوڑھا گرمیوں میں بوجہ گرمی کے روزہ نہیں رکھ سکتا، مگر جاڑوں میں رکھ سکے گا تو اب افطار کرلے اور اُن کے بدلے کے جاڑوں میں رکھنا فرض ہے۔

"If such an elderly person (the shaykh fānī) is unable to keep fasts during the summer, but he is able to fast in the winter, he is then permitted to not fast now, however, it becomes obligatory (farḍ) for him to make up for them during the winter months."

If one is genuinely unable to make up for their fasts immediately due to the long daylight hours of the summer, they must compensate for those fasts in the winter, fidyah must be seen as the final resort and only for the old and weak or the terminally ill, and Allāh knows best.

Faqīrah Ṭayyibah al-Qādirīyah · (may she be forgiven)

Verified by Muftī Zāhid Ḥussain al-Qādirī