Is fasting obligatory?

Fasting is obligatory during the month of Ramadhan. However, it is limited to only those people who are capable of fasting. Fasting is also obligatory for those who make up for the missed fasting during the month of Ramadhan. Once again, this is limited to only those who are capable of fasting.

What are the valid reasons for not fasting?

A person needs to have a valid reason to miss fasting during Ramadhan. Some of the specific situations which make a person eligible to skip fasting are:

• A person who is journeying or is severely sick.
• Suckling mothers or pregnant women.
• People who are old and weak.
• People suffering from illness which will only be worsened by fasting. One example of such illness is diabetes.

What if I miss fast?

Fasting is not obligatory apart from the month of Ramadhan and hence, if you miss a non-obligatory fast, there is no harm in that and you need not make up for the same. However, there can be two conditions of missing fast during Ramadhan. They are:

• A valid reason which does not allow a person to fast.
• Deliberately not fasting or breaking the fast without having any valid reason.

If a person has a valid reason to skip fasting, he or she must make up for the fast as soon as he or she is capable of fasting and if, he or she is not capable of fasting, the person must offer Fidyah. By offering Fidyah, the person becomes eligible for receiving the same reward as the person who fasted, insha’Allah.

In case of a person deliberately not fasting or deliberately breaking the fast actually commits a sin and hence, he or she must repent. In addition to repentance, the person needs to fast to two months in a row without any break in between. If the cynical person is not capable of fasting two consecutive months, he or she must offer Kaffarah.

What is Fidyah?

Fidyah is an alternative to fasting for those who cannot fast because of any long term illness like diabetes or due to old age etc. By offering Fidyah, a person becomes eligible for sharing the reward earned by others by means of fasting. Fidyah becomes obligatory if the person is capable of affording it.

Fidyah is the practice of feeding one poor person on every day of missed fasting. As per the scholars, a person may select to feed one single person with two meals everyday for each day of missed fasting or feeding many poor people with one meal on one day.

One single meal costs £7 and hence, Fidyah for one day of missed fasting will mean £14. Hence, if someone misses 30 days of fasting during Fidyah, he or she must spend £420 for Fidyah.

What is Kaffarah?

Kaffarah is the money that a person needs to spend on feeding 60 poor people two meals a day for two months. This is in lieu of the fasting that a person needs to maintain for two consecutive months due to deliberate act of breaking fast or not fasting during Ramadhan without any valid reason.

How is Fidyah / Kaffarah spent?

Qurbani Foundation makes sure of the fact that Fidyah/Kaffarah is spent correctly. We spend the money in feeding the needy and poor people.