I used to break my fast in Ramadan for three years, and now I have repented. Am I required to make up those days, and how do I make them up?
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The questioner:
I used to break my fast in Ramadan three years ago, and now I have repented to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Am I required to make up those days, and how do I make them up? Please tell me how to make them up, knowing that I do not know the number of days I broke my fast. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
Yes, whoever breaks his fast in Ramadan, it is obligatory for him to make it up, whether he broke it for a valid religious excuse or without an excuse, intentionally. It is obligatory for the one who broke his fast without a valid religious excuse to first repent to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and seek forgiveness. In addition to that, he must make up the days he broke his fast, and he must hasten to do so to clear his conscience. Along with making up the fast, he must feed one poor person for each day for delaying the make-up until after another Ramadan without an excuse. So, for the delay without an excuse, he must feed one poor person for each day in addition to making up the fast. As for the fact that he does not remember the number of days he broke his fast, he must strive, he must strive to estimate the number and be cautious, and fast whatever his estimation with caution leads him to.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good. Would you please, Shaykh Salih, explain how to feed the poor?
The Shaykh:
Feeding the poor means feeding one poor person for each day the amount of half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), which is approximately one and a half kilograms, meaning one and a half kilograms for each day, which he gives to a poor person. He may combine the feeding for all the days he owes and give it to one poor person, or to several poor people. He may give the food separately or together, to one poor person or to several poor people.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. What if he gathers a number of poor people and gives them a meal?
The Shaykh:
It suffices, according to the correct opinion among the scholars. It suffices if he feeds the poor or hosts them for dinner; it suffices with that. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
I used to break my fast in Ramadan three years ago, and now I have repented to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Am I required to make up those days, and how do I make them up? Please tell me how to make them up, knowing that I do not know the number of days I broke my fast. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh:
Yes, whoever breaks his fast in Ramadan, it is obligatory for him to make it up, whether he broke it for a valid religious excuse or without an excuse, intentionally. It is obligatory for the one who broke his fast without a valid religious excuse to first repent to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and seek forgiveness. In addition to that, he must make up the days he broke his fast, and he must hasten to do so to clear his conscience. Along with making up the fast, he must feed one poor person for each day for delaying the make-up until after another Ramadan without an excuse. So, for the delay without an excuse, he must feed one poor person for each day in addition to making up the fast. As for the fact that he does not remember the number of days he broke his fast, he must strive, he must strive to estimate the number and be cautious, and fast whatever his estimation with caution leads him to.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good. Would you please, Shaykh Salih, explain how to feed the poor?
The Shaykh:
Feeding the poor means feeding one poor person for each day the amount of half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), which is approximately one and a half kilograms, meaning one and a half kilograms for each day, which he gives to a poor person. He may combine the feeding for all the days he owes and give it to one poor person, or to several poor people. He may give the food separately or together, to one poor person or to several poor people.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good. What if he gathers a number of poor people and gives them a meal?
The Shaykh:
It suffices, according to the correct opinion among the scholars. It suffices if he feeds the poor or hosts them for dinner; it suffices with that. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، كنت أفطر في رمضان منذ ثلاث سنوات والآن تبت فهل يلزمني قضاء تلك الأيام وما كيفية قضاءها؟الشيخ الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.