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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Fasting on behalf of the deceased and giving charity with it

Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner says: If a person passes away and he has days of Ramadan remaining, and one of his family members wants to make them up, are they required to give charity along with the fasting?

Answer:
If a person dies while owing a fast, and he died in his illness after Ramadan without recovering, and he died in that illness, then he owes nothing; he owes no making up of the fast because he was excused. This is because Allah the Exalted said:
and whoever is ill or on a journeyوَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ
[Al-Baqarah 2:185]
then if he becomes
The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ
[Al-Baqarah 2:185]
well. If he dies while traveling or dies in his illness, then he owes nothing, and nothing is made up on his behalf, and nothing is made up on his behalf. However, if he recovers and then dies after his recovery for a period during which he could have made up the fast, or after a short period following his return from travel, then it is made up on his behalf. It is made up on his behalf by his guardians and relatives; this is the best course of action based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
If anyone dies in a state (that he had to complete) some fastsمن مات وعليه صيام
Sahih Muslim 1147
his guardian fasts on his behalf, and we agree on its authenticity.
'A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: If anyone dies in a state (that he had to complete) some fasts, his heir must fast on his behalf.مَنْ مَاتَ وَعَلَيْهِ صِيَامٌ صَامَ عَنْهُ وَلِيُّهُ
Sahih Muslim 1147
, a guardian or a relative. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked multiple times. The questioners said: O Messenger of Allah, this one says my mother died and she owed a fast of one month; this one says my mother died and she owed a fast of two months; this one says my father died and he owed a fast. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Fast. He ordered them to fast on behalf of their mother and on behalf of their father. This is the prescribed course: to fast on her behalf. If they do not fast on her behalf, they feed a poor person for each day on her behalf.
Source لقاءات لابن باز - لقاء مفتوح مع الشيخ ابن باز — archive.org (1:15:04)

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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