When must one make up missed fasts, and is it obligatory to make them up immediately after Ramadan?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Shaykh Muhammad, this questioner says: If a person has missed fasts from the month of fasting that he must make up, does he have to make them up? And what should he do? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : He must make them up. Based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:185].
The questioner : She says that she delayed fasting for eleven months, O Shaykh. What should she do?
The Shaykh : I say, may Allah bless you all. Making up the fasts of Ramadan is not an immediate obligation. It is permissible for a person to delay making up the fasts of the past Ramadan until the number of days between him and the coming Ramadan equals the number of days he owes. If the number of days he owes remains, he must fast. For example, a person who owes fasts may make them up in Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram, Safar, Rabi' al-Awwal, Rabi' al-Thani, Jumada al-Ula, Jumada al-Akhirah, Rajab, or Sha'ban. All of this is permissible. It is also permissible whether he makes them up consecutively or separately. All of this is permissible, because Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: "make up for them from other days." However, it is not permissible to delay making up the fasts of the past Ramadan until the coming Ramadan arrives.
The presenter : Yes, but I prefer...
The questioner : O Shaykh, if you say that if one is unable to fast these make-up fasts, does he have to pay an expiation?
The Shaykh : If he is unable to read them. If he is unable to make them up, even if spread out. That is, if the inability is continuous, he must feed one poor person for every day. And if it is expected that he will become able to fast later, he should wait until he becomes able.
The presenter : Allahu Akbar. Okay.
The Shaykh : He must make them up. Based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days
وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَThe questioner : She says that she delayed fasting for eleven months, O Shaykh. What should she do?
The Shaykh : I say, may Allah bless you all. Making up the fasts of Ramadan is not an immediate obligation. It is permissible for a person to delay making up the fasts of the past Ramadan until the number of days between him and the coming Ramadan equals the number of days he owes. If the number of days he owes remains, he must fast. For example, a person who owes fasts may make them up in Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram, Safar, Rabi' al-Awwal, Rabi' al-Thani, Jumada al-Ula, Jumada al-Akhirah, Rajab, or Sha'ban. All of this is permissible. It is also permissible whether he makes them up consecutively or separately. All of this is permissible, because Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: "make up for them from other days." However, it is not permissible to delay making up the fasts of the past Ramadan until the coming Ramadan arrives.
The presenter : Yes, but I prefer...
The questioner : O Shaykh, if you say that if one is unable to fast these make-up fasts, does he have to pay an expiation?
The Shaykh : If he is unable to read them. If he is unable to make them up, even if spread out. That is, if the inability is continuous, he must feed one poor person for every day. And if it is expected that he will become able to fast later, he should wait until he becomes able.
The presenter : Allahu Akbar. Okay.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 1009- متى يقضي من عليه صوم وهل يجب القضاء بعد رمضان مباشرة/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.