Making up the fast of Ramadan for a deceased father who left it unfulfilled

The Shaykh:
Peace.

The questioner:
Go ahead, Ahmad. Shaykh Salih, I just wanted to ask. My father passed away, may Allah have mercy on him, last year. He was a smoker, meaning he never fasted Ramadan. We spoke to him and advised him a lot, may Allah have mercy on him, but he would say, “My son, I cannot bear to give up smoking.” So, Shaykh, for a long time he did not fast Ramadan. Do we make up the fasts for him, or what are we supposed to do?

The Shaykh:
He prays; he performs the prayers.

The questioner:
Yes, indeed, praise be to Allah, he was consistent with the prayers, Shaykh.

The Shaykh:
He was consistent with the prayers. He was wrong in saying that he would leave off fasting because he could not give up smoking; he was wrong in that, and he owed the making up of the fasts. However, he died before he made them up. If you wish to make them up on his behalf as an act of dutifulness toward him and to clear his conscience, that is a good thing, and may Allah reward you with good. Yes.

The questioner:
But, Shaykh Salih, he meant, for more than twenty years, he did not fast, may Allah have mercy on him, so it cannot be that there was hardship or…

The Shaykh:
If he was ill, if he was ill and unable to fast, then he breaks his fast because of the illness, or if he had an excuse, such as being a traveler, for example, then he makes up the fasts if he is able to do so. If he dies before making them up, then whoever wishes to make them up on his behalf to clear his conscience, whether from among his relatives or others, does so.

The presenter:
Thank you, Ahmad. May Allah bless you.