Is it obligatory to make up the fasts of Ramadan immediately, or is there a delay allowed?

Question:
He says: Shaykh, may Allah preserve you, is making up the fasts of Ramadan immediate, or is there a delay allowed?

Answer:
Making up the fasts of Ramadan is given a wide scope. One may delay it until there is no time left before the coming Ramadan except the number of days he owes. At that point, it becomes obligatory for him to make up the fasts so that Ramadan does not arrive upon him without having fasted the days he owed from the previous Ramadan. As for delaying it until the new Ramadan is imminent, or until there is no time left before the new Ramadan except the number of days he owes, then it becomes incumbent upon him to make up the fasts. This is how Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) used to have fasts to make up from Ramadan, and she would delay them until there was no time left before the coming Ramadan except the number of days she owed, and then she would fast them. Yes.