Fasting on behalf of the deceased
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Making up fasts and fasting the ten days of Dhul Hijjah
Question: A woman has a debt of some days from Ramadan, and she wants to fast the ten days of Dhul Hijjah with the intention of making up the days from Ramadan.By saying: I intended to fast to make up days from Ramadan along with the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. Will she be rewarded for both purposes, or not?
Answer: Making up the fasts of Ramadan is obligatory for her, and it is not restricted to the ten days of Dhul Hijjah. She must make up these days that she owes from any month of the year, and she must not delay them until the ten days of Dhul Hijjah with the intention of obtaining the reward of fasting the ten days of Dhul Hijjah. If she has a desire to fast the ten days of Dhul Hijjah, she should perform the make-up fasts first, before the ten days of Dhul Hijjah begin, so that when the ten days of Dhul Hijjah arrive, she will have cleared her obligation regarding the make-up fasts, and she can fast the ten days of Dhul Hijjah as a voluntary act.
[Fasting on behalf of the deceased]
Question: My mother passed away, and she had a month of fasting that she was unable to perform. After she passed away, her son fasted thirty days on her behalf, in separate instances. Is this permissible? Is anything else required besides the fasting?
Answer: This requires a detailed explanation:
If your mother left off fasting due to illness, and was unable to make it up until she died, then she owes nothing.
However, if she recovered from the illness and was able to make up the fasts, but she was lazy until another Ramadan came upon her, and she died without making them up, then she owes feeding the poor. One should feed a poor person for each day on her behalf. If her guardian fasts on her behalf in addition to feeding the poor, there is no harm in that.
But feeding the poor is specific and required; fasting does not suffice in its place. It is necessary to feed a poor person for each day, giving each poor person half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of the food customary in the country. If her guardian fasts on her behalf in addition to feeding the poor, there is no harm in that, if Allah wills.
Question: A woman has a debt of some days from Ramadan, and she wants to fast the ten days of Dhul Hijjah with the intention of making up the days from Ramadan.By saying: I intended to fast to make up days from Ramadan along with the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. Will she be rewarded for both purposes, or not?
Answer: Making up the fasts of Ramadan is obligatory for her, and it is not restricted to the ten days of Dhul Hijjah. She must make up these days that she owes from any month of the year, and she must not delay them until the ten days of Dhul Hijjah with the intention of obtaining the reward of fasting the ten days of Dhul Hijjah. If she has a desire to fast the ten days of Dhul Hijjah, she should perform the make-up fasts first, before the ten days of Dhul Hijjah begin, so that when the ten days of Dhul Hijjah arrive, she will have cleared her obligation regarding the make-up fasts, and she can fast the ten days of Dhul Hijjah as a voluntary act.
[Fasting on behalf of the deceased]
Question: My mother passed away, and she had a month of fasting that she was unable to perform. After she passed away, her son fasted thirty days on her behalf, in separate instances. Is this permissible? Is anything else required besides the fasting?
Answer: This requires a detailed explanation:
If your mother left off fasting due to illness, and was unable to make it up until she died, then she owes nothing.
However, if she recovered from the illness and was able to make up the fasts, but she was lazy until another Ramadan came upon her, and she died without making them up, then she owes feeding the poor. One should feed a poor person for each day on her behalf. If her guardian fasts on her behalf in addition to feeding the poor, there is no harm in that.
But feeding the poor is specific and required; fasting does not suffice in its place. It is necessary to feed a poor person for each day, giving each poor person half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of the food customary in the country. If her guardian fasts on her behalf in addition to feeding the poor, there is no harm in that, if Allah wills.