My father has passed away, and before his death he was suffering from a severe illness that prevented him from fasting last Ramadan. Is it permissible for me to fast on his behalf to make up for it?
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Question: My father has passed away, and before his death he was suffering from a severe illness that prevented him from fasting last Ramadan. Is it permissible for me to fast on his behalf to make up for it? Or is something else required of me? What is it?
Answer: First: If your father left off fasting due to the excuse of illness, and the illness continued with him until he died, then he owes nothing, because he broke his fast for an excuse and was unable to make it up until he died, so he owes nothing.
Second: If he recovered from his illness and a time passed during which he was able to make up the fast, but he did not make it up until another Ramadan entered, and the days he had broken were still a debt upon him, and then he died after another Ramadan, then it is obligatory that he feed on his behalf, one poor person for each day, from his estate if he left an estate, because this is a debt to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), namely to feed one poor person for each day, meaning he pays him half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of the food customary in the country for each day.
As for someone fasting on his behalf, obligatory fasting in the original Shari'ah is not something one person fasts for another; rather, this applies to vows, if he had a vow of fasting, then his guardian fasts on his behalf, as reported in the authentic hadith from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) who said:, because the vow is what he obligated upon himself, so it did not become obligatory by the original Shari'ah.
As for fasting Ramadan, this is a pillar of the pillars of Islam, and it is obligatory in the original Shari'ah; no one fasts for another, just as no one prays for another.
Answer: First: If your father left off fasting due to the excuse of illness, and the illness continued with him until he died, then he owes nothing, because he broke his fast for an excuse and was unable to make it up until he died, so he owes nothing.
Second: If he recovered from his illness and a time passed during which he was able to make up the fast, but he did not make it up until another Ramadan entered, and the days he had broken were still a debt upon him, and then he died after another Ramadan, then it is obligatory that he feed on his behalf, one poor person for each day, from his estate if he left an estate, because this is a debt to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), namely to feed one poor person for each day, meaning he pays him half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of the food customary in the country for each day.
As for someone fasting on his behalf, obligatory fasting in the original Shari'ah is not something one person fasts for another; rather, this applies to vows, if he had a vow of fasting, then his guardian fasts on his behalf, as reported in the authentic hadith from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) who said:
A woman came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, my mother died and she had a vow of fasting upon her; should I fast on her behalf? He said: Do you think that if your mother had a debt and you paid it off, would that settle it for her? She said: Yes. He said: Then fast on behalf of your mother.
جاءت امرأة إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالت: يا رسول الله إن أمي ماتت وعليها صوم نذر أفأصوم عنها؟ قال: أرأيت لو كان على أمك دين فقضيته، أكان يؤدي ذلك عنها؟ قالت: نعم. قال: فصومي عن أمكAs for fasting Ramadan, this is a pillar of the pillars of Islam, and it is obligatory in the original Shari'ah; no one fasts for another, just as no one prays for another.