The questioner says: My mother fasted for two months of Ramadan, and this was a period of no less than fifteen years ago, due to childbirth in two consecutive years, and she did not
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The questioner : The questioner says: My mother fasted for two months of Ramadan, and this was a period of no less than fifteen years ago, due to childbirth in two consecutive years, and she did not consider that she had to make up the fasts. Finally, she heard about making up what was missed, but my mother is now about sixty years old and has several illnesses, and she is unable to make up this period. Please note that my mother has been fasting the six days of Shawwal voluntarily for the sake of Allah for about seven years. Please inform us what is required of my mother, as she is very worried. May Allah reward you with the best reward?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, and upon his family and all his Companions. It is obligatory for your mother to fast what she owes from the past Ramadan, meaning both months in their entirety. Fasting both months in their entirety may not burden her, as she can make up this fast on days in the winter.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : which are short in duration and light in heat. Then she can also make them up scattered or consecutive, because Allah says[Al-Baqarah 2:184] and Allah the Exalted and Glorious did not make consecutiveness obligatory in making up fasts.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Consecutiveness is only obligatory in performing the fast of Ramadan out of necessity, because it is in the month, and the month does not get scattered.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for making up fasts, the matter is relaxed in it. What is obligatory for your mother is to make up what she owes of fasting to the extent of her ability.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If she is unable to do so at all and has despaired of her ability in the future, then she must feed a poor person for each day. This means distributing food for thirty days for one month and thirty days for the other month, making it sixty poor people. There is no harm in feeding thirty poor people, giving one poor person the food for two days, but not for one month; rather, one day for a month of one year and one day for a month of a second year. Thus, the poor people would be thirty poor people instead of sixty poor people, except that one person is not given the food for two days from one month, but is given the food for one day from this month, for example, the month of the year seventy, and the food for a poor person for the month of the year one and seventy, for example. Yes.
The questioner : But from the perspective of the expiation, is it not given, for example, to three or four poor people according to the number of days?
The Shaykh : Whatever is suitable.
The questioner : What is suitable...
The Shaykh : Meaning, it is not suitable to give it to one poor person.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And not according to the number of days.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is necessary to feed a poor person for each day.
The questioner : Even if, for example, poor people of this number are not available in the city.
The Shaykh : If they are not available in this city, they can be found in another city.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Like the people of zakah; if they are not found in a city, it is necessary to look in another city to give them the zakah.
The questioner : Thus, it is necessary to distribute the expiation among sixty poor people or thirty poor people, giving each poor person, for example, two days.
The Shaykh : Yes, a poor person is given, but two days not from one year.
The questioner : Not from every single year.
The questioner : Yes.
The questioner : One day from every year.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes, you have done well.
This message came from Jeddah, from kilometer six on the road to Makkah al-Mukarramah, from the sender Ahmad Ali Atiya al-Maliki. The brother Ahmad says in his message: Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings, and after that.
The Shaykh : And peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, and upon his family and all his Companions. It is obligatory for your mother to fast what she owes from the past Ramadan, meaning both months in their entirety. Fasting both months in their entirety may not burden her, as she can make up this fast on days in the winter.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : which are short in duration and light in heat. Then she can also make them up scattered or consecutive, because Allah says
an equal number of days [are to be made up]
فعدة من أيام أخرThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Consecutiveness is only obligatory in performing the fast of Ramadan out of necessity, because it is in the month, and the month does not get scattered.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for making up fasts, the matter is relaxed in it. What is obligatory for your mother is to make up what she owes of fasting to the extent of her ability.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : If she is unable to do so at all and has despaired of her ability in the future, then she must feed a poor person for each day. This means distributing food for thirty days for one month and thirty days for the other month, making it sixty poor people. There is no harm in feeding thirty poor people, giving one poor person the food for two days, but not for one month; rather, one day for a month of one year and one day for a month of a second year. Thus, the poor people would be thirty poor people instead of sixty poor people, except that one person is not given the food for two days from one month, but is given the food for one day from this month, for example, the month of the year seventy, and the food for a poor person for the month of the year one and seventy, for example. Yes.
The questioner : But from the perspective of the expiation, is it not given, for example, to three or four poor people according to the number of days?
The Shaykh : Whatever is suitable.
The questioner : What is suitable...
The Shaykh : Meaning, it is not suitable to give it to one poor person.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And not according to the number of days.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is necessary to feed a poor person for each day.
The questioner : Even if, for example, poor people of this number are not available in the city.
The Shaykh : If they are not available in this city, they can be found in another city.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Like the people of zakah; if they are not found in a city, it is necessary to look in another city to give them the zakah.
The questioner : Thus, it is necessary to distribute the expiation among sixty poor people or thirty poor people, giving each poor person, for example, two days.
The Shaykh : Yes, a poor person is given, but two days not from one year.
The questioner : Not from every single year.
The questioner : Yes.
The questioner : One day from every year.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes, you have done well.
This message came from Jeddah, from kilometer six on the road to Makkah al-Mukarramah, from the sender Ahmad Ali Atiya al-Maliki. The brother Ahmad says in his message: Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings, and after that.
The Shaykh : And peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings.