What is the ruling for one who owes days from previous Ramadans?
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Question: Five years ago, in the blessed month of Ramadan, I fasted four days and I had no excuse other than fatigue. Is it obligatory for me to make them up? Do I have to pay an expiation, and what is it? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer: You have three things to do:
The first thing: Repent to Allah the Exalted, and feel remorse for what you did of falling short and breaking the fast without a valid legal excuse. You must repent to Allah for the delay as well, because you delayed making up the fasts. It is obligatory to make them up before the Ramadan following the one in which you broke the fast, so you must repent to Allah for this delay and for breaking the fast without an excuse.
Repentance is necessary for every sin, and it consists of: feeling remorse for the past sin, abandoning it, and making a sincere resolve not to return to it, as the Exalted said: [Surat al-Nur: 31].
The second thing: You must also make up the four days, because Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:185] the verse [Surat al-Baqarah: 185]. If one who is not sick or traveling breaks the fast, then it is all the more necessary for him to make it up, and he must repent to Allah the Exalted.
The third thing: Feeding one poor person for each day with half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), which is approximately one and a half kilograms, of dates, wheat, rice, or other staple food of the country (meaning by the sa' of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)). This is given to some of the poor, and even one poor person is sufficient. And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) is the one we ask to forgive us and you, and to guide us and you and the rest of the Muslims.
Answer: You have three things to do:
The first thing: Repent to Allah the Exalted, and feel remorse for what you did of falling short and breaking the fast without a valid legal excuse. You must repent to Allah for the delay as well, because you delayed making up the fasts. It is obligatory to make them up before the Ramadan following the one in which you broke the fast, so you must repent to Allah for this delay and for breaking the fast without an excuse.
Repentance is necessary for every sin, and it consists of: feeling remorse for the past sin, abandoning it, and making a sincere resolve not to return to it, as the Exalted said:
And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَThe second thing: You must also make up the four days, because Allah the Exalted said:
So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days
فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ...The third thing: Feeding one poor person for each day with half a sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg), which is approximately one and a half kilograms, of dates, wheat, rice, or other staple food of the country (meaning by the sa' of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)). This is given to some of the poor, and even one poor person is sufficient. And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) is the one we ask to forgive us and you, and to guide us and you and the rest of the Muslims.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.