Does Kaffara Apply if an Exempt Person Breaks a Fast?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

If a person who is exempt from fasting still chooses to fast in Ramadan and then breaks the fast, are they required to perform a kaffara?

Answer

I pray you are well.

The Presence of Doubt (Shubha)

In this situation, there is a shubha, meaning a doubt regarding whether the penalty should apply. The presence of such doubt affects whether the expiation is required.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“Repel the hadd punishments when there are doubts.”

Based on this principle, when there is uncertainty regarding the applicability of a prescribed penalty, the penalty is not applied.

The Purpose of Kaffara

The kaffara attached to deliberately breaking a fast in Ramadan serves as a deterrent and a lesson to prevent the act from being repeated. For this reason, it is a significant expiation that requires 60 days of consecutive fasting.

Someone who completes 60 days of consecutive fasting is unlikely to break another fast in Ramadan deliberately.

The Case of Someone Who Is Exempt

A person who is exempt from fasting already has the obligation lifted. For example, someone who is ill or traveling does not have to fast during Ramadan.

If such a person still chooses to fast and then breaks the fast during the day, the situation can be viewed in two ways.

On the one hand, it could be argued that the person broke a fast during Ramadan. On the other hand, it can also be said that the person was not obliged to fast in the first place.

Because of this ambiguity, there is doubt regarding whether the kaffara penalty should apply.

The Ruling in the Hanafi School

In the Hanafi school, due to this doubt, kaffara is not required.

However, the fast itself must still be made up.

Therefore, if someone who is exempt from fasting chooses to fast and then breaks that fast, they must make up the fast, but they are not required to perform a kaffara.

And Allah Most High knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr. Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr. Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.