Is It Permissible to Delay Making Up Missed Fasts Until Just Before the Next Ramadan?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

Is it permissible to postpone making up missed fasts (qada) until just before the following Ramadan?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

It is permissible to delay making up missed fasts; however, postponing them until the next Ramadan without a valid excuse is not permissible. The Shafi‘i school emphasizes the importance of fulfilling missed fasts promptly after Ramadan.

Valid Excuses

There are circumstances in which delaying qada fasts is allowed, such as ongoing valid excuses. Examples include women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or otherwise unable to fast due to legitimate reasons. In such cases, the delay is excused and does not incur any additional consequence.

Obligation and Fidya

If a person postpones making up their missed fasts without a valid excuse and the next Ramadan arrives, they are required to pay a fidya (compensation) for each missed day in addition to fasting those days. If this pattern repeats over multiple years, the obligation increases accordingly: one owes a fidya for each year in which the fast was not made up, and still must complete the missed fasts.

Timing of Qada Fasts

While it is technically permissible to complete missed fasts shortly before the next Ramadan, it is strongly recommended to fulfill these obligations as soon as possible after Ramadan. Prompt fulfillment is the wiser and preferred approach in order to avoid accumulating missed fasts and incurring fidya.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.