Ramadan

Is Expiation (Kaffara) Due on Me for a Fast I Broke When I Was Younger, but I Doubt the Age?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

I can’t remember my age, I tried to fast but found it very difficult, and my parents allowed me to break it. I am unsure if I was past puberty or even if I started the fast at the correct time, as this was a long time ago. Do I need to do the 60-day fast?

Answer

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

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question and concern about your fasts of Ramadan.

If you or your parents can’t remember at what age you fasted and broke it, then leave it as it is. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.