What Is the Ruling on Delaying Makeup Fasts Due to Illness?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

What is the ruling on delayed makeup of fasts due to prolonged illness when fasting may still cause harm?

Answer

I pray you are well.

Delaying the Makeup Fast Due to Ongoing Harm

In this situation, you may keep delaying the makeup fast for as long as you need. The fast can be delayed indefinitely until you reach a point where you are able to make it up without harm.

However, once you know you can make up the missed fast, you must do so.

A Common Misconception About Fidya

There is a common misconception regarding fidya. Some people think, “I could not fast because I was ill, so I will simply pay fidya, and that is it. I do not need to do anything else.”

This is not quite correct.

If you are able to fast, then you must fast.

If you are unable to fast now, but you will be able to in the future, or you do not know for certain that you will never be able to fast, then you must make up the fast. You delay it, and then you make it up when you are able.

When Fidya Becomes Necessary

If it turns out that you will never be able to fast due to a health condition, advanced age, or similar circumstances, then you must leave a wasiya.

This means you must leave a will instructing that fidya payments be made.

In such circumstances, you should keep track of each year of the fasts that you were unable to perform.

And Allah 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.