Kaffarah for fasting comes in two forms: kaffarah for intercourse during the day in Ramadan (Islamweb) and kaffarah for delaying a make-up fast (in Arabic) until the next Ramadan. The first is two consecutive months of fasting, or feeding sixty people if fasting is not possible, with repentance and a make-up day. The second is feeding one person for each day, with the make-up fast. Feeding means one mudd of food, about 750 grams.
- Kaffarah for intercourse: two consecutive months of fasting, or feeding sixty people.
- Kaffarah for delay without excuse: one mudd for each day, plus the make-up fast.
- Fidyah for those unable to fast: one mudd for each day, with no make-up in chronic illness or old age.
- Paying through a charity: give the value, and the charity buys and distributes the food.
When Is Kaffarah for Fasting Due?
The greater kaffarah falls on whoever has intercourse deliberately during the day in Ramadan. Its order is to free a slave, then to fast, then to feed sixty people, and one moves on only if unable to do the step before. Freeing a slave is no longer available today, so fasting and then feeding remain. A separate kaffarah is due for each day.
It is also due from whoever delays making up Ramadan without excuse until the next Ramadan arrives. That person is sinful and owes the make-up fast plus feeding one person for each day (in Arabic). Delay for a valid excuse, such as hardship, is permitted.
How Much Is Kaffarah for Fasting?
The best-known opinion is one mudd for each person, about 750 grams, from food commonly eaten locally. So the kaffarah for intercourse is sixty mudds, about 45 kilograms for one day, and the kaffarah for delay is one mudd for each day. If cooked food is given, one reasonable meal for each person is enough.
What Is the Difference Between Kaffarah and Fidyah?
Kaffarah follows a violation or neglect, while fidyah replaces a fast a person cannot perform. Fidyah is due from someone with a chronic, incurable illness, from the elderly who cannot fast, and from pregnant or nursing women who broke the fast out of fear for the child only. It is one mudd for each day, and pregnant and nursing women also make up the days.
For a related ruling, read kaffarah for breaking an oath.
Can Kaffarah Be Paid in Cash?
Kaffarah is originally food, and the majority of scholars hold that giving money does not fulfil the obligation. You may, however, give its value to a charity (in Arabic), which buys the food and distributes it on your behalf.
Who Receives It, and When?
Kaffarah and fidyah go to those entitled to them, in the same kind of food as Zakat al-Fitr (in Arabic). Several mudds of fidyah for multiple days may go to one person. Fidyah may be paid for each day once it begins, or for all days after Ramadan ends, but not all at once at the start of the month on the stronger view.
Kaffarah for Fasting: Short Answers
Must you make up the fast as well as pay kaffarah?
Yes. The day is made up alongside the kaffarah for intercourse, and the missed days are made up alongside the kaffarah for delay.
Must the sixty be fed on one day?
No. They may be fed over separate days, though doing it sooner is better.
Can someone able to fast pay fidyah instead?
No. Fidyah replaces a fast the person cannot perform. Someone with a curable illness makes up the days once well.
Can kaffarah be paid through a charity?
Yes. You may give its value to a charity, which buys the food and distributes it to those entitled to it.
