Q & A – Qadha of Ramadhaan Fast

Q: When a lady makes Qadha of her Ramadaan fasts during Shawwal can she fast with the intention of the 6 fasts in Shawwal or must she fast the 6 fasts in Shawaal separately?

A: The Qadha fasts of Ramadhaan are in lieu of the Fardh which were missed whereas the 6 fasts of Shawwaal are Sunnat. The missed fasts cannot be kept with dual intention. One may execute Nafl Ibaadat with multitude of other Nafl intentions, but not so with Fardh and Waajib. She should give first preference to her Qadha of Ramadhaan and thereafter, she may keep the 6 Shawwaal fasts.

Q: I am keeping my Qadha fasts of Ramadaan and Today my fast broke as I experienced my Haidh whilst fasting? Now, do I have to keep another Qadha fast for breaking Todays Qadha fast of Ramadaan? What is the ruling of a Qadha fast being broken?

A: Qadha fast is only a substitute for the original fast. Hence, you would only have to make one Qadha fast. An additional fast is not required for breaking the Qadha fast. (Shaami 2/560)

Q: I have some Qadha fasts to keep for the previous Ramadaan due to previous pregnancies. I wanted to know if its ok to keep Nafl fasts. Will it be valid even though I have outstanding qaza fasts?

A. Due to the Qadha fasts being Fardh, they hold priority over the Nafl fasts and you should try to give due importance to your Qadha fasts. However, this does not mean that you are not permitted to keep any Nafl fasts at all. It will still be permissible for you to keep Nafl fasts and you will attain the rewards of these fasts. However a concerted effort must be made to complete your Qadha fasts. (Adapted from Raddul Muhtar).

Q. My husband is keeping 60 kaffaarah fasts for intentionally breaking his fast during his young days. We heard a mufti on radio saying that you have to keep 60 plus 1 extra fast qaza? He also read from the Behshti Zewar that if a person breaks a few fasts in the same Ramadhaan then only one kaffaarah will be waajib. How exactly does the kaffaarah work? Say if he missed 3 fasts for one Ramadhaan, does he have to keep 60 plus 3 qaza?

A. Kaffaarah is for breaking a fast intentionally. Furthermore, one kaffaarah is obligatory for a single Ramadhaan. Thus, if a person broke three fasts intentionally in one Ramadhaan he has to keep qadha of three fasts and only one kaffaarah.

It is not necessary for the three qadha fasts to be kept with the kaffaarah. Only the sixty days kaffaarah has to be kept in sequence. The qadha fasts can be kept at any time; however, it should not be delayed unnecessarily.