Chapter: Clarifying the Rulings for Making-Up Missed Fasts

The window for making up missed days is expansive: it remains open until only a number of days equal to what one owes are left in Shaʿbān. At that point he must fast them before the new Ramadan begins.

If he delays the make-up until Ramadan arrives again, he should fast the present Ramadan first and then make up what he still owes afterward. Should the delay be justified by an excuse that genuinely prevented him from fasting during that interval, he is only obliged to make up the days. If, however, he had no valid excuse, then along with making up the fasts he must feed one poor person for every missed day—half a sāʿ (about 1.5 kg) of the staple food of the land.

If someone who still owes make-up fasts dies before the new Ramadan begins, nothing is required of him, for he still had the lawful option to postpone within the period in which he died. Should he die after the new Ramadan has commenced, then: if his postponement was for an excuse such as illness or travel until the new month overtook him, again nothing is due. But if the postponement was without excuse, his estate must discharge an expiation by feeding one poor person for each missed day.

Should a person die owing an expiatory fast—such as the fast that expiates ẓihār or the fast required in lieu of the sacrificial blood for tamattuʿ during ḥajj—one poor person is fed for each day on his behalf, and the fast itself is not observed for him. The feeding is taken from his estate, because this type of fast does not permit representation while he is alive, and the same ruling applies after his death. This is the position held by the majority of the scholars.

If someone dies owing a vowed fast, it is recommended for his guardian to fast on his behalf, for it is authentically reported in the two Ṣaḥīḥs that a woman came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “My mother…"