to make up the missed days only. As for the earlier Ramadans after which another Ramadan has already come, she must both make up the fasts and feed one needy person for every day she delayed.

Question: When making up missed fasts, consecutive days are not a condition. May she fast some days, break for a while, and then resume—and so on?

Answer: Yes. Consecutiveness is not required; she may fast and make up the days according to her ability. However, if she is able to fast the days consecutively, that is preferable.

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Question: My father once broke the fast for an entire month of Ramadan because of strenuous work. He never made it up, and he is now about ninety years old. Although he is keen on both obligatory and supererogatory fasting, he has not made up that month. Do his voluntary fasts suffice in place of the make-up, or must he fast a complete month with the intention of making it up? Given his present weakness and advanced age, would expiation be enough if he cannot fast, and what is the amount of that expiation?

Answer: Postponing the make-up until this age is a serious mistake, for making up missed fasts is a debt he owes and he must hasten to discharge it. To leave it undone for all these years until he has reached an age where he can no longer fast is negligence—unless he had a legitimate Sharīʿah excuse for the delay.

In any case, if he is still able to fast, he must make up that month, and along with the make-up he must feed one needy person for every day he delayed, giving each person half a sāʿ (roughly 1.5 kg) of the staple food of the country. If he is unable to fast because old age has reached the point where he truly cannot