Know Your Deen

Islamic QA for North America

Fasting and fidya

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Questions:
Assalamu Alaykum rahmatullahi wabarakatu,

I attended your Tafseer class on Friday the 15th.
It was on the subject of Fasting. Alhamdulilah it was a good class and benefited a lot from it. I have a few questions pertaining to the things you have said:
“…sickness of a person allows them to be excused from fasting. If fasting is difficult due to health concerns,  the non-fasting person can merely feed a miskeen.  Miskeen person is defined as one who does not have wealth, in debt, have less amount of ‘miswab’? (Please define the term miskeen and help make the above statements clear for me)”

I was sick for awhile during Ramadan I still have not made up my fasting days. So if I do the above things I’m cleared? And how much wheat must I give.
Jazakallahu Khair

Answer:

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A person suffering from an illness, and it is such an illness that makes fasting impossible, or such fasting would contribute to greater deterioration of health — in such circumstances a person would be excused from fasting and would have to give fidya to a miskeen. (Derived from ayah which was covered)

Who is a Miskeen

A miskeen is a poor person. A poor person is defined in Islam as that individual whose finances does not have a total asset worth reaching the  nisab. Should you want to know the definition of nisab, merely go here: http://islaminaction.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/what-is-the-nisaab

By when do i make it all up?

Although there is no time limit to making up a fast, it is best for a person to make up for their missed fasts (salah, etc) as soon as they have recovered from an illness. Should an individual not have recovered from an illness, then they would merely have to give what is called the fidya.

What constitutes fidya?

One form of calculation for fidya is in accordance to the measurement of 1.632 kilograms of wheat or its dollar value in equivalence as observed in regular stores (market place.) One need not give the total fidya amount to a single poor person. One can spread it out in such a manner that each poor person gets to consume the value in equivalence of the 1.632 kilograms of wheat.  This is the best manner to dispense the fidya. It does not mean that one MUST give only wheat; one can give its equivalence of monetary value to a poor person as well. For example, a dinner of similar or higher value of the wheat amount described above can also be given.

And if i got no money?

Should a person not have sufficient resources to give to a poor person, then insha-Allah, Allah would forgive you, insha-Allah.

What is the best thing to do?

Once you have paid your fidya and have later been blessed with good health, then merely try to keep the missed fast.  Although fidyah may absolve you,fasting would still be the better (afzal) thing for you to do.

Allah Certainly Knows Best.

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