Q. Is there Kafara for a nafl fast that was broken? I was fasting, family was present. It was lunch time, things happen.

A. Kaffarah is defined as a religious penalty imposed upon a believer for a deliberate disobedient action while fasting during the month of Ramadaan. The penalty constitutes of sixty days of consecutive fasting. As can be noted, such a situation does not apply to you.

Thus, the ruling for a person who breaks a nafl (optional meritorious) fast for any reason is that it is compulsory upon the self to do a make up for that given broken fast. Shari’a does not make it obligatory upon us to keep nafl fast. It is something we bind upon ourselves to gain closeness to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). Thus, because you made something necessary upon yourself that was not necessary to begin with and later felt obligated to break it, you are now to do a make up for the broken nafl fast.

As consolation, in Mriqat it is stated:

A person who broke his fast in honor of a host would get 1000 rewards. Should such a person do a make up for it, the glad tidings for such a makeup would be 2000 rewards.

(Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has blessed you twice, so rejoice in attaining the pleasure of a good meal and a great set of reward by doing a makeup of it.)

Allah certainly knows best.