I Owe Missed Ramadan Fasts but Cannot Remember How Many Days: What Should I Do?

QUESTION ❓

Assalamu Alaikum,

Please, what is the ruling for someone who owes missed Ramadan fasts but has forgotten how many days he or she owes? What should such a person do?

ANSWER ❗️

Wa Alaikumussalam Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

If a Muslim knows that he or she owes missed Ramadan fasts but cannot remember the exact number of days, the person should make a sincere effort to determine the number as accurately as possible.

Allah says:

فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ

Transliteration:
Faʿiddatun min ayyāmin ukhar.

Translation:
“Then an equal number of days [are to be made up].”

Qur’an 2:184

The obligation, therefore, is to make up the number of days that were actually missed.

1. What If the Person Has Forgotten the Exact Number?

The person should first try to remember the circumstances that caused the missed fasts. For example, he or she may remember the Ramadan involved, approximately how many days were missed, or the reason for missing them.

If, after making a reasonable effort, the exact number still cannot be established, the person should make a careful estimate.

For example, if a person is reasonably certain that the missed fasts were either five or seven days, choosing seven days would be a prudent way of ensuring that the larger possible obligation has been fulfilled.

Similarly, if the possibilities are ten, eleven or twelve days, making up twelve days would provide greater certainty that the outstanding obligation has been discharged.

This is based on the general principle of taking reasonable precaution when an obligation is known but its exact amount has become uncertain.

2. What If the Person Is Certain About the Number?

If the person clearly remembers that six days were missed, for example, then there is no need to add extra days merely because of an unfounded doubt.

He or she should make up the six days.

Islam does not require a person to act upon every passing doubt or to subject themselves to unnecessary hardship and obsessive uncertainty.

3. What If the Person Has Completely Forgotten?

If the person cannot remember the number at all, they should make a reasonable effort to reconstruct the circumstances and arrive at the most reliable estimate possible.

They should not simply abandon the matter because they cannot remember the exact number.

If a reasonable estimate leaves uncertainty between different numbers, taking the higher reasonable estimate is a cautious approach to fulfilling the obligation.

However, this should not develop into waswasah (obsessive doubts). Once a person has made a reasonable and sincere effort to determine the number and has fulfilled the estimate they reasonably settled upon, they should not continue repeating the fasts because of endless doubts.

4. Women Who Missed Fasts Because of Menstruation

A woman who missed Ramadan fasts because of menstruation must make up those missed fasts.

ʿĀ’ishah رضي الله عنها said:

«كَانَ يُصِيبُنَا ذَلِكَ، فَنُؤْمَرُ بِقَضَاءِ الصَّوْمِ، وَلَا نُؤْمَرُ بِقَضَاءِ الصَّلَاةِ»

Transliteration:
Kāna yuṣībunā dhālika, fa-nu’maru bi-qaḍāʾi aṣ-ṣawm, wa lā nu’maru bi-qaḍāʾi aṣ-ṣalāh.

Translation:
“That used to happen to us, and we were commanded to make up the fasts, but we were not commanded to make up the prayers.”

Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 335

The same basic principle applies to missed Ramadan fasts resulting from other legitimate excuses, such as illness or travel, when making them up is required.

5. What If the Missed Fasts Are From Many Years Ago?

If the person has delayed making up the fasts for a long time, the obligation to make them up does not simply disappear because of the passage of time.

The person should begin making them up according to their ability and should sincerely repent if the delay was without a valid excuse.

If there are additional questions about whether fidya is required because of a particular circumstance, or whether the delay has specific consequences, that should be referred to a qualified scholar because the details differ according to the circumstances and scholarly opinions.

Conclusion

A person who knows that Ramadan fasts are owed but has forgotten the exact number should make a sincere effort to determine the number.

If the person is uncertain between several reasonable numbers, choosing the higher reasonable estimate is a prudent way to ensure that the obligation has been fulfilled. But if the person is certain of the number, there is no need to add extra days merely because of doubt.

The important thing is to fulfil the obligation without falling into unnecessary waswasah.

Wallāhu Taʿālā Aʿlam — And Allah knows best.

Zauren Fatawoyi Bisa Al-Qur’ani da Sunnah

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