What is fidyah, and who pays it instead of fasting?

The scholars differ on the amount and on whether money may be given instead of food, and both positions are set out below.

Who owes it

The scholars name specific categories, and the common thread is an inability that is not expected to lift.

• The chronically ill: a person whose illness will not be cured and who cannot fast. Ibn Qudamah states in al-Mughni that such a person breaks the fast and feeds one poor person for each day, because he is in the same position as the elderly.
• The very old: the man or woman too old to fast. Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه explained the verse on fidyah as referring to the elderly man and elderly woman who cannot fast, so they feed a poor person for each day — reported by al-Bukhari and cited by IslamWeb (fatwa 27270).
• The pregnant and nursing woman, when they fear harm: IslamWeb (fatwa 474127) lists them among those who owe fidyah. But note the condition the scholars attach — Shaykh Ibn Baz ruled that if a woman delayed her make-up fast because of illness or nursing that made fasting difficult, she is excused and owes no fidyah at all; fidyah applies only where she delayed out of negligence without an excuse.
• The one who delays a make-up fast until the next Ramadan without excuse: this is the case the scholars discuss most, and it carries both the make-up fast and the fidyah. Shaykh Ibn Baz ruled that whoever delays the make-up of a past Ramadan until another Ramadan enters must make it up and feed a poor person for each day. If the delay was due to illness or nursing, there is no fidyah — only the make-up.

A person who is merely sick or travelling during Ramadan owes make-up fasts, not fidyah. Ibn Qudamah is explicit: fidyah is resorted to only when there is no hope of making up the fast. If the ability to make up returns, the obligation is to wait and then fast.

What it consists of

Fidyah is food given to one poor person for each day. The amount is where the schools differ.

A mudd is given in the sources as roughly 750 grams. The Hanafi sa' is given as roughly 4 kg, so half a sa' is about 2 kg. The Shafi'i manual Fiqh al-'Ibadat states that one mudd of the staple food goes to a poor person for each day, that giving monetary value is not permitted, and that it may not be paid before Ramadan enters — only after the first night of fasting.

IslamWeb (fatwa 27270) notes that the majority required it to be given as food, following the wording of the verse, while the Hanafis allowed its value; their own preferred view is the majority's, unless giving value serves a real benefit. IslamWeb (fatwa 474127) adds that one may hand the value to a charity which then buys and distributes the food on one's behalf.

When and how it is paid

The timing is flexible in most cases. IslamWeb (fatwa 27270) states that fidyah may be paid all at once at the start of the month, at its end, or day by day. Shaykh Ibn Baz confirmed that it may be gathered for the number of days and given to the poor in a single payment.

The Shafi'i position is stricter on the start: it may not be paid before Ramadan begins. The Maliki text al-Tanbih discusses two views within that school on when it becomes due — when the make-up fast becomes settled in one's obligation, or when one begins making it up after the second Ramadan.

One point of near-consensus appears in the sources: it must go to a poor person. IslamWeb (fatwa 377131) states that paying it to an orphan who is not in need does not discharge it, and that the obligation remains until it reaches someone entitled.

If you cannot afford it

Poverty does not cancel the obligation — it postpones it. IslamWeb (fatwa 25007) states that the sounder view is that the fidyah remains owed, and when the person becomes able, he pays it. The Hanafi manual adds that if a person cannot afford the food due to hardship, he seeks Allah's forgiveness and asks His pardon for his shortcoming.

Key takeaways

• Fidyah is food — one poor person fed for each day missed — owed by those who cannot fast at all, or who delayed a make-up fast past the next Ramadan without excuse.
• The sick and the traveller owe make-up fasts, not fidyah; fidyah applies only when making up is no longer expected.
• The amount is one mudd (about 750 g) per day in the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools; the Hanafis require half a sa' and permit giving its value.
• The majority require it to be given as food; giving money is the Hanafi position, and IslamWeb prefers the majority's view unless value serves a real benefit.
• It must reach a poor person; giving it to someone not in need does not discharge it, and if you cannot afford it now, it stays owed until you can.

Further reading

• Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni
• Fiqh al-'Ibadat 'ala al-Madhhab al-Shafi'i
• Mawsou'at al-Fiqh al-Islami by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tuwaijri

And Allah knows best.