Fatwa ID: 03294

Answered by: Maulana Tahsin Alam

Question

I am 22 years old right now and follower of Hanafi school

my question is a bit confusing for me and I need guidance

When I was almost 14 years old I used to break my fasts of Ramadhan I don't know much I have broken but I remember I used to drink water intentionally and I am really ashamed of it and the same act continued till my 15 and 16 ages almost I don't remember how much fasts I have broken by drinking water it maybe 5, 10 or maybe 15 fasts of each Ramadhan in these three years I really don't remember how much

What will be the kafarah and qadha of these almost three-year Ramadhan fasts which I don't remember how much I have broken by drinking water

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيْم

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful 

Answer

A child becomes bāligh (i.e. he reaches the age of puberty) upon having a wet dream (i.e. upon ejaculating semen). A male may become bāligh anywhere between the age of 12 lunar years and 15 lunar years, depending on when the sign of puberty appears. Once a male turns 15 lunar years old, he will be considered a bāligheven if the signs of puberty have not appeared.[1]

Therefore you should first determine at which age you have reached the age of puberty, then estimate to the best of your ability how many fasts you have broken since then every Ramaḍān.

In the month of Ramadan, if a person is fasting and he intentionally breaks his fast (without any valid reason) by eating, drinking or engaging in sexual intercourse then not only will it be compulsory for him to do qaḍā of that fast(i.e. redo the fasting of that day), it will also be compulsory for him to observe kaffārah (expiation).

The kaffārah for intentionally breaking the fast in Ramadan is to fast for two consecutive months. This is if he starts on the first day of a lunar month. Otherwise (if he doesn’t start on the first day of a lunar month), he must fast for 60 consecutive days.[2] In this duration (of 2 months or 60 days), the days when it is prohibited to fast (i.e. the two days of ʿĪd and three days of Ayyām al-Tashrīq) must not come. If a person does not have the strength to fast for two consecutive months then he must feed 60 poor people with two meals (or alternatively he can give each one of them the value of ṣadaqah al-fiṭr).

If a person has intentionally broken the fasts in multiple months of Ramaḍānthen one kaffārah will suffice for all of them provided that the fasts were not broken by engaging in sexual intercourse.[3]

Only Allah SWT alone knows best

Answered by Maulana Tahsin Alam

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham