I have missed many fasts in the past (in my college & university life). I was not sure about the actual number I missed. Alhamdulillah, I have made up many of them based on estimation. Many a time, I may have intentionally broken the fast after starting. I am not sure whether I did this before the age of puberty or not. What should be the age of puberty in this case and what should I do?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A male becomes baaligh (i.e. he reaches the age of puberty) upon having a wet dream (i.e. upon ejaculating semen). A male may become baaligh 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 baaligh even if the signs of puberty have not appeared. (Raddul Muhtaar: 6/153 Saeed)
Therefore, you should keep the above in mind and apply your mind in order to determine when you become baaligh. Once you are satisfied with a particular age – i.e. you feel that most probably you must have become baaligh at that particular age – then that particular age will be considered to be your age of puberty.
Thereafter, apply your mind in order to determine how many fasts you missed every year from the time you became baaligh.
Hereunder, we have mentioned some rules of keeping qada fast and observing kaffara:
When doing qada of a fast (i.e. when making up a missed fast), the intention (of keeping a qada fast) must be made at night i.e. after sunset and before the time of Fajr. Also, if a person has missed fasts of more than one Ramadan then when making the intention, it is necessary to specify the Ramadan for which he is keeping the qada fast. To make it easy for him to specify the Ramadan, he can make intention of keeping qada fast of the first Ramadan (or last Ramadan) in which it was compulsory for him to fast but he did not fast. He should make this intention after sunset and before Fajr for each qada fast that he keeps. (Raddul Muhtaar: 2/76, 380 Saeed; Fatawa Mahmudiya: 10/163,164; Ahsanul Fatawa: 4/444)
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 qada of that fast, it will also be compulsory for him to observe kaffara. The kaffara 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. (Ahsanul Fatawa: 4/460) In this duration (of 2 months or 60 days), the days when it is prohibited to fast (i.e. the 2 Eid days and 3 days of Ayyam al-Tashreeq) 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 sadaqa al-fitr).
If a person has intentionally broken the fasts of multiple Ramadans then one kaffara will suffice for all of them provided that the fasts were not broken by engaging in sexual intercourse. If the fasts were broken by engaging in sexual intercourse then there is detail. If you need to know the detail, let us know. (Ahsanul Fatawa: 4/434; Raddul Muhtaar: 2/412, Saeed)
Note: After observing the kaffara, if the person again intentionally breaks the fast of Ramadan, he must observe another kaffara; the previous kaffara will not be sufficient.
Therefore, you should keep the above in mind and apply your mind in order to determine when you become baaligh. Once you are satisfied with a particular age – i.e. you feel that most probably you must have become baaligh at that particular age – then that particular age will be considered to be your age of puberty.
Thereafter, apply your mind in order to determine how many fasts you missed every year from the time you became baaligh.
Hereunder, we have mentioned some rules of keeping qada fast and observing kaffara:
When doing qada of a fast (i.e. when making up a missed fast), the intention (of keeping a qada fast) must be made at night i.e. after sunset and before the time of Fajr. Also, if a person has missed fasts of more than one Ramadan then when making the intention, it is necessary to specify the Ramadan for which he is keeping the qada fast. To make it easy for him to specify the Ramadan, he can make intention of keeping qada fast of the first Ramadan (or last Ramadan) in which it was compulsory for him to fast but he did not fast. He should make this intention after sunset and before Fajr for each qada fast that he keeps. (Raddul Muhtaar: 2/76, 380 Saeed; Fatawa Mahmudiya: 10/163,164; Ahsanul Fatawa: 4/444)
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 qada of that fast, it will also be compulsory for him to observe kaffara. The kaffara 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. (Ahsanul Fatawa: 4/460) In this duration (of 2 months or 60 days), the days when it is prohibited to fast (i.e. the 2 Eid days and 3 days of Ayyam al-Tashreeq) 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 sadaqa al-fitr).
If a person has intentionally broken the fasts of multiple Ramadans then one kaffara will suffice for all of them provided that the fasts were not broken by engaging in sexual intercourse. If the fasts were broken by engaging in sexual intercourse then there is detail. If you need to know the detail, let us know. (Ahsanul Fatawa: 4/434; Raddul Muhtaar: 2/412, Saeed)
Note: After observing the kaffara, if the person again intentionally breaks the fast of Ramadan, he must observe another kaffara; the previous kaffara will not be sufficient.
And Allah knows best.
Mufti Faizal Riza
12/12/2011