Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
When I was younger I used to fast during ramadan, but afterwards I wouldn’t make up the fasts that I had missed, due to my menstrual cycle. I have been able to calculate the missed fasts, and I was told that I could pay a sum of money for each fast, in order to make them up, and this is what I did. Is this permissible? Or will I have to fast for the ones that I missed?
Answer:
Wassalam,
Sayyida A’isha said that, “We used to be commanded [f: by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)] to make up our fasts, though not our prayers, when menstruating.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
Shaykh al-Islam Imam Nawawi (Allah have mercy on him) relates from Tirmidhi, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Jarir, and others that,
“There is scholarly consensus that women do not make up prayers [skipped when menstruating], but must make up the fasts.” [al-Majmu`, 2.387]
