Answered by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher
About the fidya that must be paid if a woman does not make up the fasting days she missed during Ramadan before the next Ramadan, does the poor person have to be Muslim? And is there a specific definition of “poor”?
Yes, the person must be Muslim.
From a previous post: Payment (fidya) for not making up missed fasts on time
Q1. What is the fidya that must be paid?
One must give one’s mudd of the main staple of one’s area to either someone who is poor (faqeer) or short of money (miskeen) (those who are considered poor or short of money are defined in Reliance, h8.8, h8.11). A mudd is the amount one can hold in both hands when cupped together. It is estimated in the Reliance as 0.51 liters (Reliance, i1.33). The type of food one gives varies from place to place. One must pay whatever food is considered the main staple in the area where one lives. This could be wheat, barley, rice or something else (al-Minhaj al-Qawim + al-Hawashi al-Madaniyya, 2.194).
Hamza.