Atonement for missed fasts for years.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Dear Brother Burhan,
Assalam Alakum
I find the questions and your replies extremely useful and
I pray that Allah helps you and uses you as a means to guide people like
me who have extremely limited knowledge of Deen and have kept away from the
prescribed Fard for a long part of our lives.
I live and work in
My question is from what age are the Ramadan Soum Fard on
people.
What is the Fidiya / Compensatory Fasts that I have to
observe for the obligatory fasts that I have missed out from the time they
became obligatory on me till the time I started observing them regularly
without missing any ?
May Allah help you in your task and may Allah forgive me
for my misdeeds.
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errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
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Answer:
Atonement for missed
fasts for years
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world
and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble
efforts in the propagation of the Truth.
If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister
get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves
indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful
to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and
pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our
shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the
Hell Fire. Ameen.
Your Question: My question is from what age are the Ramadan
Soum Fard on people.
Hadrat Aishah (r.a.) related that the
Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "The pen is raised for three (meaning:
there is no obligation upon three): one who is sleeping until he wakens, the child until he becomes an adult,
and one who is insane until he becomes sane."
Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi,
an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, and al-Hakim.
Prayers and fasting (and all other duties) become
obligatory upon a believer, man or woman, when they attain the age of puberty.
Your Question: ….What is the Fidiya / Compensatory Fasts
that I have to observe for the obligatory fasts that I have missed out from the
time they became obligatory on me till the time I started observing them
regularly without missing any ?
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 185:
185 Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an as a guide
to mankind also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and
wrong). So everyone of you who is
present (or witnesses) the month should spend it in fasting but if anyone
is ill or on a journey the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you He does
not want to put you to difficulties. (He
wants you) to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him in that He has
guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful.
If one has in their past been so negligent in the
observance of their obligatory fasts that they have missed their obligatory
fasts of Ramadan for years…. then the absolute first thing one must do is
immediately turn back to their Lord Most Gracious in sincere ‘Taubah’ for their
severe negligence and lapse of their obligatory duty, and make a solemn and
sincere intention that from this day forward, they will strive to observe every
obligatory fast. If the person is
sincere in seeking repentance, it is expected that they will find his Lord
Merciful and Forgiving.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verses 53-54:
(O Prophet) say: “O My
servants who have wronged their own souls….Do not despair of Allah’s
Mercy! Surely, Allah forgives all sins. He indeed is the All Forgiving, All Merciful. Return to your Lord and submit to Him before
the scourge overtakes you; for then you
may get no help from anywhere.”
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:
Allah likes such good
people very much, who, if ever they
commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their
shortcomings. For who, but Allah,
can forgive sins? (And Allah
loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from
Allah, and with Gardens beneath which
canals flow, and they will reside
therein forever! How excellent is the
reward of those who do good deeds!
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 54:
When those come to you
who believe in Our Signs, say:
"Peace be on you! Your Lord had
inscribed for Himself (the rule of) Mercy.
Verily if any of you did evil in ignorance, and thereafter repented and amended (his
conduct), Lo! He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
As a manifestation of their sincere repentance, the person
should then strive their utmost to estimate the number of fasts they might have
missed and make up the missed fasts before they meet with their appointment of
death …..if one is indeed sincere in one’s repentance and in the manifestation
of one’s repentance, it is expected that their Lord Most Gracious will not only
forgive them their negligence, but will reward them abundantly for their
repentance.
Other than making sincere ‘taubah’ and repentance, and
manifesting their repentance by making up the missed fasts one does not have to
pay any other type of ‘kaffarah’ or atonement.
Their sincere ‘taubah’ and the making up of their missed fasts would
suffice as their ‘kaffarah’ or atonement.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister