Ramadan & Hajj
Fidyah
A compensation of feeding a poor person for each missed fast, prescribed for those who are permanently unable to fast, such as the chronically ill or the very elderly.
What is Fidyah?
Fidyah is a compensation paid by feeding a poor person, prescribed for someone who is permanently unable to fast and has no realistic hope of making the fasts up later. It allows such a person to fulfil their duty toward the missed fasts of Ramadan through charity, when the fast itself is genuinely beyond their ability.
Its Basis in the Quran
Allah says: "...And upon those who are able to fast only with hardship is a ransom (fidyah) of feeding a poor person. And whoever volunteers good, it is better for him..." (Quran 2:184). This addresses those for whom fasting causes serious, lasting hardship.
Who Pays Fidyah?
- The chronically ill with no expectation of recovery.
- The very elderly who cannot bear fasting.
- In some scholarly views, a pregnant or nursing woman in particular circumstances, though many scholars require her to make up the fasts (qada) instead.
For each missed day, a poor person is fed approximately one meal, or its equivalent in staple food, as defined by the scholars.
Fidyah vs Qada vs Kaffarah
It is important to distinguish three concepts: Qada is making up a missed fast later by fasting (for those who are temporarily unable, such as a traveller or someone briefly ill). Fidyah is feeding the poor instead of fasting, for those permanently unable. Kaffarah is a heavier, graded expiation for deliberately violating a fast. A traveller makes up the fast; a permanently ill person pays fidyah; one who deliberately breaks the fast owes kaffarah.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pay fidyah instead of fasting because it is difficult?
No. Fidyah is only for those who are permanently or near-permanently unable to fast. A person who can fast, even with some difficulty, or who can make up the days later, must fast or make them up (qada), not simply pay fidyah.
How much is fidyah?
It is the feeding of one poor person for each missed day — roughly the cost of an average meal or a measure of staple food. Local scholars and charities usually publish a current amount each Ramadan.
Etymology & origin
Fidyah (الفدية) is from the root F-D-Y ("to ransom, to redeem"). It denotes a ransom or compensation given to redeem an unfulfilled obligation — here, the feeding of a poor person in place of a fast that one is permanently unable to perform.
References
- Quran:
- 2:184, 2:196
- Hadith:
- Bukhari 4505 (the verse of fidyah and its application to the very old who cannot fast); reports from Ibn Abbas on feeding a poor person for each day
Related terms
Kaffarah
An expiation — a prescribed act (such as feeding the poor, freeing a slave, or fasting) that atones for breaking an oath, an intentional fast, or certain other violations.
Ramadan
The ninth and holiest month of the Islamic calendar, the month of obligatory fasting and the revelation of the Quran.
Sadaqah
Voluntary charity — any act of giving for the sake of Allah, beyond the obligatory Zakat. It includes money, kindness, and even a smile, and purifies wealth and soul.
Sawm
The fourth pillar of Islam: abstaining from food, drink, intimacy and sinful acts from dawn (Fajr) to sunset (Maghrib) during Ramadan.
Zakat al-Fitr
An obligatory charity given at the end of Ramadan before the Eid prayer — a measure of staple food (or its value) per person — that purifies the fast and feeds the poor on Eid.