Fidya: feeding a poor person instead of fasting

Who may replace the fast with the fidya

The fuqaha agree: the old man and the old woman who have reached the inability to fast may break, and into this case enters the sick person whose cure is not hoped for. Ibn al-Mundhir reports their agreement, al-Bahuti states it is established by consensus: the fast is not demanded of the incapable one, and an-Nawawi writes: "The old man whom fasting overwhelms with lasting hardship, and the sick person without hoped-for cure: no fasting upon them, without divergence". The basis: "Allah burdens no soul beyond its capacity" (al-Baqara 286), "He has not laid upon you hardship in religion" (al-Hajj 78), and the verse of the fidya: "And for those who can barely bear it, a compensation: feeding a poor person" (al-Baqara 184). Ibn Abbas, hearing this verse, said: "It is not abrogated: it is the old man and the old woman who cannot fast; they feed a poor person for each day" (reported by al-Bukhari 4235).

The fidya compensation: a mudd of food per day

The majority (Hanafis, Shafi'is in the madhhab, Hanbalis) impose upon the permanently incapable person the fidya: a mudd of food for each missed day. Anas reports: "His strength for fasting left him a year before his death: he broke and fed a poor person for each day" (reported from Anas). Al-Kasani explains: when the fast escapes, the need for a reparation appears and cannot be made by fasting: the fidya replaces it by necessity, as the value replaces the destroyed object. Ibn Abbas's word, which speaks of feeding a poor person, also grounds the reading that consists in feeding a poor person per day.

The Malikis and one Shafi'i opinion impose nothing: he is dispensed by excuse, like the sick person and the coerced; the excuse never ceasing, neither make-up nor feeding. The Hanafis require moreover that the old person's incapacity be permanent: if he cannot fast in great heat, he breaks and makes up in winter.

Exhaustion from hunger and thirst: turning to the fidya

Whoever is overwhelmed by hunger and thirst to the point of fearing ruin breaks and makes up, even if healthy and resident: an-Nawawi relies on "do not kill yourselves" (an-Nisa 29) and "do not throw yourselves into ruin" (al-Baqara 195). The Malikis go further: fearing for one's person forbids the fast. The Hanafis set two limits: a strong fear, not mere imagination, and a trial not provoked by the faster himself. Exhausting trades (harvesters, building workers, guards) fast with the night intention, then break if hardship overtakes them; the rule applies to real exhaustion, not to a mere headache or toothache.

Practical note on the fidya of the fast

The fast's fidya is the path of one who can neither fast nor make up: a mudd of food (the equivalent of a full meal) per missed day, given to a poor person. Whoever's incapacity may pass makes up as soon as it ceases.