Fidya for Missed Fasts: Step-by-Step Calculation Guide
This guide provides a step-by-step method of calculating Fidya for missed fasts. It will make you know the rules, determine whether to pay or not, and calculate the amount to be given, to ensure you get this significant task right.
What is Fidya, and Who Must Pay Fidya in Ramadan?
Fidya is a special charity given by Muslims who are unable to fast during Ramadan, due to having a permanent problem. They are the people who must pay fidya in Ramadan. It is a method of assisting a needy individual daily by giving fidya for missed fasts.
Who has to give Fidya during Ramadan? On the part of some people, fidya is necessary:
- The old people: Individuals who are elderly and are unable to fast.
- Chronically ill people: Individuals whose ailment is permanent and they will not recover.
- Any other individual who has a permanent illness, which means that he or she can no longer keep fast.
It is important to know the distinction between paying fidya instead of fasting and compensating for the fast later (Qada). In case you overlook a fast due to a brief cause, like a brief disease, traveling, being pregnant, or mixing when you are planning to fast later on, you do not pay Fidya. You have to compensate for those fasts when you can do so. During the Hanafi school, for a pregnant or lactating woman, one should fast afterwards and not pay Fidya.
How to Calculate Fidya?
It is easy to compute your Fidya. Just take the following steps to determine the amount due.
Step 1: Count Your Missed Fasts
Begin with the number of days you can not fast. In case you are not able to fast for the 30-day month of Ramadan, your total is 30.
Step 2: Know the Basis of Fidya
According to the Quran and Sunnah, Fidya is the meaning of feeding a poor person per day of the missed fast. This is normally quantified using food such as wheat, barley, or dates. The usual quantity is approximately 1.6 to 2kg of wheat or its equivalent per absent fast.
Step 3: Fidya in Cash or Food
You can pay the same price for such food. Those in need can then be provided with food by the charities. Depending on the price that a decent meal costs in your area, the precise amount will be determined by your local Islamic authority or a reputable charity.
The following are sample rates of the various charities of 2026:
● Organization | Missed fast rate per (2026) | What it gives
● Saylani Welfare | PKR 300 per person
● Muslim Hands UK | 7 pounds| Two meals per person.
● ICNA Relief USA | $15 | A single meal per individual
● MAA International (Australia) | 6 AUD (Australia) 2 meals/day per individual.
The Calculation:
● Day = Number of missed fasts times local Fidya per fast = total Fidya amount.
● Sample (Pakistan): 30 days x PKR 300 = PKR 9,000.
● Example (UK): 30 days × £7 = £210.
● Example (USA): 30 days × $15 = $450.
Step 4: Intent and Donate
You need to decide on the sum of money to give out in clear intention (Niyyah) that you are giving out in Fidya for missed fasts. Then hand out the money to a reputable charity organization that will help poor and needy people with it in order to feed them.
When to Pay Fidya?
You are allowed to pay Fidya at other times. You are permitted to perform it before Ramadan in case you are not sure that you can fast. It can also be given during Ramadan or after it. According to some scholars, one should pay it every day after breaking a fast, or consider doing one large payment at the end of the month. Fidya in cash or food; both forms are right to pay it.
Fidya vs. Kaffarah
Fidya should not be confused with Kaffarah. Fidya applies to valid permanent exemptions. A heavier punishment lies in violating a fast with malicious intention, which is called kaffarah. In the case of every intentionally fast, an individual is required to abstain for 60 days consecutively or give 60 poor meals.
Making a Donation in Ramadan
Giving Fidya is an act of worship and a form of doing good to your society. When you give a donation in ramzan, you are not only fulfilling your obligation to God but also providing food to the needy within the most blessed month.
Using this guide, you will be able to sum and send your Fidya correctly, as well as to make sure your worship is complete and you are giving back to those in need.