Kaffara in Islam is an act that must be done when breaking the fast of the month of Ramadan. Some people fail to fast the whole 30 days due to illness or any other reason. Therefore, they are required to make up for the days they missed, that is what is called Kaffara.
Below we will discover the meaning of Kaffara, its importance, and more. Let’s get started!
Kaffara In Islam meaning.
Kaffara or Kaffarah is an act of making up for the missed fasts. If someone fails to fast the whole month of Ramadan then he must make up for it. Whether by freeing a slave, fasting for 60 days continually, or feeding 60 poor people.
What is kaffarah English? The Kaffara in English is translated to be “atonement” or “expiation.”
What are the valid reasons for breaking the Ramadan fast?
The valid reasons for breaking the Ramadan fast without paying Kaffara in Islam include:
- Illness
- Travel
- Age
- Hazardous Thirst
- Hazardous Hunger
If anyone breaks his fast for any other reason then he must give the Kaffara payment for each day he failed to fast.
Why is Kaffara in Islam important?
Kaffara in Islam is important because it is a way of making up for the broken fasts and repenting for our mistakes. As Muslims, we strive to please Allah and worship him by following the Islamic teachings. Therefore, paying Kaffara is a way of ensuring that we perform the act of fasting properly.
kaffara for breaking fast.
When someone breaks his fast in the month of Ramadan then he must make up for it whether by freeing a slave, fasting 60 days continually, feeding the poor
Kaffarah is a payment that needs to be made when a person deliberately breaks their fast during the month of Ramadan without a valid reason, and the person cannot fast at a later time for 60 continuous days. The requirement for Kaffarah is to provide one person with two meals a day, for two months.
Zina ka kaffara.
Kaffara in Islam for Zina is not mentioned in the Quran. The thing that is mentioned is the punishment of Zina, as Allah Almighty said in the Quran:
“As for female and male fornicators, give each of them one hundred lashes, and do not let pity for them make you lenient in ˹enforcing˺ the law of Allah, if you ˹truly˺ believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a number of believers witness their punishment.” [Quran 24:2]
Qasam ka kaffara
Qasam ka kaffara in Islam is paid when someone breaks his Oath. In this case, one should feed 10 poor people, or fast for three days if he is unable to feed 60 poor people.
What are the three types of Kaffara?
The three types of Kaffara in Islam are:
- Freeing a Muslim slave.
- Fast 60 days for each day the person fails to fast in the month of Ramadan.
- Feeding 60 poor people
Those are the three types of Kaffara that are mentioned in the holy Quran.
Kaffara In the Qur’an
kaffara in Islam is mentioned in the holy Quran, Allah Almighty said:
“˹Fast a˺ prescribed number of days. But whoever of you is ill or on a journey, then ˹let them fast˺ an equal number of days ˹after Ramaḍan˺. For those who can only fast with extreme difficulty, compensation can be made by feeding a needy person ˹for every day not fasted˺. But whoever volunteers to give more, it is better for them. And to fast is better for you, if only you knew.” [ Quran: 2:184]
The prescribed number of days in this verse refers to the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar.
Kaffara In the Qur’an Tafsir.
Here is the Tafsir of this verse by Ibn Kathir that explains Kaffara in Islam.
The Order to Fast In an address to the believers of this Ummah, Allah ordered them to fast, that is, to abstain from food, drink, and sexual activity with the intention of doing so sincerely for Allah the Exalted alone.
This is because fasting purifies the souls and cleanses them from the evil that might mix with them and their ill behavior.
Allah mentioned that He has ordained fasting for Muslims just as He ordained it for those before them, they being an example for them in that, so they should vigorously perform this obligation more obediently than the previous nations.
When the obligation to fast Ramadan was revealed, those who wished fasted, and those who wished did not.” Al-Bukhari recorded the same from Ibn `Umar and Ibn Mas`ud. Allah said: وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ ( …those who can fast with difficulty, (e.g., an old man ), they have ( a choice either to fast or ) to feed a Miskin ( poor person ) ( for every day ).) This is what is called Kaffara in Islam.
Mu`adh commented, “In the beginning, those who wished, fasted, and those who wished, did not fast and fed a poor person for each day.” Al- Bukhari recorded Salamah bin Al-Akwa` saying that when the Ayah: وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ ( …those who can fast with difficulty, (e.g., an old man ), they have ( a choice either to fast or ) to feed a Miskin ( poor person ) ( for every day ).) was revealed, those who did not wish to fast, used to pay the Fidyah ( feeding a poor person for each day they did not fast ) until the following Ayah ( 2:185 ) was revealed abrogating the previous Ayah.
It was also reported from `Ubaydullah from Nafi` that Ibn `Umar said; “It was abrogated.” As-Suddi reported that Murrah narrated that `Abdullah said about this Ayah: وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ ( those who can fast with difficulty, (e.g., an old man ), they have ( a choice either to fast or ) to feed a Miskin ( poor person ) ( for every day ).) “It means `those who find it difficult ( to fast ).’ Formerly, those who wished, fasted, and those who wished, did not but fed a poor person instead.”
Allah then said about fasting and Kaffara in Islam: فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا ( But whoever does good of his own accord ) meaning whoever fed an extra poor person, فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُ وَأَن تَصُومُواْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ( it is better for him. And that you fast is better for you ) Later the Ayah: فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ( So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of ) the month ( of Ramadan, i.e., is present at his home ), he must observe Sawm ( fasting ) that month) ( 2:185 ) was revealed and this abrogated the previous Ayah ( 2:184 ).
The Fidyah ( Expiation ) or Kaffara in Islam for breaking the Fast is for the Old and the Ailing Al-Bukhari reported that `Ata heard Ibn `Abbas recite: وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ ( And as for those who can fast with difficulty, (e.g., an old man ), they have ( a choice either to fast or ) to feed a Miskin ( poor person ) ( for every day ).)
Ibn `Abbas then commented, “( This Ayah ) was not abrogated, it is for the old man and the old woman who are able to fast with difficulty, but choose instead to feed a poor person for every day ( they do not fast ).” Others reported that Sa`id bin Jubayr mentioned this from Ibn `Abbas.
So the abrogation here applies to the healthy person, who is not traveling and who has to fast, as Allah said: فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ( So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of ) the month ( of Ramadan, i.e., is present at his home ), he must observe Sawm ( fasting ) that month.) ( 2:185 )
As for the old man ( and woman ) who cannot fast, he is allowed to abstain from fasting and does not have to fast another day instead, because he is not likely to improve and be able to fast other days. So he is required to pay a Fidyah for every day missed.
This is the opinion of Ibn `Abbas and several others about Fasting and Kaffara in Islam among the Salaf who read the Ayah: وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ ( And as for those who can fast with difficulty, (e.g., an old man )) to mean those who find it difficult to fast as Ibn Mas`ud stated.
This is also the opinion of Al-Bukhari who said, “As for the old man ( person ) who cannot fast, ( he should do like ) Anas who, for one or two years after he became old fed some bread and meat to a poor person for each day he did not fast.” This point, which Al-Bukhari attributed to Anas without a chain of narrators, was collected with a continuous chain of narrators by Abu Ya`la Mawsuli in his Musnad, that Ayyub bin Abu Tamimah said; “Anas could no longer fast.
So he made a plate of Tharid ( broth, bread, and meat ) and invited thirty poor persons and fed them.” The same ruling applies for the pregnant and breast-feeding women if they fear for themselves or their children or fetuses.
In this case, they pay the Fidyah and do not have to fast other days in place of the days that they missed. That was the explanation of kaffara in Islam based on the tafsir of the Quranic verse about Kaffara.
Conclusion.
kaffara in Islam is the act of making up for a broken fast by feeding 60 poor people, fasting for 60 days continually, or freeing a slave.
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