Fidyah calculator for missed fasts
Fasts missed because of menstruation are made up as qada; they do not automatically require a payment. Fidyah can apply in other circumstances, depending on the ruling you follow. This tool estimates food quantities for specified cases, not a personal obligation or a cash amount.
The definition lives on the fidyah glossary page. Confirm your circumstances with a qualified scholar before using an estimate to make a payment.
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Select your madhab
Each school has a different rule for when fidyah is due and how it is measured.
How much is fidyah?
Start with whether fidyah applies, not with a price. The table below names the food measure and the conditions of each cited ruling. The measure is the ruling: a saʿ is 4 mudd, and a mudd is roughly what two cupped hands hold. Each weight beside it is an estimate for one named food from that school's cited sources, shown as a range where they differ. Another food fills the same measure at a different weight, so no universal gram conversion is used.
Scroll the table sideways to compare the measures and conditions.
| Madhab | Selected food measure per day | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Hanafi | 0.5 saʿ of wheat about 1.64 to 2.32 kg of wheat Hanafi scholars weigh half a saʿ of wheat differently, from about 1.64 kg to 2.32 kg. The cited Askimam answer on sadaqat al-fitr calls the higher weight the cautious choice. | No fidyah for delay. For lasting inability, this calculator uses the wheat measure. |
| Shafi'i | 1 mudd of local staple food about 0.6 to 0.7 kg of rice The cited delay answer describes one mudd as about 750 ml of staple food; the lasting-inability answer states 0.51 liters of food per day. These are separate source estimates, not a chosen conversion. Malaysian Shafi'i muftis weigh a mudd of rice at 600 to 700 grams. The ruling remains one mudd per day. Confirm the practical measure with a qualified scholar. | Food for unexcused delay alongside qada, or lasting inability if affordable. Continuing excuses matter. |
| Maliki | 1 mudd of local staple food about 0.5 to 0.75 kg of wheat | Food alongside qada for negligent delay. Feeding for lasting inability is recommended, not owed. |
| Hanbali | 1 mudd of wheat about 0.51 kg of wheat Or 0.5 saʿ of another staple food about 1 to 1.5 kg of rice The cited Ibn Baz answer gives half a saʿ a day of any staple, wheat included, rather than one mudd of wheat. Confirm which measure applies with a qualified scholar. | Food measures differ by staple. Delay payment is disputed; confirm which opinion applies.
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Qada, fidyah and kaffara
Qada is the make-up fast itself. A fidyah payment for delay, where required, does not replace it. Kaffara is a separate expiation for specific violations, not a charge for having a period. Read the qada guidance alongside the sources below. This calculator does not assess kaffara.
FAQ
Common questions
How much is fidyah for missed fasts?
There is no single amount for every school and circumstance. Confirm whether fidyah applies, then use the food measure for the ruling you follow. This calculator shows named food measures, not a universal gram weight or a local cash rate. Ask a qualified scholar or a trusted local provider about the food, distribution and whether cash is accepted under that ruling.
Do fasts missed during my period automatically require fidyah?
No. Ramadan fasts missed because of menstruation are made up as qada. Missing those days does not itself create a fidyah payment. Delay beyond the next Ramadan without a valid excuse is a separate question: Dar al-Ifta's fatwa 22406 records a majority payment ruling, no delay payment in the Hanafi school, and another Hanbali opinion without that payment. A continuing valid excuse matters.
Is fidyah the same as kaffara?
No. Qada means making up missed fasts. Fidyah is feeding compensation in specified circumstances. Kaffara is a separate expiation for specific fasting violations, with conditions that depend on the case and school. A fast missed because of menstruation is not such a violation. This calculator does not determine or calculate kaffara.
Do I still need to make up the fast if I pay fidyah?
A payment for delayed qada does not replace the make-up fast. Permanent inability to fast is a different situation, and the schools differ over the status of feeding. Temporary illness, pregnancy, breastfeeding, uncertainty about recovery and delays spanning several Ramadans need individual advice; do not assume a payment clears the fasts you owe.
How it works
- Choose your madhab. Select the school whose guidance you follow and read the source and scope of its food measure.
- Enter the missed-fast details. Enter whole days and select either permanent inability or qada you still owe after the first following Ramadan without a valid excuse for the delay. Ordinary menstrual qada does not automatically require payment.
- Read the conditional food estimate. Read the food quantities alongside the conditions and cited opinion. No cash rate, universal gram conversion or multi-year delay total is calculated. Confirm your circumstances with a qualified scholar before paying.
Limitations
This tool is general education, not a fatwa. It covers permanent inability and one missed qada deadline, not delays across several Ramadans. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, temporary illness and uncertainty about recovery need individual advice. Ask a qualified scholar which ruling applies, and seek medical advice about whether fasting is safe.
References
Sources and scope
These references explain the guidance summarized here. School-specific answers apply to the circumstances they describe; they are not interchangeable personal rulings. This page is general education, not a fatwa or a medical diagnosis.
- Sahih Muslim 335c
Aisha explains that fasts missed during menstruation were made up, while prayers missed during menstruation were not.
- Making up missed fasts: Egypt's Dar al-Ifta, fatwa 8051
Covers fasts missed during menstruation or postnatal bleeding, making them up separately, and school differences over delay with or without an excuse.
- Postponing qada: Egypt's Dar al-Ifta, Fatwa Council
Contrasts the majority deadline and fidyah ruling with the Hanafi position and one Hanbali opinion that do not impose fidyah for delay.
- Kaffara and qada: Egypt's Dar al-Ifta, fatwa 6212
Distinguishes the cited intercourse-related Ramadan expiation from breaking a make-up fast. It is a case-specific answer, not a universal penalty for every missed or broken fast.
- Hanafi eligibility: Sidi Waseem Hussain, SeekersGuidance
Requires lasting inability to fast or make up the days, excludes delayed qada, and explains what happens if the ability to fast returns after payment.
- Hanafi wheat measure: Mufti Ismail Desai, Askimam (archived)
Its fidyah section specifies half a saʿ of wheat per day, 1.75 kg to 2.32 kg, or its monetary equivalent: the sadaqat al-fitr amount in your country. Sila's fidyah calculator uses 2.32 kg as the top of its wheat range and no cash rate.
- Hanafi fidyah amount: Mufti Ebrahim Salejee, MuftiOnline
Gives the Hanafi fidyah as the sadaqat al-fitr amount: half a saʿ of wheat, approximately 1.64 kg, or its value, which varies by place. Sila's fidyah calculator uses 1.64 kg as the bottom of its wheat range.
- Hanafi weights and value: Mufti Ebrahim Desai, Askimam (archived)
On the sadaqat al-fitr measure the fidyah answers use: half a saʿ of wheat or its flour, its cash value, or another food such as rice to that value. Gives half a saʿ of wheat as 1.875 kg and calls 2.32 kg the cautious weight.
- School food-measure comparison: Islamweb, fatwa 28409 (Arabic)
Names the Shafi'i and Maliki mudd and the Hanbali distinction between one mudd of wheat and half a saʿ of other staple food. Used for those measures, not as a claim that Maliki inability feeding is obligatory.
- Shafi'i delay and food: Shaykh Irshaad Sedick, SeekersGuidance
Explains one mudd of actual staple food per delayed day, continuing excuses, cash versus food, and differing multi-year opinions. The calculator does not resolve those multi-year cases.
- Shafi'i lasting inability: Shaykh Irshaad Sedick, SeekersGuidance
Discusses advanced age or illness unlikely to resolve, exemption from fasting and qada, and the feeding payment if affordable.
- Shafi'i mudd of rice: Federal Territories Mufti, Irsyad al-Fatwa 155 (Malay)
Equates one cupak (mudd) with a double handful, about 600 grams, and gives one cupak of rice as 600 grams. Sila's fidyah calculator uses 0.6 kg as the bottom of its rice range.
- Shafi'i mudd and agency: Perak State Mufti Department (Malay, archived)
Gives one mudd of staple food as 700 grams of rice per day, requires food rather than its value, and lets money go to the state Islamic council to buy staple food for the poor. Sila's fidyah calculator uses 0.7 kg as the top of its rice range.
- Maliki delay: Islamweb, fatwa 269926 (Arabic)
Quotes al-Mudawwana and Ibn Abi Zayd: one mudd per day with qada for negligent delay, but qada without feeding where a continuing excuse prevented making up the days.
- Maliki inability: al-Zurqani's Muwatta commentary (Arabic)
Explains Malik's position that feeding for inability is recommended, not obligatory: one Prophetic mudd per day if affordable, and nothing due if it is not.
- Maliki mudd of wheat: Algeria's fatwa committee, via Ennahar (Arabic)
Reports Shaykh Moussa Ismail of the ministry's fatwa committee: a mudd of food per day, half a kilogram of wheat, or its value in dinars. The article names no school; it is listed as Maliki because Algeria's official religious reference is the Maliki school. Sila's fidyah calculator uses 0.5 kg as the bottom of its wheat range.
- Maliki mudd in grams: Algeria's Ministry of Religious Affairs (Arabic)
Gives the fidyah as one Prophetic mudd per day, 750 g of the local staple such as wheat, barley or dates. The page names no school; it is listed as Maliki because Algeria's official religious reference is the Maliki school. Sila's fidyah calculator uses 0.75 kg as the top of its wheat range.
- Hanbali mudd of wheat: Ibn ʿUthaymin, quoted in Islamweb fatwa 241639 (Arabic)
Gives the Hanbali measure as a mudd of wheat or half a saʿ of other food and quotes Ibn ʿUthaymin's mudd of 510 grams of rice or wheat. Its own ruling, not a Hanbali one, puts a mudd at about 750 g, food not named, and lets a charity buy and deliver the food for you. Sila's fidyah calculator uses 0.51 kg as its Hanbali wheat weight.
- Hanbali rice by weight: Ibn ʿUthaymin, Nur ʿala al-Darb tape 217 (Arabic)
For illness with no hope of recovery: feed one poor person a day, by serving dinner or giving about a kilo of uncooked rice each. Sila's fidyah calculator uses 1 kg as the bottom of its rice range.
- Hanbali food, not cash: Ibn Baz (Arabic)
For illness with no hope of recovery: half a saʿ of dates, rice or wheat a day, about 1.5 kg, and money does not count. Sila's fidyah calculator uses 1.5 kg as the top of its rice range.
- Mudd and saʿ: Islamweb, fatwa 26376 (Arabic)
States that a saʿ is four mudd, that a mudd fills two average hands, and that its weight differs with the food measured, so estimates in kilograms differ.
Learn the terms behind the result
Read the definition of fidyah, then qada and the Islamic glossary, or go back to the Sila homepage.
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