Fidyah and Kaffarah — Compensation in Islamic Law

Fidyah and kaffarah are two forms of compensation prescribed in Islamic law for those who are unable to fulfill certain religious obligations or who break them. While often discussed together, they serve different purposes. Fidyah is a compensatory payment for an obligation that cannot be fulfilled, while kaffarah is an expiatory penalty for a violation of a religious obligation. Both reflect Islam's balance of mercy (allowing alternatives) and accountability (ensuring consequences for violations).

Fidyah

Fidyah is required when a person is permanently unable to fast during Ramadan due to old age, chronic illness, or terminal sickness from which recovery is not expected. Allah says: "And upon those who are able [to fast but with hardship], a ransom of feeding a poor person" (Quran 2:184). The fidyah for each missed day is feeding one poor person an average meal or its monetary equivalent (approximately 1.6 kg of staple food per day). The fidyah must be paid for each day of missed fasting. It can be paid at the beginning of Ramadan, throughout the month, or after Ramadan ends.

Kaffarah for Breaking the Fast

Kaffarah is required when a person deliberately breaks their Ramadan fast through sexual intercourse during fasting hours without a valid excuse. The penalty, established by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the hadith of the man who came to him saying he was "ruined" for having had intercourse with his wife during Ramadan (Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim), is (in order): freeing a slave (no longer applicable), fasting two consecutive months, or feeding sixty poor people. Each level is attempted before moving to the next. The Hanafi school applies kaffarah for deliberately eating or drinking as well, while the majority restrict it to intercourse.

Kaffarah for Broken Oaths

When a person breaks a deliberate oath (yamin), they owe a kaffarah as described in the Quran: "Allah will not impose blame upon you for what is meaningless in your oaths, but He will impose blame upon you for what you intended of oaths. So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your families, or clothing them, or the freeing of a slave. But whoever cannot find [or afford it], then a fast of three days" (Quran 5:89). This kaffarah is lighter than the fasting kaffarah and offers multiple options.

Other Forms of Kaffarah

Islamic law prescribes kaffarah for several other situations: the kaffarah for zihar (a pre-Islamic form of divorce declaration where a man says his wife is "like his mother's back" to him), detailed in Quran 58:3-4, which follows the same order as the fasting kaffarah; the kaffarah for accidentally killing a believer (freeing a slave and paying blood money, or fasting two consecutive months, per Quran 4:92); and the fidyah for violations of ihram during Hajj or Umrah, which can involve fasting, feeding the poor, or sacrificing an animal (Quran 2:196). These provisions ensure that when a Muslim falls short, there is always a path back to Allah's mercy through sincere repentance and material compensation.