The conditions
A day of Ramadan, not a make-up or voluntary fast, begun with the intention and broken without an excuse, knowing it is forbidden: by intercourse for all schools; by eating or drinking for the Hanafis and Malikis.
Kaffarah for a Broken Ramadan Fast
Breaking a Ramadan fast on purpose means making the day up and, in some cases, a kaffarah: fasting two consecutive months or, if you cannot, feeding sixty poor people. See what the schools say and plan it.
Plan the kaffarah
How many kaffarahs?
In every case, each day broken is also made up.
Fast two consecutive months
Sixty days without a break, for each kaffarah. Choose a start date:
Feed sixty poor people
If you cannot fast those two months. Per kaffarah:
When is kaffarah due?
| Hanafi | Maliki | Shafi’i | Hanbali | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| By intercourse | Make up and kaffarah | Make up and kaffarah | Make up and kaffarah | Make up and kaffarah |
| By eating or drinking | Make up and kaffarah | Make up and kaffarah | Make up | Make up |
| Several days broken | one per Ramadan | one per day | one per day | one per day |
The rules, point by point
The order
The Hanafis, Shafi’is and Hanbalis follow the order of the hadith: free a slave (not applicable today), otherwise fast two consecutive months, otherwise feed sixty poor people. The Malikis leave the choice and prefer feeding.
Two months without a break
A day not fasted without an excuse means starting again, as do Eid or Ramadan falling within the period; menstruation does not break the sequence. Started on the first day of a lunar month, you fast two lunar months; otherwise, sixty days.
Feeding sixty poor people
For each poor person, the same amount as a fidya according to the school: half a sa’ of wheat or its value for the Hanafis, one mudd for the others. The Hanafis allow feeding the same poor person for sixty days; the other schools require sixty people.
The wife
If she consented, she also owes a kaffarah according to the Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis, a view Ibn Baz holds; according to the Shafi’is, only the husband owes it and she makes up the day.
Someone who can neither fast nor feed
According to the Shafi’is, the kaffarah remains a debt until they are able; according to the Hanbalis, it lapses, as for the man in the hadith whom the Prophet ﷺ allowed to give the food to his own family.
References: al-Bukhari 1936, Muslim 1111; Quran 58:3-4; Diyanet; Ibn Baz (fatwas 12241 and 14184); UAE Council for Fatwa; MUIS.
Appendix: the kaffarah for an oath
For a broken oath, the kaffarah is different.
What it requires
Feeding or clothing ten poor people, or freeing a slave; whoever cannot do so fasts three days (Quran 5:89).
The three days
Consecutive according to the Hanafis and Hanbalis; they may be separate according to the Malikis and Shafi’is.
An example amount
For 2026, the UAE Council for Fatwa set the kaffarah for an oath at 200 dirhams, to be shared among ten poor people.
References: Quran 5:89; UAE Council for Fatwa (2026).
An organising tool, not a fatwa: it presents the views of the schools and institutions it names. For your own case, ask a scholar you trust.