The Qada or Missed Fasts

1. The fasts that have been missed for some reason or the other have to be kept after Ramadaan as soon as possible. One should not delay in keeping these missed fasts. It is a sin to delay in keeping these missed fasts without any reason.

2. When keeping the qada fasts, it is not necessary to specify the date by saying: "I am keeping a qada fast for so-and-so day". Instead, one should merely keep the fasts that have been missed. However, if one has missed a few fasts of two Ramadaans and has to keep the qada for both the years, it will be necessary to specify the year for which he is keeping the qada. That is, he should make the intention in the following way: "I am keeping this qada fast for so-and-so year".

3. When keeping a qada fast, it is necessary to make the intention at night (i.e. before subah saadiq). If the intention is made in the morning (i.e. after subah saadiq), the qada fast will not be valid and it will be regarded as a nafl fast. The person will have to keep the qada fast again.

4. The same rule applies to the kaffarah fasts, i.e. the intention has to be made at night. If the intention is made the following morning, the kaffarah fast will not be valid.

5. When keeping the qada fasts, one has the choice of either keeping them consecutively or at random. Both options are permissible.

6. If a person has not kept the qada fasts of Ramadaan and the following Ramadaan commences without his having made the qada, he should keep the fasts of the present Ramadaan and keep the qada fasts of the previous Ramadaan after Eid. However, it is an evil practice to delay in this manner.

7. In the month of Ramadaan a person became unconscious during the day. This unconsciousness continued for more than a day. Apart from the day on which he fell unconscious, he will have to keep qada of all the other days in which he remained unconscious. Qada of the first day on which he fell unconscious is not wajib because due to his intention of fasting, that fast has become valid. However, if the person was not fasting on that day, or, if he took some medication on that day and this medication went down his throat, qada of this first day will also be wajib on him.

8. If the person fell unconscious at night, it is not wajib on him to make qada of the fast of the following day as well. However, he will have to make qada of the remainder of the days in which he remained unconscious. But if he did not make the intention of fasting on that night for the following day, or if he took some medication the following morning, then he will also have to make qada of that first day.

9. If a person remains unconscious for the entire month of Ramadaan, even then he should make qada of these fasts. He should not think that he is absolved from keeping all these fasts. However, if he became a lunatic, and this lunacy remained for the entire month, he does not have to keep qada for any of the days of this Ramadaan. If his lunacy disappears on any day in the month of Ramadaan and he comes back to his senses, he should commence fasting and keep qada of the days in which he experienced this lunacy.