Pay Fidya – The Compensation for Broken or Missed Fasts During Ramadan

A particularly challenging form of prayer, fasting during Ramadan is an essential and rewarding practice in Islam. If a Muslim is unable to fast due to circumstances beyond their control, Allah (SWT) gives them the option to make up for the fast in another way. Fidya is the practice of compensating for missed or broken fasts. If a Muslim is unable to fast for a valid reason and will not be able to make up the fasts some other time, they are required to make this contribution. During Ramadan, if you miss any fasts, you must compensate by providing two meals to the needy (Fidya) for each fast you did not observe.

Muslims do all good deeds and acts in the month of Ramadan avoiding all the wrong and bad acts. Performing Umrah in Ramadan is one such act because they try to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (S.A.W) as much as they can. For this purpose, they tend to get all-inclusive Ramadan Umrah packages to fulfill their desire. They fast and pray in front of the House of Allah (SWT) to obtain unlimited rewards and blessings. But there are a lot of cases where one might be able to perform Umrah but cannot keep it fast like when a person is ill or quite old to keep it. In this respect, they can pay Fidya.

What is the Meaning & Significance of Fidya?

An act of Fidya is to provide charity to people in need, whether it be in the form of money or food. If someone is unable to fast throughout Ramadan because of a sickness or old age, charity work is done in lieu of those missed fasts. No intentional skipping of fasting days is permitted, and Fidya is only valid for actually missed fasts. It serves as a greater good to the community rather than just making up for lost fasts. Donations of food and money help poor families all around the globe. Because of this, Allah (SWT) still rewards people for their good deeds, even if they are unable to fast due to sickness. To strengthen one's faith during Ramadan, one must grasp the meaning of Fidya and make contributions to the community in whatever way one can.

Who Can Pay Fidya?

Only a person who is unable to fast during Ramadan, who is unable to make up for the missed fasts at any other time, and who is unlikely to ever have the ability to fast, pays the Fidya. A person's eligibility is contingent upon the satisfaction of all three conditions. Listed below are those who are required to pay Fidya for breaking or missing their fast:

• Women who are expecting a baby
• People with long-term sickness
• Those who experience temporary illness during the holy month of Ramadan
• People on regular medicines
• People above 65 years

Essential Information On Fidya

In practice, Fidya amounts to breaking the fast of one poor individual. When making your selection, keep in mind that the food should be something that the locals are familiar with and like eating, rather than something unusual that they may have trouble accepting. Historically, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) established and instituted a standard for the amount of Fidya to be a supply of grains or wheat evaluated with two measuring tools. One is a Sa', a small container that can store four double-handfuls of grains, and the other is a Mudd, which can carry just one double-handful of grains.

Traditional Tools & Techniques of Calculating Fidya

Fidya is said to be equivalent to a Sa, a half Sa, or a Mudd. During the time of the Prophet (PBUH), Sa and Mudd were commonly used devices for measuring volumes, but they have since fallen out of errand. Therefore, modern Fidya calculations are based on an approximation of the amount of grain contribution from these metrics to grams/kilograms. The exact equivalent weight might vary, however some of the most common methods of estimation are Mudd means 1 double-handful, half a Sa’ means 2 double-handfuls and Sa’ which means 4 double-handfuls.

Local Currency

Fidya can also be paid for using the currently used currency but the amount should be calculated carefully. Food for the poor will be purchased with the monetary amount donated, which must be equivalent to the required food measurement. This amount fluctuates from one nation to another depending on factors including the local currency and the cost of basic food in different countries.

Main Purpose of Giving Fidya

Here are some of the main purposes of Fidya:

Serving Unprivileged People

Help the poor by paying Fidya. Thus, the Fidya of a person who cannot afford healthy food during Ramadan will have a profound effect on the lives of those who receive it.

Your Fidya Can Be Somebody's Iftar

Before Ramadan starts, many Muslims would rather wait to give to charity, and others would even rather wait until the last week. Additionally, a lot of people hold off on making charitable contributions until Laylatul-Qadr in the hopes of reaping the full benefits of their generosity. Yet this is not consistent with Islamic philanthropic practice. It is more commendable to make a Fidya gift at the beginning of Ramadan rather than towards the end of the holy month. Moreover, if you give Fidya early in Ramadan, it may be an Iftar for someone. This way, Allah (SWT) will reward you more than you imagine.

Summing Up Fidya has the potential to greatly improve the lives of the world's poorest and most helpless people. Thanks to the practice of Fidya, Muslims may compensate for missed fasts by providing these people with a healthy Iftar and Suhoor meal. In addition, being one of Islam's five pillars, fasting is something no practicing Muslim should ignore. The distribution of Fidya is currently supported by a wide range of organizations and digital marketplaces. They have helped the Fidya be better organized and disseminated to meet the needs of today's