Short answer
In the Hanafi school, if you broke several Ramadan fasts on purpose and had not yet paid kaffarah for any of them, one kaffarah of sixty days covers them all, but you must make up every day. If you completed a kaffarah and then broke another fast, a new one is due. The other three schools require a separate kaffarah for each day.
Kaffarah for fasting is meant to deter, so several deliberate breaches combine into one kaffarah as long as none was paid in between. Imam Muhammad held this even across two Ramadans, which many Hanafi texts rely on, while some later Hanafis gave fatwa that breaches by intercourse in different Ramadans each need their own. Qada is due for every single day.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Each day broken by intercourse needs its own kaffarah, even in the same Ramadan.
- Maliki
- Each day broken in a way that requires kaffarah needs its own kaffarah.
- Hanbali
- Each day needs its own kaffarah in the sound view; several breaches on a single day need only one.
Explanation
Some people, after years of not taking Ramadan seriously, return to Islam and fear they owe sixty days for every fast they broke. In the Hanafi school this is not the case, which is a real mercy for those who repent.
The Hanafi principle. The kaffarah for breaking a Ramadan fast is a penalty meant to deter, and penalties of the same kind combine. So if you broke a number of Ramadan fasts on purpose and had not yet done any kaffarah, one kaffarah of sixty days in a row covers all of them. You still make up each broken day with one fast.
When a new kaffarah is due. If you completed a kaffarah and then broke another Ramadan fast on purpose, a new kaffarah is due, since the first covered only the earlier breaches. For breaches spread over different Ramadans, the Hanafi texts record that Imam Muhammad held one kaffarah enough, and many rely on this; some later scholars gave fatwa that each Ramadan needs its own where the breach was by intercourse. Ask a mufti how this applies to you.
The other schools require a separate kaffarah for each day broken in a way that calls for one. In the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools that is only intercourse, so eating and drinking need no kaffarah there at all.
Steps:
- Count the days you broke. The qada calculator helps.
- Begin the sixty days of kaffarah. The kaffarah calculator explains the options.
- Make up each broken day, at any time.
- Repent, and do not delay. See breaking the fast on purpose.
Ask a mufti about your own case. This answer explains the general ruling. When the details of your situation matter, as they do here, ask a qualified mufti and give them the full facts. Where to ask a scholar.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:185
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ هُدًۭى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ ۚ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ ٱلشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ۖ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍۢ فَعِدَّةٌۭ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۗ يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُمُ ٱلْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ ٱلْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُوا۟ ٱلْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَىٰكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿١٨٥﴾
The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.
The Hanafi combining of kaffarah reflects the ease the religion intends.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1936
Sahih... فهل تستطيع أن تصوم شهرين متتابعين ...
"Can you fast two consecutive months?"
The kaffarah for breaking a Ramadan fast is sixty days of fasting in a row.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what breaks the fast and what does not. If he broke the fast repeatedly without doing kaffarah for the first, one is enough, even across two Ramadans according to Muhammad, and this is relied upon; some chose for fatwa that it combines unless the breach was by intercourse.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what breaks the fast and what does not. The kaffarah of fasting combines because it is meant as a deterrent.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Siyam. The Hanbali view that each day requires its own kaffarah.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.