Short answer
Fidya is the payment made for each Ramadan fast by someone who cannot fast and has no realistic hope of making it up, such as a very elderly person or someone with a permanent illness. In the Hanafi school it is half a sa' of wheat (about 1.6 to 2 kg) or its value for each fast, given to the poor.
Fidya is wajib for each missed obligatory fast when a person is permanently unable to fast or to make it up. It equals one sadaqat al-fitr per fast: half a sa' of wheat or flour, or one sa' of dates or barley, or the cash value. If the person later becomes able to fast, they must make up the fasts, and the fidya counts as voluntary charity.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Fidya is one mudd of the local staple food per day, a smaller amount than the Hanafi measure.
- Hanbali
- Fidya is one mudd of wheat, or half a sa' of other food, per day.
- Maliki
- Fidya for the very elderly is recommended, not obligatory.
Explanation
The word fidya means a ransom or compensation. The Quran mentions it for those who can fast only with extreme hardship, and Ibn Abbas explained that this refers to the very old man and woman who cannot fast: they feed a poor person for each day.
Who pays fidya: the very elderly who cannot fast, and people with an illness that doctors expect to be permanent, such as advanced kidney disease or a condition that needs food or medicine throughout the day. A dying person who could not make up their fasts should leave a wasiyyah (bequest) for fidya to be paid from their estate.
Who does not pay fidya: someone with a temporary illness, a traveller, a woman on her period and, in the Hanafi school, a pregnant or breastfeeding woman. They make up the days instead. See when to make up missed fasts.
- Qada: making up a missed fast with another day.
- Fidya: feeding the poor instead of fasting, only when fasting is impossible for good.
- Kaffarah: the penalty for deliberately breaking a Ramadan fast, sixty days of fasting. See breaking the fast on purpose.
Fidya goes to poor people who are eligible for zakat. You may give it during Ramadan or after, and the fidya for many days may go to one person. The fidya calculator works out the amount in your currency.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:184
أَيَّامًۭا مَّعْدُودَٰتٍۢ ۚ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍۢ فَعِدَّةٌۭ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُۥ فِدْيَةٌۭ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍۢ ۖ فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًۭا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّهُۥ ۚ وَأَن تَصُومُوا۟ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١٨٤﴾
[Fasting for] a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey [during them] - then an equal number of days [are to be made up]. And upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] - a ransom [as substitute] of feeding a poor person [each day]. And whoever volunteers excess - it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew.
This is the basis of fidya for those who cannot fast.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4505
Sahih... هو الشيخ الكبير والمرأة الكبيرة لا يستطيعان أن يصوما ...
"Ibn Abbas said: It refers to the old man and the old woman who cannot fast, so they feed a poor person in place of each day."
A companion's explanation of who the fidya verse applies to.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Sawm, chapter on what requires qada and kaffarah, section on those excused. The very old person who cannot fast feeds a poor person for each day, as in the kaffarahs.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Sawm, section on the excuses that permit not fasting. Fidya is half a sa' of wheat per day, and it lapses into charity if the person regains the ability to fast.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Siyam. The Shafi'i measure of one mudd per day.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. 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.