Fidya is a material payment owed for fasts that cannot be made up before the next Ramadan, even though qada itself remains owed in addition.
When fidya applies
- A pregnant woman whose fast harms her or her unborn child may break the fast. She owes qada plus fidya.
- A breastfeeding woman whose fast harms her or the baby may break the fast. She owes qada plus fidya.
- Any woman who cannot make up her qada Ramadan fasts before the next Ramadan due to ongoing illness or excuse. She owes fidya for the delay, in addition to still owing the qada itself.
Per A. Khamenei specifically there is also a kaffāra of delay. A separate 1-mudd penalty per day if pregnancy / illness qaḍāʾ is delayed to next Ramadan without excuse.
The amount
The standard amount is one mudd of food. Historically ≈ 750 grams of the local staple grain (wheat, rice, dates), given to a poor person per missed day. Whether monetary equivalents are acceptable depends on local practice and your marja’s office.
Tools
- Fidya calculator. Multiplies 0.75 kg × your day count × your local kg price.
Primary sources
- A. Sistani · 1697 Pregnancy fasting exemption. Fidya plus qada
Fasting is not obligatory for a pregnant woman approach ing the time of delivery if it is harmful for her or the unborn child. Such a woman must give one mudd of food to a poor person for each missed fast, and she must make up the fasts she did not keep.
- A. Khamenei · Q802 Kaffāra of delay for pregnancy / illness qadāʾ
If a woman exempted from fasting due to pregnancy / illness then delays the qadāʾ until the next Ramadan without a valid excuse, she owes a separate one-mudd kaffāra of delay (distinct from the fidya owed for the original exemption).
- A. Makarem Shirazi · ISSUE 606–607 Pregnancy fasting. Fidya only when fast harms fetus / baby
For A. Makarem Shirazi, a pregnant or breastfeeding woman who breaks the fast owes fidya only when the harm is to the fetus or baby. If the harm is to herself only, no fidya is owed (she still owes qadāʾ).