What is the ruling on masturbation (committing the act of self-pleasure) in the month of Ramadan during the fasting period intentionally, and what is its expiation? Is a Muslim not permitted to fast the coming Ramadan without making up for what is due in expiations and missed fasts?

Masturbation invalidates the fast if semen is ejaculated, without any difference of opinion among scholars. The esteemed scholar Al-Uthaymeen excelled in providing evidence for this issue from two perspectives: 1. Textual evidence: Masturbation is a desire, and the ejaculation of semen is a desire. A fasting person abandons their desires for the sake of Allah. 2. Analogy: By analogy with vomiting and cupping, which weaken the body, the ejaculation of semen likewise weakens the body. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah also based his reasoning on the fulfillment of desire and the weakening of the body. The scholars of the Permanent Committee for Issuing Fatwas have confirmed that masturbation is forbidden, and whoever performs it during the day in Ramadan while fasting must repent and make up that day’s fast without expiation.

As for the advent of Ramadan, whoever witnesses it and is not excused must fast. If one owes make-up fasts from a previous Ramadan, delaying them until the next Ramadan without a valid excuse is sinful, and one is obligated to pay fidyah (feeding a poor person for each day). However, one does not sin by delaying expiations (kaffarat) until the next Ramadan, as many scholars hold that they are a debt due at leisure, but one should hasten to fulfill them to clear one's conscience.