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What is the expiation for breaking the fast of the entire month of Ramadan without a valid excuse?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Fasting Ramadan is a great pillar of Islam, and breaking the fast for one day without a valid excuse is a major sin. Abandoning the fast completely is an even greater sin. Whoever abandons prayer and fasting, their evil is greater than that of an adulterer or an alcoholic, and their Islam is questionable.

Whoever broke their fast must repent, feel remorse, and resolve not to break the fast again in the future without a valid excuse. They must also make up the days they missed.

If the breaking of the fast was due to intercourse: an expiation (kaffarah) is required for each day (freeing a slave, if unable then fasting two consecutive months, if unable then feeding sixty poor people), in addition to making up the day.

If the breaking of the fast was due to eating, drinking, or similar acts: repentance, seeking forgiveness, and making up that day only are required, and no expiation is necessary. If one delays making up the fast until after the next Ramadan, then a kaffarah for the delay becomes obligatory.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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