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What is the ruling concerning a woman who killed by mistake and broke her fast for two months due to old age, after she was wrongly advised to feed sixty poor people?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The expiation for accidental killing is the freeing of a slave. If one cannot find a slave to free, then it is fasting for two consecutive months. There is no feeding of the poor involved, according to the preponderant opinion, based on the words of Allah Almighty: "And it is not for a believer to kill a believer except by mistake. And whoever kills a believer by mistake - then the freeing of a believing slave and a compensation delivered to his family [is due] unless they remit it as charity." (An-Nisa/92) until His saying, the Exalted: "And whoever does not find [one or cannot afford] - then a succession of two months of fasting as repentance to Allah. And Allah is ever Knowing and Wise." (An-Nisa/92). If one is unable to free a slave or fast, the expiation is waived.

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

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