What Is the Expiation for Sexual Intercourse During Ramadan?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

During the early years of our marriage, there were a couple of days when my husband and I had intercourse on the days of Ramadan during the day. We were unaware whether our fasts were broken during foreplay, but we used to complete with intercourse. We were so naive and gullible at the time.

There were other Ramadan’s where we fell into temptation and had intercourse. At one point, we felt guilty and paid a kaffara to feed 60 poor people.

Both my husband and I feel so guilty for what we did and want to repent fully. The question is, how can we repent and pay or do the 60 days fast kaffara? What will be the best way insha’Allah?

Also, for each Ramadan that we ruined with intercourse, will we have to do one kaffara each and make up the qadha fasts?

My husband thinks he won’t be able to do the 60 consecutive fasts and is asking whether it’s sufficient to follow the Maliki school in paying the kaffara for each fast broken.

Any guidance or help is greatly appreciated as both my husband and I truly want to repent and expiate for this insha’Allah.

Answer

According to the Hanafi school, the easiest solution is to perform one kaffara-60 days of fasting. This will take care of all of the incidents. If your husband is not able to, due to physical illness, then he can feed people. Otherwise, if he just feels like he will struggle to maintain the limits of the fast, then he should do it in the winter. The days are much shorter, thus making the fasts a lot easier. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al Falah]

You can, however, choose to follow the Maliki school for the kaffara. They consider feeding people to the best of the forms of kaffara due to the wide benefit that comes from it. [al-Mawsu’a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya]

Choose What Will Help You Stop

It seems like the best option for you would be the 60 fasts in winter. The purpose of the kaffara is to teach one a lesson, and if you can easily pay to feel that many people for every occasion, then it won’t have that effect. Fasting will drive the point home, insha Allah, and prevent it from happening. In any case, it’s in your hands.

Be sure to repent to Allah, express your human weakness, and to ask Allah to strengthen you to be able to worship into the best of your capacity.

In any case, Allah loves it when a servant repents and turns back to Him, and He loves those who repeatedly repent. [Quran, 2:222] May Allah make us of them. Amin.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.