Ilmwell explains and attributes; we do not issue fatwas. This calculator is not a fatwa and not financial advice: it does arithmetic on the figures you enter. For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
This kaffarah calculator and fidyah calculator multiplies your days or people by the cost of one person's food. You enter your own amount, or a wheat price that it applies to each school's measure: al-Hidayah (Hanafi), al-Kafi (Maliki), Fath al-Qarib (Shafi'i) and Kashshaf al-Qina' (Hanbali). It does not say whether anything applies to you, and nothing leaves your device.
What is fidyah in Islam?
Fidyah, also spelt fidya, means a ransom. In Al-Baqarah 2:184 it is the feeding of a poor person, and the same verse gives the sick person and the traveller a number of other days to make up 5.
أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَٰتٍ ۚ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُۥ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ ۖ فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُۥ ۚ وَأَن تَصُومُوا۟ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
The verse says yutiqunahu, a verb the English above renders "can afford it". The two reports below give different accounts of it. Salamah ibn al-Akwa', may Allah be pleased with him, speaks of a choice that was later abrogated. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, who read the verb in another form, yutawwaqunahu, says the verse is not abrogated.
- Salamah said that when this part of the verse came down, whoever wished could break the fast and give the ransom. That lasted until the verse after it came down and abrogated it (Sahih al-Bukhari 4507, graded sahih) 4.
- Ibn Abbas read the verse with yutawwaqunahu and said it is not abrogated. It is for the very old man and the very old woman who cannot fast, and they feed a poor person in place of each day (Sahih al-Bukhari 4505, graded sahih) 3.
In al-Hidayah 1/124, al-Marghinani (Hanafi) names this verse as the basis for the very old man's feeding and notes a view that its wording means "they cannot bear it". He adds that if the man becomes able to fast, the ruling of fidyah lapses 7.
Who does fidyah apply to, according to the four schools?
Each work below speaks to two cases. This calculator does not decide whether either is yours: that is for a scholar you trust.
| School and work | Very old, or ill with no hope of recovery, and unable to fast | Pregnant or nursing |
|---|---|---|
| Hanafi al-Hidayah 1/124 | The passage speaks of the very old man who cannot fast: he breaks the fast and feeds a poor person for each day 7. | If she fears for herself or her children she breaks the fast and makes it up, with no kaffarah and no fidyah 7. |
| Maliki al-Kafi 1/340 | One unable to fast through old age breaks the fast and feeds a mudd of wheat for each day. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr writes that this is recommended with Malik and obligatory with others. The passage speaks of old age 8. | The pregnant woman is like the sick: she makes it up, and feeding as well would be better. A nursing mother who fears for her child makes it up and feeds a mudd for each day 9. |
| Shafi'i Fath al-Qarib pp. 140 to 141 | The very old man or woman, or the sick person with no hope of recovery, who cannot fast breaks the fast and feeds a mudd for each day 10. | If they fear for themselves they make it up. If they fear for the child they make it up and the work adds the kaffarah, which it gives as a mudd for each day 11. |
| Hanbali Kashshaf al-Qina' 5/221 and 5/231 | One who cannot fast through old age or an illness with no hope of cure may break the fast and feeds a poor person for each day 12. | If they fear for themselves they make it up, with no feeding. If they fear only for their children they feed a poor person for each day with the make-up 13. |
These are two of the cases the works discuss. Making a fast up late, fasting for someone who has died and other cases are not covered here: ask a scholar you trust.
How much is fidyah per day?
The works give a measure of food for one person for one day, not a sum of money. The calculator turns the measure into pounds with the wheat price you enter. If you already know the amount per day that you give, use "My own amount".
| School | Measure in the work | Kilograms, and from whom |
|---|---|---|
| Hanafi | Al-Marghinani points the old man's feeding to the kaffarat (al-Hidayah 1/124) 7. The measure he gives there, for the zihar kaffarah, is half a sa' of wheat, or a sa' of dates or barley (2/268) 15. Darul Ifta Birmingham, fatwa 08761, gives the Hanafi fidyah as half a sa' of wheat or its money value 24. | 1.592 kg: Darul Ifta Birmingham's 3.184 kg for a sa' (11 February 2026), halved by us. A general figure: a sa' weighs differently for different foods 24 |
| Maliki | A mudd of wheat if wheat is his staple, and otherwise of his staple. The work specifies the mudd of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (al-Kafi 1/340) 8. | 0.51 kg or 0.75 kg: the two IslamWeb estimates (21 June 2017), general figures for a mudd that differ by food 25 |
| Shafi'i | A mudd, "a ritl and a third by the Baghdadi (ritl)" (Fath al-Qarib p. 140) 10. | 0.51 kg or 0.75 kg: the IslamWeb estimates, as above 25 |
| Hanbali | A mudd of wheat, or half a sa' of dates, raisins, barley or aqit (Kashshaf al-Qina' 5/221) 12. | 0.51 kg or 0.75 kg for wheat: the IslamWeb estimates, as above 25 |
Each work gives a volume of grain. The kilograms come from two modern sources, and they differ. Darul Ifta Birmingham, fatwa 08761 (11 February 2026), says one sa' is about 3.184 kg 24. IslamWeb fatwa 348526 (21 June 2017) reports that the jurists agreed a sa' is four mudds. A group of contemporary scholars estimate the sa' at about 3 kg (a mudd of 750 g), and others, including Ibn 'Uthaymin, put it at 2,040 g (a mudd of 510 g). It adds that a sa' weighs differently for different foods 25. We do not say which estimate is right, so you choose a mudd weight.
For fidyah, the sum is days times kilograms times price. Darul Ifta Birmingham says the value is taken at the local market price where the person lives when paying 24.
An illustration only. At a made-up wheat price of £1.00 a kilogram, 10 days at the Hanafi measure is 10 × 1.592 × £1.00 = £15.92. At a mudd of 510 g it is 10 × 0.51 × £1.00 = £5.10, and at 750 g it is £7.50. The price is invented, and the result is not an assessment of what anyone gives.
What is kaffarah in Islam, and what does the word mean?
Kaffarah, also spelt kaffara, is the word the sources themselves use, so its meaning here is how they use it. Al-Ma'idah 5:89 calls the feeding, clothing, freeing or fast after a broken oath a kaffarah 6, and the works below use the word for breaking a Ramadan fast. The hadith about that fast does not use it. The works do not always keep it apart from fidyah: al-Marghinani says a nursing woman has "no kaffarah" and "no fidyah", while al-Ghazzi calls the feeding for her child's sake a kaffarah 7 11.
What is the kaffarah for breaking a fast in Ramadan?
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that a man came to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and said he was ruined. In Sahih Muslim 1111 (graded sahih) he says he had had intercourse with his wife in Ramadan 2. In Sahih al-Bukhari 1936 (graded sahih) he says it was while he was fasting 1.
The Prophet asked in turn whether he could find a slave to free, whether he could fast two consecutive months and whether he could feed sixty poor people. The man answered no each time. A basket of dates was then brought, and the man was told to give it in charity. He said no household in Madinah was poorer than his, and the Prophet laughed and told him to feed it to his family. The report lists the three options in that order. It does not use the word kaffarah, give an amount of food per person, or say what applies to eating or drinking.
| School and work | Which acts | The three options | Feeding for each person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanafi al-Hidayah 1/122, 2/266 and 2/268 | Deliberate intercourse, and deliberate eating or drinking of what nourishes or is taken as medicine 14. | In order: free a slave, then fast two consecutive months, then feed sixty poor people 14. | Half a sa' of wheat, or a sa' of dates or barley, or the value 15. |
| Maliki al-Kafi 1/341 to 342 | As to the kaffarah, no difference between deliberately eating, drinking or having intercourse 17. | A choice: whichever of the three he does suffices. Malik preferred feeding 16 17. | Sixty mudds for sixty poor people 16. |
| Shafi'i Fath al-Qarib pp. 139 to 140 | The passage speaks of deliberate intercourse in a Ramadan day 18. | In order: a believing slave, then two consecutive months, then sixty poor people 18. | A mudd each, of what suffices in sadaqat al-fitr 18. |
| Hanbali Kashshaf al-Qina' 5/268, 5/277 to 278 | Intercourse in a Ramadan day. The work says the kaffarah does not follow eating or drinking 19. | In order: free a slave, then two consecutive months, then feed sixty poor people 19. | A mudd of wheat each, or half a sa' of another grain 19. |
How much is the kaffarah for breaking a fast?
No one sum comes from the sources. They give sixty people, and each work gives a measure of food for each. Freeing a slave and fasting two months cannot be priced here, so the calculator costs the feeding only: sixty people times your amount for one person, or times the school's measure at your wheat price.
An illustration only. At a made-up wheat price of £1.00 a kilogram, one kaffarah at the Hanafi measure is 60 × 1.592 × £1.00 = £95.52. At a 510 g mudd it is 60 × 0.51 × £1.00 = £30.60. The price is invented.
What is the kaffarah for breaking an oath?
لَا يُؤَاخِذُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِٱللَّغْوِ فِىٓ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن يُؤَاخِذُكُم بِمَا عَقَّدتُّمُ ٱلْأَيْمَـٰنَ ۖ فَكَفَّـٰرَتُهُۥٓ إِطْعَامُ عَشَرَةِ مَسَـٰكِينَ مِنْ أَوْسَطِ مَا تُطْعِمُونَ أَهْلِيكُمْ أَوْ كِسْوَتُهُمْ أَوْ تَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ ۖ فَمَن لَّمْ يَجِدْ فَصِيَامُ ثَلَـٰثَةِ أَيَّامٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ كَفَّـٰرَةُ أَيْمَـٰنِكُمْ إِذَا حَلَفْتُمْ ۚ وَٱحْفَظُوٓا۟ أَيْمَـٰنَكُمْ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
The verse names the feeding of ten poor people, clothing them, freeing a slave, and a three-day fast for one who finds none 6. It measures the feeding only as "the average" of what you feed your own folk, and gives no weight. The works add a measure where the pages read state one.
| School and work | The options | Feeding for each of the ten | If none is found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanafi al-Hidayah 2/319 to 320 | Free a slave, clothe ten, or feed ten, as in the zihar feeding. The person chooses 20. | The zihar measure the passage refers to: half a sa' of wheat, or a sa' of dates or barley, or the value 15. | Three consecutive days 20. |
| Maliki al-Kafi 1/453 | Free a slave, feed ten or clothe ten. The person has the choice 21. | A mudd each, from the best (ajwad) of what he and his family eat, as an average fill. The verse says "the average"; "best" is the work's own wording 21. | Three consecutive days 21. |
| Shafi'i Fath al-Qarib pp. 320 to 321 | Free a believing slave, feed ten or clothe ten 22. | A mudd each, of grain from the usual staple of the country 22. | Three days, which in the more correct view need not be consecutive 22. |
| Hanbali Kashshaf al-Qina' 14/410 | Feed ten poor Muslims, clothe them or free a believing slave. The person chooses 23. | The page we read (14/410) gives no measure, so the calculator offers none for this case 23 | Three days 23. |
For each oath you enter, the calculator costs the feeding of ten people. Which oaths this covers is not something it asks or answers: for that, ask a scholar you trust.
An illustration only. At a made-up wheat price of £1.00 a kilogram, feeding ten at the Hanafi measure is 10 × 1.592 × £1.00 = £15.92, and at a 510 g mudd it is 10 × 0.51 × £1.00 = £5.10.
What does the calculator leave out?
It costs food only. It does not cover making a fast up late, fasting for someone who has died, the zihar kaffarah, kaffarahs in Hajj, clothing or freeing a slave, or where to give the food. It does not say whether any case applies to you. For each of these, ask a scholar you trust.
The first Ramadan I could not fast every day was when I was ill for a week in my early twenties. I lay on the sofa worrying about the days I was missing and asked my mum what I had to do about them. She told me to ask the imam rather than guess, so I did.
Questions people ask
Does this calculator decide whether fidyah or kaffarah applies to me?
No. It multiplies a number you enter (days, or kaffarahs) by a cost you enter, or by a school's measure of wheat at a price you enter. Whether either applies to you is a question for a scholar you trust, and the calculator never asks it.
Why do the schools give different amounts?
Al-Hidayah (Hanafi) gives half a sa' of wheat for each person. Al-Kafi (Maliki), Fath al-Qarib (Shafi'i) and Kashshaf al-Qina' (Hanbali) give a mudd of wheat. The works give volumes of grain, so the weight in kilograms depends on the modern source you choose, and those sources differ.
Can I pay the value of the food instead of the food?
In al-Hidayah (Hanafi) 2/268, the value of the food may be given for the feeding in a zihar kaffarah, and the Ramadan kaffarah follows that feeding in the work. Darul Ifta Birmingham fatwa 08761 gives the Hanafi fidyah as half a sa' of wheat or its money value, taken at the local market price when paying. For the other three works this page has not read a statement on value for fidyah. Ask a scholar you trust which applies to you.
Is anything I type stored or sent?
No. The sums are worked out on your device and nothing is sent. The page can keep your choice of school and mudd weight in this browser so it is there next time. It never keeps your numbers.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Hadith gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves, and we report school positions without choosing between them.
- 1
Abu Hurayrah reports that a man told the Prophet he was ruined because he had had intercourse with his wife while fasting; the Prophet asked, one after the other, whether he could free a slave, fast two consecutive months or feed sixty poor people, he answered no to each, and a basket of dates was brought and he was told to give it in charity and then to feed his family with it.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1936 Book 30, Hadith 43
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 2
Abu Hurayrah reports that a man told the Prophet he was ruined because he had had intercourse with his wife in Ramadan; the Prophet asked whether he could find a slave to free, fast two consecutive months or feed sixty poor people, he answered no to each, and when a basket of dates came he was told to give it in charity and then to take it and feed his family.
Sahih Muslim 1111 Book 13, Hadith 101
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 3
'Ata reports that he heard Ibn Abbas read the end of Al-Baqarah 2:184 and say that it is not abrogated: it is the very old man and the very old woman who cannot fast, so they feed a poor person in place of each day.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4505 Book 65, Hadith 32
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 4
Salamah ibn al-Akwa' says that when 'wa 'ala alladhina yutiqunahu fidyatun ta'amu miskin' (Al-Baqarah 2:184) came down, whoever wished broke the fast and gave the ransom, until the verse after it came down and abrogated it.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4507 Book 65, Hadith 34
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 5
Al-Baqarah 2:184: a number of days; the sick and the traveller make up other days; for those who yutiqunahu, a ransom, the feeding of a poor person.
Al-Baqarah 2:184, Tanzil text and adapted Pickthall Record: quran-2-184.
- 6
Al-Ma'idah 5:89: the kaffarah for a broken oath is feeding ten poor people, clothing them or freeing a slave, and for one who finds none a three-day fast.
Al-Ma'idah 5:89, Tanzil text and adapted Pickthall Record: quran-5-89.
- 7
Al-Marghinani, in al-Hidayah (Hanafi), says a very old man who cannot fast breaks the fast and feeds a poor person for each day, as is fed in the kaffarat, and that a pregnant or nursing woman who fears for herself or her child breaks the fast and makes it up, with neither kaffarah nor fidyah.
al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah 1/124 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-fidyah-hanafi-hidayah.
- 8
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, in al-Kafi (Maliki), says a person who cannot fast because of old age breaks the fast and feeds a mudd of wheat for each day, and that this is recommended according to Malik and obligatory according to others.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi 1/340 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-fidyah-maliki-kafi.
- 9
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, in al-Kafi (Maliki), says a pregnant woman is like the sick (she breaks the fast and makes it up, and feeding as well would be better), and a nursing mother who fears for her child breaks the fast, makes it up and feeds a mudd for each day.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi 1/340 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-fidyah-maliki-kafi-nursing.
- 10
Al-Ghazzi, in Fath al-Qarib (Shafi'i), says an old man or woman, or a sick person with no hope of recovery, who cannot fast breaks the fast and feeds a mudd for each day, and defines the mudd as a ritl and a third by the Baghdadi ritl.
al-Ghazzi, Fath al-Qarib pp. 140 to 141 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-fidyah-shafii-fath-al-qarib.
- 11
Al-Ghazzi, in Fath al-Qarib (Shafi'i), says a pregnant or nursing woman who fears for herself breaks the fast and makes it up, and if she fears for her child she breaks the fast, makes it up and gives a mudd for each day.
al-Ghazzi, Fath al-Qarib p. 141 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-fidyah-shafii-fath-al-qarib-nursing.
- 12
Al-Buhuti, in Kashshaf al-Qina' (Hanbali), says a person unable to fast through old age or an illness with no hope of recovery breaks the fast and feeds a poor person for each day what suffices in a kaffarah: a mudd of wheat, or half a sa' of dates, raisins, barley or aqit.
al-Buhuti, Kashshaf al-Qina' 5/221 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-fidyah-hanbali-kashshaf.
- 13
Al-Buhuti, in Kashshaf al-Qina' (Hanbali), says a pregnant or nursing woman who fears harm to herself breaks the fast and makes it up without feeding, and one who fears only for her children makes it up and feeds a poor person for each day.
al-Buhuti, Kashshaf al-Qina' 5/231 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-fidyah-hanbali-kashshaf-nursing.
- 14
Al-Marghinani, in al-Hidayah (Hanafi), makes the Ramadan kaffarah that of zihar, in the order of freeing a slave, then fasting two consecutive months, then feeding sixty poor people, and applies it to deliberate eating or drinking of what nourishes or heals as well as to deliberate intercourse.
al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah 1/122 and 2/266 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-kaffarah-hanafi-hidayah-ramadan.
- 15
Al-Marghinani, in al-Hidayah (Hanafi), says the feeding in the zihar kaffarah gives each poor person half a sa' of wheat, or a sa' of dates or barley, or the value of these.
al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah 2/268 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-kaffarah-hanafi-hidayah-measure.
- 16
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, in al-Kafi (Maliki), says the kaffarah for deliberately breaking a Ramadan fast is freeing a slave, fasting two consecutive months or feeding sixty poor people, whichever of the three the person does, and that the feeding is sixty mudds for sixty poor people.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi 1/341 to 342 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-kaffarah-maliki-kafi.
- 17
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, in al-Kafi (Maliki), says Malik and his companions make no difference between deliberately eating, drinking or having intercourse in Ramadan as to the kaffarah, and that Malik preferred feeding.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi 1/342 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-kaffarah-maliki-kafi-acts.
- 18
Al-Ghazzi, in Fath al-Qarib (Shafi'i), says the make-up and the kaffarah are owed by one who has intercourse deliberately in Ramadan: freeing a believing slave, then fasting two consecutive months, then feeding sixty poor people a mudd each of what suffices in sadaqat al-fitr.
al-Ghazzi, Fath al-Qarib pp. 139 to 140 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-kaffarah-shafii-fath-al-qarib.
- 19
Al-Buhuti, in Kashshaf al-Qina' (Hanbali), says intercourse in a Ramadan day carries the make-up and the kaffarah, that the kaffarah does not follow eating or drinking, that it is in order (free a slave, then two consecutive months, then feed sixty poor people), and that each poor person gets a mudd of wheat or half a sa' of another grain.
al-Buhuti, Kashshaf al-Qina' 5/268 and 5/277 to 278 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-kaffarah-hanbali-kashshaf.
- 20
Al-Marghinani, in al-Hidayah (Hanafi), makes the kaffarah for a broken oath freeing a slave, clothing ten poor people, or feeding ten, as in the zihar feeding, and fasting three consecutive days for someone who can do none of the three.
al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah 2/319 to 320 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-kaffarah-hanafi-hidayah-oath.
- 21
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, in al-Kafi (Maliki), makes the kaffarah for a broken oath freeing a slave, feeding ten poor people a mudd each, or clothing ten, at the person's choice, and fasting three consecutive days if he finds none of these.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi 1/453 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-kaffarah-maliki-kafi-oath.
- 22
Al-Ghazzi, in Fath al-Qarib (Shafi'i), says the person who breaks an oath chooses between freeing a believing slave, feeding ten poor people a mudd each of grain from the staple of the area, or clothing them, and fasts three days if he finds none, which need not be consecutive in the more correct view.
al-Ghazzi, Fath al-Qarib pp. 320 to 321 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-kaffarah-shafii-fath-al-qarib-oath.
- 23
Al-Buhuti, in Kashshaf al-Qina' (Hanbali), makes the kaffarah for a broken oath a choice of feeding ten poor Muslims, clothing them or freeing a believing slave, with fasting three days for one who finds none.
al-Buhuti, Kashshaf al-Qina' 14/410 Read on shamela.ws on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-kaffarah-hanbali-kashshaf-oath.
- 24
Darul Ifta Birmingham, fatwa ID 08761 (answered by Mufti Sheik Abdel Ahaad Imrit, checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah, posted 11 February 2026), says fidyah is half a sa' of wheat, a full sa' of barley or their flour, a full sa' of dates, or the money value of any of these, valued at the local market price where the person lives when paying, and that one sa' is approximately 3.184 kilograms.
Darul Ifta Birmingham, fatwa ID 08761, 11 February 2026 Read on the publisher's own site on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-darul-ifta-birmingham-08761-fidyah.
- 25
IslamWeb fatwa 348526, 'Mudd, Saa' and Qullah in modern measurements' (21 June 2017), says scholars agreed a sa' is four mudds, that a group of contemporary scholars (the Permanent Committee for Iftaa and 'Abdullah al-Bassam) estimate the sa' at about 3 kg, so the mudd at about 750 g, and that some scholars, including Ibn 'Uthaymin, put the sa' at 2,040 g, so the mudd at 510 g; it adds that the sa' differs in weight by the type of food.
IslamWeb, fatwa 348526, 21 June 2017 Read on the publisher's own site on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-islamweb-348526-mudd-saa.