Calculate the Fidyah amount due for Ramadan fasting days you are permanently unable to fast because of old age or chronic illness, from a fixed daily rate or the weight and price of a staple food.
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Fidyah is the prescribed substitute for fasting owed by a Muslim who is permanently or very long-term unable to fast Ramadan — chiefly the frail elderly and those with a chronic or terminal illness that fasting would genuinely worsen, as confirmed by a qualified doctor. Its basis is Qur'an 2:184, which mentions feeding a poor person as a ransom for those who find fasting a severe hardship. Unlike Qada (fasting the missed days later once able), Fidyah does not require ever fasting those days at all, because the person's inability is not expected to end. The classical measure is one Mudd or roughly 1.5 kilograms of a staple food such as rice, wheat, dates, or barley per missed day, though many contemporary Zakat authorities publish an official fixed cash equivalent each year, which this calculator can also use directly.
Every Ramadan, a specific group of Muslims faces a genuine dilemma: they cannot safely fast, and there is no reasonable expectation that this will ever change. Islamic law addresses this directly through Fidyah, a fixed substitute for fasting rooted in Qur'an 2:184, which speaks of feeding a poor person as a ransom for those who find fasting an overwhelming hardship. This Fidyah calculator is built specifically for that situation — permanent or open-ended inability to fast — and converts it into a clear number.
The group Fidyah applies to is narrower than many assume. It is not for anyone who simply finds fasting difficult, but specifically for the frail elderly whose age makes fasting a genuine health risk, and for people with a chronic or terminal illness where a qualified doctor confirms that fasting would cause real medical harm with no realistic prospect of the condition improving enough to allow fasting later. This is the essential dividing line between Fidyah and its far more commonly discussed counterpart, Qada: Qada is for temporary inability — an illness that will pass, travel, menstruation, pregnancy, or breastfeeding — where the missed day is simply fasted later once the person is able again. Fidyah, by contrast, is the appropriate substitute only when that "later" is not realistically expected to arrive.
The amount itself follows the same logic behind Zakat al-Fitr: feeding one poor person for each day missed. The classical measure most commonly cited is roughly a Mudd and a half, or about 1.5 kilograms of a staple food like rice, wheat, dates, or barley, per missed day — though scholars and local Zakat authorities vary somewhat in the exact weight and in whether they price it against one or two daily meals. Because staple food prices differ enormously between countries and even between cities, many Zakat authorities now publish an official fixed cash-equivalent figure each Ramadan specifically so people do not have to estimate it themselves, which is why this calculator offers both a fixed-amount option and a weight-and-price option side by side.
One detail that trips up many people is that Fidyah is not automatically permanent even for someone paying it this year. If a chronic condition improves, or if what looked like a permanent inability turns out to be temporary, the classification shifts back to Qada going forward — meaning any further days would need to be fasted rather than paid for, once fasting genuinely becomes safe again. Because this determination depends on a real medical judgment rather than a fixed calendar rule, anyone uncertain about which category applies to their specific health situation is strongly encouraged to discuss it with both their doctor and a knowledgeable local scholar before settling on Fidyah as the permanent answer.
Fidyah is due from those permanently unable to fast for a reason unlikely to change — chiefly the frail elderly and people with a chronic or terminal illness where fasting poses real medical harm. It replaces fasting rather than deferring it.
The classical measure is feeding one poor person, commonly estimated at about 1.5 kilograms of a staple food per day, or its cash equivalent. Many local Zakat authorities publish an official fixed daily amount, which this calculator can also use.
No. Qada is fasting the missed day later once you are able to, for temporary conditions like illness or travel. Fidyah is feeding the poor instead of fasting, for those who cannot reasonably expect to ever be able to fast that day.
Yes. Most contemporary scholars and Zakat authorities accept paying the cash equivalent of the staple food amount, which is generally more practical for both the payer and the recipient.
If your condition improves and fasting becomes possible again, the ruling for you shifts from Fidyah to Qada going forward, and you would then make up any remaining days by fasting instead of paying Fidyah for them.