Calculate the Kaffarah (expiation) you owe for breaking a sworn oath (Kaffarat al-Yameen) or deliberately breaking a Ramadan fast without a valid excuse (Kaffarat Ifsad al-Sawm), for the common, mainstream simplified cases.
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Kaffarah (Islamic expiation) is a fixed, prescribed act of worship owed for two very different situations that this calculator handles separately. The first is Kaffarat al-Yameen, the expiation for breaking a deliberate oath sworn by Allah's name, based on Qur'an 5:89: feeding 10 poor persons, clothing 10 poor persons, or freeing a slave, and only if a person is genuinely unable to do any of these, fasting 3 days instead. The second, far heavier, is Kaffarat Ifsad al-Sawm, owed by someone who deliberately breaks a Ramadan fast during daylight hours without any Shari'a excuse — drawn from the well-known hadith of a man who came to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ confessing this, recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, where he was instructed to free a slave, then fast 60 consecutive days, then feed 60 poor persons, in that order of ability. This calculator focuses on the mainstream, practically applicable options — fasting and feeding — since freeing a slave no longer applies in practice, and gives a simplified estimate of the people to feed, the days to fast, or the total cost involved.
Kaffarah, often translated as expiation or atonement, is one of the few areas of Islamic worship with a fixed, numerically defined remedy rather than an open-ended act of repentance. Two situations trigger it most often in everyday life, and this Kaffarah calculator is built to handle both: breaking a sworn oath (Kaffarat al-Yameen), and deliberately breaking a Ramadan fast without any valid excuse (Kaffarat Ifsad al-Sawm).
Kaffarat al-Yameen applies whenever someone swears a serious oath by Allah's name — "I swear by Allah I will do X" — and later breaks that promise. Qur'an 5:89 lays out the remedy with unusual clarity: feed 10 poor persons, clothe 10 poor persons, or free a slave, treating all three as equally valid and interchangeable choices. Only when a person genuinely cannot afford or manage any of these three does the ayah permit the lighter alternative of fasting three days instead. This structure matters for a Kaffarat al-Yameen calculator, because it means the fasting option is not simply "whichever is easiest" — it is specifically a fallback for financial hardship.
Kaffarat Ifsad al-Sawm sits in an entirely different category of severity, because it is not about a promise but about intentionally violating one of the five pillars of Islam without excuse. The foundational hadith, recorded by both Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim, describes a man who broke his Ramadan fast during the day and came to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in distress. He was told, in strict sequence, to free a slave; if unable, to fast 60 consecutive days; and if still unable, to feed 60 poor persons. Because the sequence was tied to the man's actual financial and physical ability at the time, contemporary scholars differ on whether today's Muslim — for whom freeing a slave is no longer a live option — must still fast 60 days before feeding is permitted, or may choose freely between the two remaining options. This calculator presents both as valid, common paths so a person can see the real-world numbers for either choice.
A critical distinction worth repeating: this severe Kaffarah is owed only for a fast broken deliberately, with no Shari'a excuse — not for illness, travel, menstruation, pregnancy, or any of the recognized exemptions, which require only Qada (making up the day later) with no expiation at all. Confusing the two leads people to either underestimate a serious obligation or needlessly worry over an ordinary, excused missed day. Whichever expiation applies to your situation, converting the ruling into a concrete number of people to feed, days to fast, or total estimated cost makes it far easier to actually fulfill — and, as with any specific or unusual case, a qualified local scholar remains the right person to consult.
Kaffarat al-Yameen is the expiation owed when a Muslim swears an oath by Allah and then breaks it. Per Qur'an 5:89, it is feeding 10 poor persons, clothing 10 poor persons, or freeing a slave — and only if none of these is possible, fasting 3 days instead.
Deliberately breaking a Ramadan fast without any valid Shari'a excuse (Kaffarat Ifsad al-Sawm) requires, per the hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, freeing a slave, or fasting 60 consecutive days, or feeding 60 poor persons, in addition to making up the day itself (Qada).
Yes. For a broken oath, feeding 10 poor persons, clothing 10 poor persons, and freeing a slave are interchangeable options you may choose between freely. Fasting 3 days is only permitted if you are genuinely unable to do any of the other three.
Yes, according to the mainstream position — the 60 days for Kaffarat Ifsad al-Sawm must be fasted consecutively without a break. If the streak is interrupted without a valid excuse, most scholars hold that the 60 days must restart from the beginning.
No. This severe expiation applies only to intentionally breaking the fast without any Shari'a excuse. Breaking a fast for illness, travel, menstruation, or similar valid reasons only requires Qada (making up the day later), with no Kaffarah owed.