Fasting: Unable to Make Up a Decade of Missed Fasts — Is Tawbah Enough?

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Fasting: Unable to Make Up a Decade of Missed Fasts — Is Tawbah Enough?

English:

Question #807:

A person did not perform prayers or fast for about 10 years due to ignorance. Now he has repented, turning to Allah, the Exalted, and has decided to compensate for his past. But he cannot perform the qaḍā’ of all the days he did not fast, nor has he the means to pay for the kaffārah. Is it enough for him to ask for forgiveness alone?

Answer #807:

He is not relieved from the duty of performing the qaḍā’ of the missed fasts by any means. As to the kaffārah for each day that he did not fast, if he is not able to fast for 60 days nor to feed 60 needy persons, he must give food as much as he can to the poor and it is caution to ask Allah for forgiveness as well. If he cannot give food to the poor at all, it suffices to ask Allah for forgiveness, i.e. to say by his tongue and heart “astaghfirullāh (I ask Allah for forgiveness)”.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Fasting