Definition of Fidyah – For Muslims, carrying out the fasting of Ramadan, the law is obligatory. Therefore, someone who leaves it must pay the fast. In paying the fast, it can be done by replacing the fast after the end of Ramadan fasting or you can also pay fidyah. Then, what is meant by fidyah?
Definition of Fidya
As Muslims must know about the pillars of Islam. The pillars of Islam are the five basic actions in Islam which are the conditions for becoming a perfect Muslim. These five actions are saying the two sentences of creed, performing prayers, fasting, paying zakat, and performing Hajj for those who can afford it. All of these pillars are mentioned in the hadith of Gabriel.
Whereas in the Hadith Gabriel is a hadith that contains definitions of Islam, Faith, Ihsan, and the signs of the Day of Judgment according to the Islamic creed. This hadith was narrated from the companions of Umar bin Al-Khaththab and Abu Hurairah. This hadith can be found in both Shahihain’s books, Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, as well as the 2nd Arbain Nawawi hadith.
Fasting that is obligatory for Muslims is fasting in the month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Islamic month. A Muslim must intend to fast before dawn (dawn) light. Then refrain from eating, drinking and jima’ (going to the wife) until the sun sets and then breaking the fast. All of these things are done by Muslims during the month of Ramadan.
Therefore he wants to please Allah ta’ala and worship Him. There are countless benefits in fasting. Among the most important, such is the worship of Allah and carrying out His commands. A servant leaves his lust, eats and drinks for the sake of Allah. That is among the greatest means of attaining piety to Allah ta’ala.
The benefits of fasting from a health, economic and social point of view are numerous. No one can know except those who fast on the encouragement of aqidah and faith. As contained in the Hadith History of Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Ibn Khuzaimah, Ibn Hibban).
Hadiths and Verses about Fasting whose Responses Come Directly from Allah SWT
Carrying out fasting in the month of Ramadan is mandatory for every Muslim who is mature, intelligent, and able to carry it out. However, there are times when a condition makes a person unable to fast so that they have to make up the fast (qadha) or pay fidyah.
Fidyah can be done directly on the day someone is not fasting, but it can also be done in a rappelling until the end of Ramadan so that you pay it all together. The main requirement is that you don’t fast before you can pay fidyah. For example, if someone is almost certain not to be able to fast during Ramadan, his fidyah cannot be paid before Ramadan of the same year.
In the Al-Quran surah Al-Baqarah verse 184, it is explained that it is permissible for anyone not to fast. Among them are sick, giving birth and breastfeeding, as well as the elderly. The following is Surah Al Baqarah verse 184 namely:
In language, fidyah means to redeem or replace. Meanwhile, according to the Shari’a, fidyah means a fine that is obligatory for a Muslim to pay when they do things that are prohibited or leave things that are obligatory.
One of the most common fidyah payments is to redeem the fast of Ramadan. The fasting fidyah is worth 1 mud and must be paid by those who cannot pay by fasting or have run out of time to pay the fast. Fasting is obligatory and there is a special door in heaven, as in the hadith narrated by Bukhari, Muslim, At Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah).
Hadith about Fasting and a Special Door in Heaven
Criteria for People Who Are Obligated to Pay Fidyah
Fidyah must be made to replace fasting by paying according to the number of fasting days left for one person. Later, the food or rice is donated to the poor, widows, orphans and so on.
According to Imam Malik, Imam As-Syafi’i, the fidyah that must be paid is 1 mud of wheat (approximately 6 ounces = 675 grams = 0.75 kg or the size of the palm that is raised when praying).
Meanwhile, according to the Hanafiyah Ulama, the fidyah that must be issued is 2 mud or the equivalent of 1/2 sha’ of wheat. (If 1 sha’ equals 4 mud = about 3 kg, then 1/2 sha’ means about 1.5 kg). This second rule is usually used for people who pay fidyah in the form of rice.
The criteria for people who can pay fidyah include:
1. Parents (Elderly)
Old grandparents who are no longer able to fast are not subject to the demands of fasting. His obligation is replaced by paying the fidyah of one mud of food for each missed fasting day.
The limitation of being unable here is if being forced to fast causes fatigue (masyaqqah) which allows tayammum. People in this type of category are also not subject to demands to make up for missed fasts.
Elderly who are unable to fast are not required to fast. This obligation is replaced by paying 1 mud fidyah multiplied by the number of missed fasts.
2. Seriously Ill People
Seriously ill people who have no hope of recovery and are unable to fast, are not subject to the demands of the obligation to fast during Ramadan. Instead, he is obliged to pay fidyah.
In contrast to sick people who still have hope of recovery, they are not subject to fidyah obligations. He is allowed not to fast if he experiences fatigue with fasting, but is obliged to make up for his fast at a later date.
3. Pregnant or Breastfeeding Women
Pregnant women or women who are breastfeeding are allowed to leave fasting if they experience fatigue with fasting or are worried about the safety of the fetus they contain. At a later date, he is obliged to make up for the missed fast, either for fear of his own safety or that of his child.
Regarding fidyah obligations, they are detailed as follows:
- If you are worried about your own safety or that of your child or fetus, then there is no fidyah obligation.
- If you are only worried about the safety of the child or the fetus, then you must pay fidyah.
4. The Dead
In Syafi’i fiqh, dead people who leave fasting debts are divided into two, namely:
- People who are not obligated to make fidyah due to old age and do not have the opportunity to make up qadha. For example, a person whose illness continues until he dies.
- People who are obligated to be given a fidyah without any excuse or due to old age, but have the opportunity to make up the fast but don’t do it. Therefore, the heirs must issue a fidyah for the deceased in the amount of one mud of staple food for each missed fasting day.
Regarding the second point, the guardian or heir may choose between two options, namely paying fidyah or fasting for the deceased.
5. People who Delay or End Fasting Qadha
People who delay making up the fasts until the next Ramadan comes, then he is sinful and is obliged to pay fidyah one mud of staple food for each day of missed fast.
This fidyah is obligatory as a reward for late making up the fast of Ramadan. Fasting debt must be paid off before the next Ramadan arrives. If you postpone it until it is not paid when Ramadan comes, then it is obligatory to pay fidyah in the amount of one mud multiplied by the amount owed on the fast.
According to Al-Ashah, this fidyah applies multiples. For example, the fasting debt in 2020 has not been paid until we meet Ramadhan 2022, so the fidyah obligation is doubled to two mud.
According to Imam Malik, Imam As-Syafi’i, the fidyah that must be paid is 1 mud of wheat (approximately 6 ounces = 675 grams = 0.75 kg or the size of the palm that is raised when praying).
Meanwhile, according to the Hanafiyah Ulama, the fidyah that must be issued is 2 mud or the equivalent of 1/2 sha’ of wheat. (If 1 sha’ equals 4 mud = about 3 kg, then 1/2 sha’ means about 1.5 kg). This second rule is usually used for people who pay fidyah in the form of rice.
Law of Paying Fidyah
How to pay fidyah for pregnant women can be in the form of staple food. For example, if he does not fast for 30 days, he must provide fidyah of 30 measures, each of which is 1.5 kg. Fidyah may be paid to 30 poor people or just a few people (for example, 2 people, meaning each gets 15 measures).
According to the Hanafiyah, fidyah may be paid in the form of money according to the prevailing rate, such as 1.5 kilograms of staple food per day converted to rupiah. Based on the Decree of the Head of BAZNAS No. 10 of 2022 concerning Zakat Fitrah and Fidyah for the Capital City of DKI Jakarta Raya and its surroundings, it is stipulated that the value of fidyah in the form of money is Rp. 50.000,-/day/life.
The way to pay fidyah fasting with money according to the Hanafiyah version is to give a nominal amount of money equivalent to the price of dates or grapes weighing 3.25 kilograms per day of missed fasting, and the rest follows the multiples of the fast. Fidyah is paid by giving one mud of staples to the needy or poor. One mud is equivalent to 675 grams, so to calculate it is 675 grams of rice x the number of fasting days left.
How to pay fidyah can be paid with money. That means, you pay for 675 grams of rice to the poor. In its distribution, one mud of staples/money equal to the price of one mud may only be given to one person, but one poor person can receive more than one fidyah. Like zakat, paying fidyah also starts with intention. The intention of fidyah varies depending on the payment criteria and is recited when handing over rice/money to the poor or to a trust.
The amount of Fidyah that must be paid
If you are included in the group that is allowed to pay fidyah, then how much is the fidyah that must be paid? There are different opinions about the size of the fidyah that must be paid. Following are the differences in the amount of fidyah:
1. Pay One Mud
A hadith narrated by Daruquthni, “from Ali bin Abi Talib and from Ayyub bin Suwaid, stated that the Messenger of Allah SAW commanded a man who had intercourse with his wife one afternoon in the month of Ramadan to carry out expiation or a fine of fasting for two months. consecutive.
If he cannot afford it, he must pay a fine of 1 araq (basket) containing 15 sha’ dates.” If roughly calculated, the fine or fidyah carried out in the hadith, 1 Sha’ is equivalent to 4 mud.
In the hadith, the fined dates are 4 x 15 = 60 mud, to be given to 60 poor people. The same amount to replace fasting for two months (60 days). In today’s calculations, 1 mud is equivalent to 0.6 kg or ¾ liter.
So, the payment of one mud fidyah is equivalent to the price of basic food, if in Arabia they used dates, in Indonesia they used rice. If the price of rice is Rp. 11,000 per liter, so ¾ costs Rp. 8,250.
2. Pay Two Mud
Giving food to the poor costs Rp. 8,250 seems less feasible. Moreover, maybe our daily food is more than twenty thousand rupiahs. Therefore, there is the opinion of other scholars such as Abu Hanifah, of the opinion that ½ sha’ or 2 mud of wheat, is equivalent to half a sha’ of dates or flour which the Prophet recommended.
Given for lunch and dinner until one poor man is full. half sha’ weighs the equivalent of 1.5 kg of staple food.
3. Pay One Sha’
There is also an opinion from the Hanafiyah, who thinks that one sha’ is equivalent to 4 mud. Its size is equivalent to zakat fitrah. When measured by scales, the weight of 1 sha’ is 2,176 grams. If the volume is measured, then 1 sha’ is equivalent to 2.75 liters.
From the comparison of the amounts above, we can see that the minimum amount of fidyah to be paid is 1 mud. However, it would be better to give a fidyah equal to one portion of the daily food we eat, to every poor person.
Prayer of Intention to Pay Fidyah
When they want to pay fidyah, many people do not understand that there is an intention. So, below will explain the intention to pay fidyah:
1. Intention of fidyah fasting for seriously ill people and old people
Meaning: “I intend to issue this fidyah because of breaking the fast in the month of Ramadan, fardu because of Allah.”
2. The intention of fidyah fasting for pregnant or breastfeeding women
Meaning: “I intend to issue this fidyah from the responsibility of breaking the fast of Ramadan because I am worried about the safety of my child, it is fardhu because of Allah.”
3. The intention of fidyah fasting for the dead (carried out by the guardian/heir)
Meaning: “I intend to issue this fidyah from the responsibility of fasting Ramadan for Fulan bin Fulan (mention the name of the corpse), fardhu because of Allah”.
4. The intention of fidyah for those who are late to make up the fast of Ramadan
Meaning: “I intend to issue this fidyah from being dependent on the delay in making up the fasting of Ramadan, fard for Allah.”
As previously explained that fasting in the month of Ramadan is obligatory, so for those who cannot fast in that month, it is obligatory to replace it by fasting or paying fidyah. From the definition of fidyah, we also know that fidyah should not be done casually.