KAFFAARAH OF ROZA

A person, who has nullified his Roza due to having intimate relation, must give a Kaffaarah and replace that Roza which he has invalidated. Kaffaarah means to free a slave. Since there is no system of slavery nowadays, he must fast for two consecutive months. If he does not have the capacity to do so, he must give the value of one Fitrah to 60 poor persons individually.

Just like Kaffaarah applies to a person who has invalidated his fast by having intimate relationship while fasting, similarly, it also applies to a person who has eaten or drunk knowingly without any valid reason. In a Hadith found in Darqutni, narrated by Hazrat Abu Huraira (Radiyallahu Anhu), a person ate during Ramadhan. So, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam) commanded him to give Kaffaarah. This Hadith shows that Kaffaarah is not Wajib only when the fast is invalidated due to intimacy. It also applies to one who has invalidated it by eating or drinking.

It is to be noted that in the Sanad of this Hadith, there is a narrator whose status is controversial. According to some, he is alright but according to others he is not. In the field of Hadith, such Rawi is not negligible. He is an acceptable Rawi and his Hadith is labelled as Hadith Hassan that can support a thesis. Therefore, it is quite a strong Hadith that can be used to support the thesis that Kaffaarah is obligatory when one breaks a fast by eating and drinking also. It does not apply when one breaks it by having intimacy only.

[English version of "Kaffaarah pou roza" – Al Jamiat – Vol.2 No.12]